Montana
Montana produced 28.3 MMbbl of oil and 51.2 Bcf of natural gas in 2025. 8,987 producing wells tracked, 12 months to May 2026.
- 0.6% of the oil produced in the United States, 2025.
- Oil production rose 8% in 2025 from 2024.
Production
- filling in (est. · missed) . Hatching marks our estimate of the volume still to be filed. That estimate draws on our own production forecast. A check on the forecast behind this estimate measured a miss. It updates as filings arrive
Still arriving: Aug 2026 <1% filed.
All from what the source published. All held at well grain.
How the volume breaks down
- 100% Reported by the official source by well
Every barrel through May 2026 starts from what the official source published for those months. Measured over January 1986 to May 2026.
- filling in (est. · missed) . Hatching marks our estimate of the volume still to be filed. That estimate draws on our own production forecast. A check on the forecast behind this estimate measured a miss. It updates as filings arrive
- estimated . Hatching marks our estimate. In the most recent months that is volume still to be filed. Past the divider it is our estimate of each whole month, built on any filings already in. Beyond the last filings it is our forecast.
In this view, hatching marks our estimate, and in the most recent months that is volume still to be filed. Past the divider, the chart continues only the bands it has drawn. Each band continues as our estimate, from any filings already in and then from our forecast, built by summing our per-well forecasts. The method behind each well is recorded with the forecast. The forward months cover existing wells only. How our methods work
All from what the source published. All held at well grain.
How the volume breaks down
- 100% Reported by the official source by well
Every cubic foot through May 2026 starts from what the official source published for those months. Measured over January 1986 to May 2026.
The bands group wells by when they first produced.
About this chart
The stack shows what is holding today's rate up and how much of it is new drilling. In the reported months the bands draw the filings already in. The months still filling in are marked.
Annual table (full history)
| Year | Oil (MMbbl) | Gas produced (Bcf) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 28.3 | 51 |
| 2024 | 26.1 | 47 |
| 2023 | 22.0 | 45 |
| 2022 | 19.8 | 43 |
| 2021 | 18.1 | 42 |
| 2020 | 18.1 | 42 |
| 2019 | 22.2 | 49 |
| 2018 | 21.1 | 47 |
| 2017 | 20.4 | 49 |
| 2016 | 23.0 | 52 |
| 2015 | 28.5 | 58 |
| 2014 | 29.7 | 59 |
| 2013 | 29.0 | 63 |
| 2012 | 26.2 | 67 |
| 2011 | 23.8 | 79 |
| 2010 | 24.9 | 93 |
| 2009 | 27.3 | 105 |
| 2008 | 31.0 | 119 |
| 2007 | 34.2 | 120 |
| 2006 | 35.5 | 114 |
| 2005 | 31.9 | 108 |
| 2004 | 23.4 | 98 |
| 2003 | 17.7 | 86 |
| 2002 | 15.3 | 86 |
| 2001 | 14.4 | 81 |
| 2000 | 13.8 | 71 |
| 1999 | 13.3 | 61 |
| 1998 | 14.7 | 59 |
| 1997 | 14.9 | 55 |
| 1996 | 15.0 | 51 |
| 1995 | 15.2 | 50 |
| 1994 | 15.4 | 52 |
| 1993 | 16.3 | 56 |
| 1992 | 17.4 | 55 |
| 1991 | 18.4 | 53 |
| 1990 | 18.5 | 51 |
| 1989 | 19.5 | 52 |
| 1988 | 21.5 | 52 |
| 1987 | 23.0 | 47 |
| 1986 | 24.4 | 47 |
