Oil lease Billings County ND

Northern Energy out of Bismarck, North Dakota is offering oil lease for mineral rights in Billings County Section 8 Township 142 Range 99. Items are $200 up front money 5 yrs lease Royalties 16.667%. Are they legitimate or not and is this offer good or not enough

Interesting. First activity that I have heard of for a while. You might be interested in knowing that XTO did a lease I think one section west of you in 2012 with me and others. $1500 an acre and 20%. BUT THEY NEVER DRILLED and let the lease expire. But that does seem to indicate an interest for drilling in that area?

XTO leased quite a bit of acreage in that township back in 2011, but only drilled in section 29. They had drilled several horizontal wells earlier. There was a horizontal well in section 17 to your south which was drilled in 2005. The last permit was from Continental in 2012 in section 2. They completed a well in 2 and one in 4. A few leases were taken by other companies in 2019.

Personally, I would only lease for three years max and only for 3/16ths at the minimum. The five year offer implies to me that no drilling is imminent. Many companies can lease if they have the money to do so, but only a few companies have the capital to actually drill.

I signed a lease in that area earlier this year. Township 143 N Range 99 W Section 31

Is 142-99-s4 pooled with 142-99-s9?

I do not know if they are pooled or not.

I received a offer for a oil and gas lease for the same section 8 ($200.00 bonus money, 3 years + 2 years and 3/16% from Diamond Resources but countered on the length of the lease, and they would not agree. So, we are out for now and will wait and wait and wait.

Ha. Name is a blast from the past. We (XTO Bakken team) were always fascinated with the Basaraba 44X-27 since it was never fracked. And never really made any water. And is going to make > 500,000 bo. Pretty good perm for the crappy old Middle Bakken.

In 2012, somebody at XTO (cough cough geology cough cough) decided it would be a great idea to try to drill a Three Forks well in a place where there is no lower Bakken shale. Chruszch 43x-29F. Drilled a pilot hole, 2 mile kicked off lateral, swell packers in an openhole, all kinds of craziness. Shockingly a total turd. And that was it for XTO drilling in 142 99. Drilled a couple other stinkers up near T.Roosevelt cabin in NW Billings. Decided maybe was better to drill where there was thicker source rock. I have no idea what they were leasing. Bakken Oil was doing the land work, and they were almost assuredly getting paid on commission, and thus probably leasing anything they could find like drunken sailors. $120 WTI makes everyone nuts.

Whiting has drilled some good Pronghorn wells south of 142 99. And I have zero clue, but CLR drilled a total banger well (Xavier 3-10H) in the Middle Bakken in 141 99 3/10 in 2020. Made like 200kbo in 8 months. Maybe the right answer was drill right next to the original Basaraba well.

Sorry, memory lane time.

Is there a way to find out what the specifics on a lease for the bigger landowner’s are for section 18? How can I know if I am getting the same conditions as the bigger owners are?

You can research the other leases in that section at the county recorders office.

We have received a better offer and the oil and gas lease is at the attorneys office for problem and correctness. They used form PRODUCERS 88-PAID UP. Thanks

Just an FYI, they may use the words “Producers 88-Paid Up” at the top of the lease, but there is actually a large variety in verbiage that can exist under that title. Not really any such thing as a standard industry lease. Each company has their own version which varies from state to state according to the laws of the state and what the company wants to get out of the lease for their benefit. First drafts of a lease are almost always in the favor of the operator, not the mineral owner, so always wise to get a good oil and gas attorney to look at the draft and negotiate for better terms.

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