Howdy, I need help/advice, regarding a Section. My Greatgrandma Homesteaded near Baker Montana and closer to Plevna off of Hwy12. The Location is T5N, Sec.22, Range 55 East. Lots.
What kind of help or advice are you looking for?
Dorothy, I’ve tried to reply to you several times, to no avail. I think I’ve finally got my PC to cooperate with me in responding to your thoughtful reply. I have no idea what the average lease price per acre is in Fallon County, Montana. If I decided to lease I need to know the going rate, so to speak. I’m used to dealing with PGMetals, i.e., Gold, Platinum, primarily, and have been buying claims for about 15 years. This Oil/Gas Play is a totally different game, but similar in many ways too. If I used my own capital, and didn’t go with a lease, is seismic testing still the best way to get an idea of the picture down below? There are plenty of wells near my section, but all about 3 to 5 miles away. No one has drilled anywhere near my Section and I’ve been told the Oil Companies are waiting for the pipeline in 2013 to be done and set up in Baker, as the hub. I’ve recently been to the land, and besides being blown away that my Great-grandma lived out there in a mud and straw hut, as I walked the section, all 640 acres, I was upset my family sold it off at $50 an acre in 1993, but they retained all mineral rights with right of egress and ingress and a private road through Section is helpful. It’s all grazing land now, and other than many small coal mountains, or surface Coal mines on the Section and the Artesian well at 800’, there’s been no drilling, and the Bakkens are a good 20 miles away, further East in Fallon County. It’s all in the Williston Basin, but the big producer by me is the Cedar Creek Anticline, which has hundreds of wells for Oil and Gas. Anything, any advice, anything that helps me focus on my options, is muchly appreciated. Thanks Again So Much for your reply of offering help. Again, Thank You, Jim Bratter. My Section is T5N, Section 22, Range 55 East, Fallon County, Montana. Have a Good Night and Thanks Again, Jim B.
Jim, I’m not sure that I can be of much help to you but will tell you what I can. My minerals are north of you in Richland County and I drive through close to your area, mostly through Broadus to Miles City but occasionally through Ekalaka to Baker and north. It is such a beautiful area and my husband says I immediately relax at that point in our journey. I grew up close to the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers by the North Dakota border which is similar in many ways.
I think of that area more in conjunction with the Powder River Basin, than with the Bakken, but that is an amateur and uneducated viewpoint. You have probably already discovered the Montana state website in your research. Pay particular attention to the coalbed methane issue, there have been many issues in Wyoming with residents’ water supplies and wildlife.
If you choose to lease, ask for 25% and settle for no less than 20% royalty, 2-3 years at most. You may have to take less bonus per acre in order to get the increased royalty. It sounds like you have substantial capital to invest, a luxury that most of us generally don’t have. You might want to look at partnering with a knowledgeable oil company or wildcat operator. You may have to do some stumping to find one interested.
Good luck with your endeavor and hope you are successful! Other members of this forum will probably have more and better information for you.
Dorothy, I had never even heard of Coal Bed Methane, yet alone know about it. Wow!! I just read a bit about this, and that is another very possible option for me to explore. One thing I can plainly see, are the numerous surface mounds and pyramids of coal. It looks like subbituminous coal, and it’s in mounds in a somewhat straight line or seam through the Section. I know that the rancher next door told me when he was little, that my Great-Grandma let anyone who wanted some coal come and help themselves to it. In the winter, he’d fill wheelbarrows full of coal from the Section. I never thought the coal could be a source of revenue, as in Coal Bed Methane. Thank you so much for that great tip!!! I can’t wait for spring to head back to Baker. Actually I’m closer to Miles City, on Hwy 12, by a real tiny town Plevna. This opens a whole new area for consideration. I can’t thank you enough for your time and wise and knowledgeable advice. I’ll keep you posted. Take care, Jim Bratter.
Dorothy Johnson said:
Jim, I’m not sure that I can be of much help to you but will tell you what I can. My minerals are north of you in Richland County and I drive through close to your area, mostly through Broadus to Miles City but occasionally through Ekalaka to Baker and north. It is such a beautiful area and my husband says I immediately relax at that point in our journey. I grew up close to the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers by the North Dakota border which is similar in many ways.
I think of your area more in conjunction with the Powder River Basin, than with the Bakken, but that is an amateur and uneducated viewpoint. You have probably already discovered the Montana state website in your research. Pay particular attention to the coalbed methane issue.
I also have mineral rights from my Great GrandMother T6N, R56 E. and Grandfather T7N, R56 E. passed down to me from my mother. Looking for a buyer. Any idea on value, or interest in this area?
Hi Dick, Neighbor, I’d like to be able to discuss. this with you in more detail and when I’m not hurried as I am
This in more detail with u when I’m not rushed.
I feel ur lands worth a Fortune to say the least!! I’ll
Be back and id like to give u my # without the world
Seeing it , so we can talk instead of text on my
Cell phone now!! lol hate this text!! Ttysoon, James
Dick Johnston said:
I also have mineral rights from my Great GrandMother T6N, R56 E. and Grandfather T7N, R56 E. passed down to me from my mother. Looking for a buyer. Any idea on value, or interest in this area?