Source: CommoVision (commovision.com)
Monthly table (last 24 months)
| Month | Oil (Mbbl) | Gas produced (MMcf) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-05 | 2,134.4 | 4,314 |
| 2026-04 | 2,194.8 | 4,362 |
| 2026-03 | 2,390.6 | 4,562 |
| 2026-02 | 2,151.9 | 4,115 |
| 2026-01 | 2,314.2 | 4,353 |
| 2025-12 | 2,418.9 | 4,484 |
| 2025-11 | 2,414.0 | 4,490 |
| 2025-10 | 2,608.6 | 4,611 |
| 2025-09 | 2,413.1 | 4,375 |
| 2025-08 | 2,392.4 | 4,517 |
| 2025-07 | 2,468.3 | 4,491 |
| 2025-06 | 2,352.4 | 4,265 |
| 2025-05 | 2,429.5 | 4,270 |
| 2025-04 | 2,209.8 | 4,061 |
| 2025-03 | 2,315.7 | 4,077 |
| 2025-02 | 1,975.1 | 3,478 |
| 2025-01 | 2,331.9 | 4,052 |
| 2024-12 | 2,387.0 | 4,188 |
| 2024-11 | 2,459.3 | 4,166 |
| 2024-10 | 2,398.1 | 3,996 |
| 2024-09 | 2,221.5 | 3,771 |
| 2024-08 | 2,315.4 | 4,007 |
| 2024-07 | 2,113.9 | 3,912 |
| 2024-06 | 2,109.0 | 3,840 |
Source: CommoVision (commovision.com)
Source: CommoVision · Montana, data through July 2026.
Well map
- Oil 19,375
- Natural gas 16,957
- Undetermined 5,688
About this map
Undetermined means not enough signal to settle it. Producing wells are the ones that reported oil or gas in the 12 months to May 2026.
Type curves
Horizontal wells only. Average production per well, for wells grouped by when they first produced.
How these curves are built
Horizontal wells only: 877 of the 1,349 wells in these cohorts. Average daily production per well, for wells grouped by when they first produced. Includes every well of the cohort that is old enough at each month. Wells that are shut in or have stopped producing count as zero, so the average reflects the full cohort, not just survivors. Rates are calendar-day (volume ÷ days in month). The cumulative axis accumulates those same monthly averages at the average month length. Months not yet fully reported are excluded. The 2010-2014 curve draws those years as one group. The chart opens on average daily rate against months on production, the rate on a log scale. The view control switches to rate against cumulative production per well, on the same log rate scale, or to cumulative production per well against months on production, on a linear scale. Every view draws the same cohorts from the same production history. Each cohort is solid through the last month all of its wells sit inside fully reported data. Past it the dashed curve carries the same wells forward, on our forecast where a well’s own record ends, for up to five years. A dashed curve runs as far as at least nine in ten of its wells are accounted for. A well that is old enough but shut in still counts, as zero. The measured months are what these wells reported. In the forward months each well counts its own reported figure for each month it has one, our forecast for each month it has only that, and zero for the rest. The forward average counts every well of the cohort. The drawn forecast runs up to five years past the measured months. Line thickness tracks the size of each cohort. 159 wells are counted here but not shown on the age axis: they started producing in 1988 or earlier, too close to the start of our records for their region to verify their true age.
