States › North Dakota

Cost to plug an oil or gas well in North Dakota

Reported costs of publicly funded well plugging in North Dakota, 2023 to 2026.

Median cost per well

$48,329

B held-out error 26%

Typical range

$39,412 – $93,450

10th to 90th percentile; held 78% of held-out wells

Wells on file

75 independent observations, 2023-01 to 2026-04

Estimate a well in North Dakota

By well type

Well type	Median per well	Typical range (10th–90th pct.)	Grade	Wells	Held-out error
Injection or disposal well	—	—	Insufficient data	23	—
Oil well	—	—	Insufficient data	56	—

By depth

Insufficient data No depth data with terms that allow commercial use is available for wells in North Dakota, so costs by depth band and per foot are not published.

By year plugged

Wells with a reported plugging cost, by year plugged.

Year	Median per well	Typical range (10th–90th pct.)	Grade	Wells	Held-out error
2023	$47,750	$38,931 – $90,636	B	73	20%
2026	—	—	Insufficient data	8	—

Cost index for North Dakota

Year	Index (2023 = 100 where 2023 is on file, otherwise first year)	Grade	Wells
2023	—	Insufficient data	73
2026	—	Insufficient data	8

Counties with a graded estimate

County	Median per well	Typical range (10th–90th pct.)	Grade	Wells	Held-out error
Bottineau	$45,538	$38,197 – $78,546	B	63	8%

Contractors active

Insufficient data The cost records carry no contractor names, and no contractor list with terms that allow commercial use is available for this state.

Receipts

Every figure on this page is computed from public records you can inspect:

Well-level records for North Dakota in the US Department of the Interior Orphaned Wells Program Office data layer (well identifier, county, type, reported cost, date).
Orphaned Wells Program maps and data, US Department of the Interior.

Costs are as reported by the grant recipient. 91% of the records here are a cost for one well; the rest are contract or lease averages. See limitations.

Data through 2026-06-30. Sample sizes are the wells behind each figure. Grades come from held-out tests, not in-sample fit: A needs 200+ independent cost observations and a held-out error of 25% or less; B needs 60+ and 40% or less. Anything weaker is shown as Insufficient data. How grading works.

Some figures here are withheld because the data is too thin to grade. If you hold actual plugging costs, report a plugging cost. Reports are reviewed before any use.