If you own mineral rights in North Dakota or Montana — whether you inherited them from a parent or grandparent, or bought land that came with them — you're sitting on something that has real market value right now. The Bakken Shale formation, which stretches across western North Dakota and into eastern Montana, has been one of the most actively drilled oil plays in the United States for the past fifteen years. That activity hasn't stopped, and neither has buyer demand for mineral rights in this region.
This article will help you understand what you actually own, what it's worth in today's market, and what questions to ask before you decide whether to hold or sell. You won't need a petroleum engineering degree to follow along. By the time you finish reading, you'll have a working understanding of how the Bakken works, which counties matter most, who the major operators are, and how mineral rights are typically valued — so you can have an informed conversation with anyone who approaches you about buying your interest.
What the Bakken Formation Actually Is — and Why It Matters to Your Royalties
The Bakken Shale is a geological formation — a layer of oil-bearing rock roughly one to two miles underground — that runs beneath about 200,000 square miles of the Williston Basin. In North Dakota, it sits primarily under the western third of the state. In Montana, it extends into the eastern counties, particularly Richland, Roosevelt, and Sheridan counties.
Before modern horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (commonly called "fracking") became economically practical around 2007–2008, most of this oil was inaccessible. The rock is too tight — meaning the oil doesn't flow freely — so traditional vertical wells didn't produce much. Horizontal drilling changed that. A well now goes straight down two miles, then turns sideways and runs another two miles through the formation, exposing far more rock to the wellbore. That's why North Dakota went from producing about 100,000 barrels of oil per day in 2007 to over 1.1 million barrels per day at its 2019 peak.
Why does this matter for your royalty check? Because horizontal wells are expensive — often $8 to $12 million each — but they can produce enormous volumes of oil in their first few years. If you own mineral rights under a well that was drilled in the last five years, you may be receiving royalty payments (your percentage share of the oil and gas revenue from your land) that are significantly higher than they'll be in ten years, as that well declines. Conversely, if you own unleased acreage in an active area, a new well could be permitted and drilled on your land without much warning.
Williams and McKenzie Counties: The Core of the Bakken Market
Not all Bakken acreage is equal. If you want to know where the most drilling activity is — and where mineral rights fetch the highest prices — the answer is Williams County and McKenzie County in northwestern North Dakota. These two counties together account for the majority of active Bakken wells and the bulk of the state's oil production.
Williams County is home to Williston, the largest city in the region and the operational hub for most major Bakken operators. The county has seen sustained drilling activity since the early 2010s and continues to attract new permits. Mineral rights in core Williams County acreage — particularly in townships with demonstrated well performance — regularly trade at premium valuations.
McKenzie County has arguably become the hottest county in the Bakken over the last several years. It sits in the heart of what geologists call the "core" of the play, where the formation is thickest and most oil-saturated. Many of the highest-producing wells in North Dakota history have been drilled in McKenzie County. If you inherited mineral rights here, you own something that is actively sought by institutional buyers, private equity-backed acquisition companies, and individual investors.
Beyond these two counties, Mountrail, Dunn, and Burke counties also have significant Bakken activity and established mineral rights markets. In Montana, Richland County (centered around Sidney) has seen renewed interest as operators push the play westward. Montana Bakken wells tend to produce at somewhat lower rates than core North Dakota acreage, which affects valuations — but active production in Richland County is still generating real royalty income for mineral owners there.
A practical note: if you're not sure exactly which county your mineral rights are in, look at your deed, your royalty check stub, or the lease agreement you may have signed. The legal description will include the county name, township, and range numbers. That information tells a buyer exactly where your acreage sits — and it's the first thing they'll want to know.
Who's Drilling in the Bakken Right Now
Several large, well-capitalized operators currently dominate Bakken drilling. Knowing who's active near your acreage helps you understand the likelihood of future development — which directly affects what your mineral rights are worth.
Continental Resources, founded by Harold Hamm and headquartered in Oklahoma City, was one of the companies that opened up the Bakken and remains one of the largest operators in North Dakota. They hold extensive acreage across Williams, McKenzie, and Mountrail counties.
Chord Energy — formed by the 2022 merger of Oasis Petroleum and Whiting Petroleum — is now one of the largest pure-play Bakken operators. They operate thousands of wells across the basin and continue to run active drilling programs.
Hess Corporation has a major position in the Bakken, particularly in the Tioga area of Williams County and in Mountrail County. They've been one of the more consistent drillers even during periods of low oil prices.
EOG Resources and Devon Energy also hold acreage in the play, though they're less dominant than the names above.
In Montana, Slawson Exploration and smaller private operators are more common, along with Continental's presence in Richland County.
If you're receiving royalty payments, your check stub will name the operator. If you're not currently in production but think your land might be near active drilling, the North Dakota Industrial Commission's online well database (at dmr.nd.gov) lets you search by location and see what wells have been permitted or drilled near your acreage. It's free to use and doesn't require any account.
Pipeline Takeaway and Why It Affects Your Mineral Value
One issue that doesn't get enough attention when mineral owners are researching their rights is pipeline takeaway capacity — meaning, how easily can the oil that's produced from your land actually get to market?
In the early 2010s, the Bakken outpaced pipeline infrastructure. Producers were forced to ship oil by rail, which is more expensive and less reliable. That put downward pressure on the price operators received for Bakken crude — and by extension, reduced royalty checks for mineral owners.
The completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) in 2017 changed that significantly. DAPL moves roughly 570,000 barrels of oil per day from the Bakken to Patoka, Illinois, where it connects to Gulf Coast markets. Combined with other pipelines in the region — including the Tesoro High Plains Pipeline and several others — the Bakken now has reasonably adequate takeaway capacity for current production levels.