Cohort summary table
| First produced | Wells | Peak oil (bbl/d per well) | Month-12 oil (bbl/d per well) | Cum oil in series (Mbbl per well) | Peak gas (Mcf/d per well) | Month-12 gas (Mcf/d per well) | Cum gas in series (Bcf per well) | Months in series | Wells old enough at last month in series | Forecast months drawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 12 | 1,101 | — | 81.5 | 824 | — | 0.1 | 3 | 100% | 60 |
| 2025 | 47 | 968 | — | 164 | 759 | — | 0.1 | 7 | 100% | 60 |
| 2024 | 45 | 940 | 336 | 274 | 674 | 459 | 0.3 | 19 | 100% | 60 |
| 2023 | 29 | 701 | 235 | 238 | 537 | 328 | 0.3 | 30 | 100% | 60 |
| 2022 | 31 | 806 | 254 | 288 | 590 | 375 | 0.4 | 42 | 100% | 60 |
| 2021 | 14 | 648 | 240 | 287 | 446 | 228 | 0.3 | 54 | 100% | 60 |
| 2020 | 12 | 610 | 239 | 267 | 479 | 304 | 0.4 | 66 | 100% | 60 |
| 2019 | 26 | 629 | 136 | 252 | 546 | 152 | 0.3 | 79 | 100% | 60 |
| 2018 | 30 | 554 | 201 | 284 | 371 | 200 | 0.3 | 90 | 100% | 60 |
| 2017 | 4 | 688 | 175 | 295 | 470 | 257 | 0.4 | 102 | 100% | 60 |
| 2015 | 35 | 305 | 122 | 215 | 218 | 101 | 0.3 | 130 | 100% | 60 |
| 2010-2014 | 592 | 198 | 87.5 | 151 | 119 | 79.3 | 0.2 | 138 | 100% | 60 |
Source: CommoVision (commovision.com)
Source: CommoVision · Montana type curves, per-well production by first-production cohort.
Top operators in Montana, 2025
Top operators in Montana, 2025: full table
| Operator | Oil (Mbbl/d, 2025) | Gas produced (MMcf/d, 2025) | Share of output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraken Operating, LLC | 30.7 | 44.4 | 38.7% |
| Morningstar Operating | 7.8 | 12.1 | 10.0% |
| White Rock Oil & Gas | 7.9 | 8.0 | 9.7% |
| ExxonMobil | 7.8 | 1.4 | 9.1% |
| Continental Resources | 5.6 | 9.8 | 7.2% |
| Chord Energy Corporation | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.5% |
| Phoenix Energy One, LLC | 2.7 | 2.8 | 3.3% |
| Devon Energy | 2.5 | 2.4 | 3.0% |
| Prima Exploration Inc | 1.6 | 1.8 | 1.9% |
| Ridge Oil & Gas, LLC | 0.2 | 21.8 | 1.9% |
| 165 other operators | 8.0 | 32.2 | 11.7% |
Mbbl/d = thousand barrels per day · MMcf/d = million cubic feet per day (units).
Source: CommoVision (commovision.com)
Top counties by 2025 production
| County | Oil (MMbbl) | Gas produced (Bcf) | Share of 2025 output |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richland County, Montana | 16.7 | 23.5 | 55.9% |
| Roosevelt County, Montana | 6.6 | 8.5 | 21.7% |
| Fallon County, Montana | 2.1 | 4 | 7.6% |
| Phillips County, Montana | 0 | 5.5 | 2.5% |
| Blaine County, Montana | 0.2 | 2.2 | 1.7% |
Share of output counts oil and gas together, gas at its market-value weight.
Recent permitting
About this chart
Approvals of every permit type per month, the 24 months to Aug 2026. The last bar is Aug 2026 through August 14, 2026 (2 so far), drawn hatched. All 177 approved in the 365 days to August 14, 2026 are permits to drill a new well. Permits to drill a new well: 177 in the 365 days to August 14, 2026 and 63 in the last 90 days of that window. How permits are counted.
Most permits 365 days to August 14, 2026
- In Montana, 177 well permits were approved in the 365 days to August 14, 2026. Of those, 63 came in the last 90 days of that window. The latest approval on record is dated August 14, 2026.
- All 177 approved in the 365 days to August 14, 2026 are permits to drill a new well. Permits to drill a new well: 177 in the 365 days to August 14, 2026 and 63 in the last 90 days of that window.
