History
Northern Oil & Gas rebuilt itself from a 2018 debt restructuring into a five-basin non-operator, and by June 2026 had bought its first Canadian assets.
2018: The restructuring
Northern Oil & Gas buys minority working interests in wells run by other companies. Its filing record here begins in March 2018, after the 2015-2016 oil crash. Its 2015-2017 filings show cumulative losses near $1.5 billion, and it was working through a debt overhaul. In March its term lender, TPG, waived a prepayment requirement so new equity could be raised without repaying debt at once. In April the company cut the equity it needed to raise to complete the exchange from $156 million to $140 million, all in cash, a sign the original terms were hard to meet.
The deal closed on 18 May. The company swapped $497 million (71%) of its 8.000% notes due 2020 for 103.2 million new shares and $344.3 million of new 8.50% second-lien notes due 2023. It also sold 34.7 million shares at $1.50 to raise $52 million. It had also moved its legal home from Minnesota to Delaware.
2018-2019: Buying in the Bakken
With the balance sheet repaired, the company went on offense in North Dakota's Williston Basin. In September 2018 it closed the Pivotal Petroleum Partners deal for $60.6 million cash plus about 25.75 million shares, adding roughly 21 net producing wells. On 1 October it closed the larger W Energy deal for about $114.8 million cash plus roughly 51.5 million shares, adding about 27 net producing wells and over 10,600 net acres. To help pay, it sold another $350 million of 8.50% notes, bringing that issue to roughly $694 million. It also replaced its TPG term loan with a Royal Bank of Canada-led revolving credit facility. In July 2019 it bought VEN Bakken's assets (about 88 net producing wells) for $170.1 million cash, 5.6 million shares and a $130 million seller note.
2019-2020: Cleaning up the debt
The buying left heavy debt. In October and November 2019 the company launched a tender offer for its 8.50% notes and offered holders a new 6.50% convertible preferred stock. Backstop investors agreed to buy $42.1 million of the preferred for cash and exchange $24.9 million more notes. In July 2020, as the pandemic oil crash hit, its lenders, now led by Wells Fargo, cut its borrowing base (the amount it may borrow against its reserves) to $660 million, against $568 million already drawn.
2021-2022: Becoming multi-basin
In 2021 the company bought a 70% share of Appalachian gas assets from Reliance Marcellus, with Arch Investment Partners taking 30%. It issued $550 million of 8.125% notes due 2028, and added $200 million more in November, using the proceeds to repay part of its revolving credit borrowings. It also closed the Comstock Williston purchase ($154 million cash) that month. The borrowing base rose to $725 million in June and $850 million in November. In January 2022 it closed the Permian Basin purchase from Veritas for $419.4 million cash plus warrants. In February 2022 its stock was approved to move from NYSE American to the main New York Stock Exchange. In June 2022 it signed a new $2.5 billion Wells Fargo-led credit agreement with a $1.3 billion borrowing base. In October it raised $500 million of 3.625% convertible notes due 2029, and in November it converted all remaining Series A preferred stock (1.64 million shares) into about 7.4 million common shares plus cash.
2023-2024: More Permian, then Utah
In January 2023 the company closed its stake in the MPDC Midland Basin project, paying $320 million of a $359.2 million price. In May it sold $500 million of 8.75% notes due 2031. In August it closed a one-third share of Novo's Delaware Basin assets for about $468.4 million alongside Earthstone Energy Holdings. The borrowing base was raised to $1.8 billion, and the company ended its governance agreement with TRT Holdings and Robert Rowling, a link dating to 2018. In October 2024 it closed a 20% stake in XCL's Uinta Basin assets in Utah, alongside SM Energy, for about $511.2 million.
2025-2026: Utica and Canada
In October 2025 the company issued $725 million of 7.875% notes due 2033 and used the proceeds to buy back $685 million of its 8.125% notes. In November it replaced its credit facility again, extending maturity to November 2030. In December it agreed to enter a fifth basin, the Utica Shale in Ohio, with Infinity Natural Resources. The deal closed in February 2026 on revised terms: Northern's share fell from 49% to 40%, about $480 million, and its borrowing base rose to $1.975 billion. On 26 May 2026 it agreed to its first purchase outside the United States, Alberta assets from Parallax Energy. The deal closed on 1 June 2026 with CA$237 million cash plus about 3.7 million shares. That was the company's position at the date of its latest record.
Written from the 48 story beats below (2018 to 1 June 2026), which come from the company's own announcements and filings.