I have 80 acres in Divide County in Northwestern North Dakota. They offered my 400 per acre for 4 years with 17.5% on royalties. I am not honestly sure on the activity, I know the landman said a well would probably go up late next year or early 2012. My family is impossible to turn around on this, they have their own section and they want money yesterday for it and are taking the offer they have. Talked to an attorney, David Hermanson from Williston, seems to be credible and helpful. Thanks for any other help anybody has on this, I live in MN now, was left the rights from my grandfather.
First, have you entered “Divide County” in the search box to see if there are any other posts about the area? That might tell you if that is a reasonable offer or not. Off hand, I’d probably say you should at least be able to get the term down to 3 years, and the royalty up to at least 18.75%. The oil and gas commission for North Dakota will show you the activity going on in the area, and the operators. The Clerk and Recorder’s office, if it is sophisticated, should have recorded leases available on line, and those can be very helpful. They won’t show the bonus payment, but you’ll see everything else. If you’re interested in getting other offers, use those recorded leases to find who has been leasing around your land, and contact them to see if they would be interested in your land too. You might also use those leases to contact the owners of the mineral rights to see if they will tell you what their bonus payments were.