Williston Basin traces its roots to the 1920s, when several short-haul natural gas pipelines were constructed to connect towns in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana with several of Montana's natural gas fields. This gas transmission system was known as the Gas Development Co. and its parent company was Montana-Dakota Utilities Co., a predecessor company of MDU Resources Group, Inc.

Over the next few decades, both served an increasing number of natural gas markets in the region. In the mid-1940s, the Gas Development Co. became the pipeline and transmission division of its parent.

A major corporate realignment created Williston Basin as the interstate natural gas transmission subsidiary of MDU Resources Group, Inc., in 1985.

During the 1990s, MDU Resources made strides to position Williston Basin for future growth. New connections to growing supplies of natural gas in Western Canada combined with improved access to large Rocky Mountain and Upper Midwest markets increased total system deliveries. Williston Basin has also expanded its storage facilities and deliverability by constructing new facilities and drilling additional storage wells.

A significant symbol of value creation was the construction of the Grasslands Pipeline in 2003. The 253-mile pipeline transports natural gas from the Rocky Mountain region to interconnecting pipelines, helping to deliver the commodity to Midwest markets.