Well permits approved per month: full table
| Month | Permits approved |
|---|---|
| Aug 2026 (through August 14, 2026) | 2 |
| Jul 2026 | 19 |
| Jun 2026 | 31 |
| May 2026 | 19 |
| Apr 2026 | 24 |
| Mar 2026 | 20 |
| Feb 2026 | 17 |
| Jan 2026 | 17 |
| Dec 2025 | 4 |
| Nov 2025 | 10 |
| Oct 2025 | 10 |
| Sep 2025 | 4 |
| Aug 2025 | 4 |
| Jul 2025 | 8 |
| Jun 2025 | 5 |
| May 2025 | 4 |
| Apr 2025 | 4 |
| Mar 2025 | 2 |
| Feb 2025 | 4 |
| Jan 2025 | 2 |
| Dec 2024 | 1 |
| Nov 2024 | 4 |
| Oct 2024 | 6 |
| Sep 2024 | 8 |
Source: CommoVision (commovision.com)
Active drilling rigs
Interactive chart. Focus it and use the left and right arrow keys to read each week, Page Up and Page Down to move a year, Home and End for the ends of the series. The full figures are also in the table below.
- In Montana, 4 drilling rigs were active in the week to September 11, 2026 (2 more than a year earlier).
- Since Sep 2016, the weekly count peaked at 4 in Nov 2018.
- The count covers land and inland-water rigs; rigs in US federal offshore waters are counted on the Gulf of Mexico page.
Average active rigs per month: full table
| Month | Oil-directed | Gas-directed | Miscellaneous | All rigs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 (through September 11, 2026) | 3 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| Aug 2026 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Jul 2026 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Jun 2026 | 2.2 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 |
| May 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Apr 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Mar 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Feb 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jan 2026 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Dec 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Nov 2025 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 |
| Oct 2025 | 1.8 | 0 | 0 | 1.8 |
| Sep 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Aug 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jul 2025 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Jun 2025 | 1.6 | 0 | 0 | 1.6 |
| May 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Apr 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mar 2025 | 1.2 | 0 | 0 | 1.2 |
| Feb 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jan 2025 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Dec 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Nov 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Oct 2024 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Source: CommoVision (commovision.com)
Formations
One cross-section through Montana, drawn across Richland County.
14 formations along a 38-mile line, west-southwest to east-northeast.
Every depth drawn here is our own estimate, built from the curated formation tops of Montana wells across the basin. The pale ribbon along each boundary shows how certain that depth is. Where the ribbon is wider, the depth is less certain.
How these sections are built
Each section follows one straight line across its county, and the map beside it shows where that line runs.
West is on the left.
The depth of each formation along the line is estimated from the depths at which Montana wells across the basin met that formation, as recorded in the official source's own formation-top records.
A formation is drawn where enough wells along the line place it and where it stands clear of the formation above or below.
Where more than 14 formations qualify, a section keeps 14: the ones this area produces from first, then those with the most wells behind them.
What we cover here
Each row names the grain a region’s production is held at. Where a source publishes at a coarser grain, the page says so.
| Data | Grain | Since | Benchmark |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana production | well | 1986-01 | ~96–100% of EIA |
Benchmark cells compare our series with the EIA’s published estimates.
About the EIA comparison
The two are produced differently: the EIA estimates from a survey of the largest operators and a model built to anticipate late filings, while the series compared here are rebuilt from the source’s own records as they arrive. Recent months can differ without either being wrong; the methodology page explains both methods.
Coverage rows for Montana are regenerated at every build from the same catalog of sources the data is built from.
How our Montana production compares with the EIA
- Our Montana oil total is 2.6% below the EIA series over June 2023 to May 2026. Those are the last 36 months our own figures have settled.
- Our Montana natural gas total is 0.2% below the EIA series over June 2023 to May 2026. Those are the last 36 months our own figures have settled.
Why the two differ
The EIA estimates state totals from an operator survey. The series compared here are rebuilt from the source’s own records as they arrive. Recent months differ while filings are still arriving. Every region, beside the EIA series and why the two differ.
What the data shows
- Montana produced 28.3 MMbbl of oil and 51.2 Bcf of natural gas in 2025.
- Montana oil production peaked in 2006 at 35.5 MMbbl; 2025 output of 28.3 MMbbl ran at 80% of that peak.
- 8,987 producing wells tracked, 12 months to May 2026.
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