Am trying to catch up on some inheritance matters. Estate documents not yet filed in Montana (Texas probate), but estate owns some minerals in Section 19 Township 30 North Range 48 East, Section 12 Township 30 North Range 47 East, and Section 24, Township 30 North, Range 47 East. Can anyone give me a sense of whether there is activity in this particular area? Have noted some O & G attorney suggestions, which is very helpful, but want to have a sense of what is going on in the area. Thanks for any insight.
Robert:
Looking at the GIS map, the following was found: Township 30 North; Range 48 East; Section 19 (2 dry holes; 1 injection/disposal—all wells plugged and abandoned); Township 30 North; Range 47 East; Section 12 (6 dry holes; all plugged and abandoned); Township 30 North; Range 47 East; Section 24 (1 dry hole; plugged and abandoned). It is noted that a couple of active wells (older vertical) near Township 30 North; Range 48 East; Section 19 which are currently active and producing from the Nisku Formation. Majority of the activity (newer horizontal Bakken wells) are located to the East of your area. The development (Bakken Formation) is currently occurring in much of the Roosevelt and Richland County areas with several in Sheridan County to the North. Hope this info helps.
Thanks, Charles. This is my first use of the website and the first response is very helpful. Our family history with the area goes back to 1960. Most of the acreage is in Range 47 East. Grandfather’s notes show Phillips, Belco, Placid, Murphy, etc., about 20 wells plotted with about 7 completed—the rest plugged, or in process at the time. He had some lease bonus income, but I don’t see any sign of having production income. So, as I understand your input, there is nothing significant there… but the Bakken in the region is located east of us. It doesn’t sound as though it makes sense to incur cost to change ownership yet, but we may just do an affidavit of ownership to file in the county to serve notice if someone gets interested. Does that approach seem to make sense up there?
Robert:
You do need to make sure you’re on record at the County Clerk’s office in Wolf Point. I live in Texas also and when we inherited our minerals in Roosevelt County, back in 2003, I used Laura Christopherson, an attorney in Culbertson, Montana. She handled all of our legal matters with no problems. Since that time, I have leased numerous times. As I stated earlier, it appears the operators in your area targeted the Nisku Formation but keep in mind, other formations are present in your area. I believe that as time moves forward, there will be a good possibility that some operator(s) will begin to test your area, especially as areas to the East become held by production. I will advise you to contact Mr. Gary Hutchinson, an oil and gas consultant, who posts regularly on this forum. Mr. Hutchinson is extremely knowledgeable about this Eastern Montana area. You might want to “friend” him and he will respond to your questions.