Why does this matter when you're thinking about selling? Buyers price mineral rights based partly on their confidence that production will be marketable. Good pipeline access means the oil can move efficiently, operators get closer to full market price, and royalty income is more predictable. Acreage near well-connected infrastructure is worth more than acreage that depends on rail or truck transport. Core Williams and McKenzie County acreage generally has strong pipeline access. Some of the more outlying Montana acreage is more dependent on gathering systems that feed into rail — something a serious buyer will factor into their offer.
Current North Dakota production is running around 1.1 to 1.2 million barrels per day as of 2024, down from the 2019 peak but well above the lows seen during the 2020 oil price crash. The rig count has stabilized in the 35 to 45 active rigs range, which reflects an industry that's drilling to maintain production but not aggressively expanding. That context matters: buyers are still active, but they're disciplined about what they'll pay.
How Mineral Rights Are Valued in the Bakken
This is the section most mineral owners want to get to, so let's be direct about how valuation works.
Mineral rights are valued differently depending on whether they're producing (you're already receiving royalty checks) or non-producing (leased but no active wells, or completely unleased).
Producing mineral rights are most commonly valued using a multiple of your monthly royalty income, expressed as a number of months' worth of royalties. In the Bakken today, producing minerals in core areas like McKenzie and Williams counties typically trade at multiples of 36 to 60 times your monthly royalty check — sometimes higher for very recently drilled wells with strong initial production rates. So if you're receiving $1,500 per month in royalties, a buyer in a competitive situation might offer anywhere from $54,000 to $90,000 or more for those rights.
That range is wide because several factors affect where you land: how old the wells are (newer wells decline faster but have more production history), how many wells are on your acreage, what your royalty rate is (typically 1/8 to 1/5, or 12.5% to 20%, with higher rates being more valuable), and whether there's additional undeveloped potential — meaning a buyer thinks more wells might be drilled.
Non-producing mineral rights — where you own the rights but there's no active well — are valued on a per-acre basis. In core Bakken counties, unleased acreage in proven areas can trade anywhere from $1,500 to $5,000+ per net mineral acre, depending on location and development potential. Acreage in McKenzie County in a particularly active township might bring the higher end of that range or above. Acreage in a Montana county with less drilling activity might trade at $500 to $1,500 per net mineral acre.
A net mineral acre is the actual share of ownership you hold in the ground — not the surface acreage of the land. If your family owns 160 acres of land with full mineral rights, you have 160 net mineral acres. But if the mineral rights were split over generations — say, your grandmother left them equally to four children, and you inherited one child's share — you might own only 40 net mineral acres in that same 160-acre tract. Understanding exactly how many net mineral acres you own is critical before you can evaluate any offer.
One more thing to understand: mineral rights sales are generally treated as capital gains for federal tax purposes, not ordinary income. If you inherited the rights, your cost basis is typically the fair market value at the time of inheritance — which means your taxable gain may be smaller than you'd expect. Long-term capital gains rates for most people in the 50–70 age range are either 15% or 20% federally. North Dakota has a state income tax that tops out around 2.5% for most income levels. Montana's top income tax rate is 6.75%. You should talk to a tax professional about your specific situation, but the tax treatment of a mineral rights sale is generally more favorable than ordinary income — worth knowing before you decide.
What to Do Before You Respond to an Offer or Start Researching a Sale
If someone has already contacted you about buying your mineral rights — a landman (a person who works on behalf of oil companies or mineral buyers to negotiate leases and purchases), a mineral acquisition company, or a private investor — don't feel pressured to respond immediately. The person who contacted you works for the buyer. Their job is to acquire your rights at the lowest price the market will bear. That doesn't make them dishonest, but it does mean you should do your own homework first.
Here's a practical checklist before you take any action:
Confirm exactly what you own. Pull out your deed or any documents you received when the mineral rights were inherited or purchased. Look for the legal description: section, township, range, and county. If you can't find your paperwork, your county's register of deeds office (Williams County, McKenzie County, etc.) has public records you can request.
Check whether you're currently leased or in production. If you're receiving royalty checks, you're in production. If you signed a lease but aren't getting checks, you may be in a "held by production" situation where there's a well somewhere on your acreage that's keeping the lease active. The NDIC well search can help clarify this.
Get more than one opinion on value. Any serious acquisition company will give you a free, no-obligation offer. Get two or three before you decide anything. Offers can vary by 20–40% between buyers for the same acreage — not because one is dishonest, but because buyers have different portfolios, different views on future drilling potential, and different costs of capital.
Understand your royalty rate before you sell. If you're leased, your lease specifies your royalty rate. A 20% royalty is worth significantly more than a 12.5% royalty on the same acreage. Don't know your rate? It's in your lease agreement. If you can't find it, your county recorder's office should have a copy of the recorded lease.
Don't let urgency push you into a fast decision. Mineral buyers sometimes create artificial urgency — "this offer expires in 30 days" or "we're closing our fund at the end of the quarter." The Bakken has been producing oil since 2008. The market for your mineral rights is not going to disappear in a month.
If you reach out to us, here's exactly what happens: a real person — someone who has worked in mineral rights acquisitions and can speak plainly about what your acreage might be worth — will call you back within one business day. There's no commitment, no pressure, and no obligation to accept anything. We'll ask you a few questions about your acreage, tell you honestly whether it's something we'd make an offer on, and give you a ballpark sense of value based on current market conditions. If you decide to get other offers or simply hold onto your rights, that's completely fine. The goal of that first call is to give you enough information to make a confident decision — whatever that decision turns out to be.