I have 160 acres in Roosevelt county, Montana Township 27 North, Range 57 East of the M.P.M. Section 15: sw 1/4 . wondering if anyone can help me out on what land in this area will be releasing for per acre and what Roality I should be asking for and max years lease I should get in my lease contract and any other helpful Information. I know this is a hot area! my present lease is up April 14, 2014. Thank you for any help and tips you can give me
Todd:
You are correct that this area is very active. Currently, XTO Energy and Whiting Oil & Gas have two nice Bakken wells near your mineral area. Also, Continental has a permit to drill close by. Abraxas Petroleum has a Ratcliffe formation well also near your area. All said, at this point I would not be surprised if your area is not drilled on prior to lease expiration. If your lease does expire, I would not consider a lease of longer that 3 years with a 20% royalty, no extension clause. In regards to the bonus amount if a new lease is negotiated, it might be a little early to predict a fair amount as I would watch any other additional activity until the lease expires and then decide. You should get a great lease but take your time and continue to stay abreast of the activities in your area. By all means let your lease expire and don't sign any top lease offers as your bargaining power will be much greater with an expired lease.
Charles, thanks for the information. I just talked with my landman this week because they had aplied for a drilling permit and I was wondering what was happening with that? she told me it got kicked out because surounding land owners that have leases exspiring like mine want to release. thanks Todd
charles s mallory said:
Todd:
You are correct that this area is very active. Currently, XTO Energy and Whiting Oil & Gas have two nice Bakken wells near your mineral area. Also, Continental has a permit to drill close by. Abraxas Petroleum has a Ratcliffe formation well also near your area. All said, at this point I would not be surprised if your area is not drilled on prior to lease expiration. If your lease does expire, I would not consider a lease of longer that 3 years with a 20% royalty, no extension clause. In regards to the bonus amount if a new lease is negotiated, it might be a little early to predict a fair amount as I would watch any other additional activity until the lease expires and then decide. You should get a great lease but take your time and continue to stay abreast of the activities in your area. By all means let your lease expire and don't sign any top lease offers as your bargaining power will be much greater with an expired lease.
Todd:
It's just a matter of time before you will drilled on. Again, chances are you might not even have to worry about negotiating a new lease. I am somewhat in the same boat as my lease in Roosevelt expires in April and June, 2014 but your area is much more active than mine. I still feel that over the next few years, Roosevelt County will see much more drilling activity. Good luck.
Hi Charles, we had talked back in October about my land in Roosevelt county township 27 north, Range 57 east section 15: sw1/4. just wondering if you are hearing anything on any new leases and lease Rates yet as mine will be up here in April. any information would be appreciated ?? Thank-you Todd Graber
Todd:
I know that Continental is showing an interest in the area near the ND border in Roosevelt. Not sure about your particular area but I have heard that extreme interest in the Upper Bakken zone (Roosevelt area) is coming into play. Again, not sure about your particular area but I'm sure that you will be contacted via a landman if an operator is interested in development. Oasis and XTO both have activity in the Roosevelt area. This is somewhat of a wait and see game we play as mineral owners. If I hear of any news regarding your area, I will post it on this forum.
Thanks Charles for the information and I would be very grateful for any new information that you might hear!! thanks again, Todd