MaryAnne,
When was that lease executed and in what range is your property located?
Thank you
I was not my property and it was just few day ago that the offer was made . I dont know if they accepted it or not but it was from Empire.
Any chance you could get the contact and phone number at Empire?
Thank you
I do know of one party in the 141/ 104 area that got $650.00 / 19.7% in Feb 2012.
Another that got 20% and 5 five lease over 4 years ago but they had a large parcel so that is an advantage. I would not accept anything under 20% and three year lease. The bonus is the lease important number. I feel that we all have a responsibility to raise the bar ( bonus + Royalty) for each other. In the oil industry the price we are getting is peanuts. If you were north in the next county you would be looking at over 5000 + acre bonus and 24+% royalty. Our attorney told us this "remember at the end of the day it’s your oil they want without they have nothing"
They will not be drilling in 1141/104 until late fall or early spring . The longer you want the better deal you will get.
MaryAnne advice from the attorney is something we should remember. Though I’m not convinced the longer you wait the better the deal. Waiting may get you a better deal if they hit a fabulous well adjacent to your property. Though waiting may get you left out altogether if they hit a dry hole next to your land.
They have been drilling in 141-104 all year long, and they’re currently drilling two wells within the township. One in sec 24 is a horizontal and another in sec 31 is a vertical well. However, just in the past two months, they drilled a dry hole on sec 20, and another dry hole in sec 21. These were very close to the best wells to date (in Sections 22, 23, and 24). Consequently, the results on the ground may dictate how much interest they have in leasing your lands.
This is not the Bakken where virtually every well produces. My advice is don’t low ball yourself (begin by asking for MaryAnne’s higher numbers) but don’t drag your heels either. If you’re interested in leasing start the process and get it done while you can. Or, if you’re a gambler you can sit on your hands and see where things are a year from now. Though be aware that Whiting’s interest in the play diminishes with every new dry hole drilled. So waiting does entail some gamble about getting a deal done.
We have been told by a Empire land man that every section of north GV
will be drilled before this is over. Now how long will that take is hard to say. But he also said that Whiting does not like to force pool that is not their method of doing business even though yes they can by law. If you got to the ND oil site and click on map then check on the left the box for oil field is will show you where the oil is. www.dmr.nd.gov You may also lease now for 3 years and after the 3 years you could release if they do not drill. That is way it’s good to know about when they are going to be in your area. Also remember that once you sign the lease and they drill you forever lock in to that royalty amount. So if you lease for 20% today and they drill five or ten years from now you will only get 20%. even if the market rate is much higher years down the road. Never sign a lease without an attorney that does oil leases review the language in the lease.
Where do you get the information for the auction ? Are they leased for government law or sold to the highest bidder? Do you have a web site for the auction results?
North Dakota holds auctions each quarter. All leases go to the highest bidder. To see results (including prior auctions) go to this website;
www.land.nd.gov/minerals/mineralapps/auctions/auctionhistorysale.aspx
Here are yesterday’s state oil & gas lease auction results. All lease were for five years, with an 18.75% royalty. All prices are per net acre.
Township 141 Range 103
Section 6: $500 / acre, Sec 19: $310
Sec 32: $390, Sec 33: $460
Sec 34: $350, Sec 36: $360
Township 141 Range 104
Sec 10: $430, Sec 16: $170
Sec 34: $310, Sec 36: $320
Township 141 Range 105
Sec 4: $310, Sec 16: $575,
Sec 32: $340, Sec 34: $450,
Township 142 Range 104
Sec 2: $810, Sec 14: $840,
Sec 26: $900, Sec 36: $510,
Township 142 Range 105
Sec 4: $310, Sec 20: $210,
Sec 29: $510, Sec 30: $640,
Township 143 Range 105
Sec 16: $120, Sec 36: $120.
Hope this is helpful to those seeking actual bonus rates. FYI: all of these Golden Valley leases were purchased by these three companies;
Empire Oil (for Whiting), 701-774-2845.
HERCO LLC, 406-252-6821.
Stewart Geological, 406-259-2580.
Has anyone heard of MPH Production Co. out of Fort Worth TX? I got a letter from them expressing some interest in some mineral rights we have that are coming up for lease next month.
Eastern MT, the two dry holes you refer to in sections 20&21 141/104 do you mean those KG Ranch wells are both dry holes? I thought these were still on the confidential list until Dec 7th and 27th. Do you have inside info on these, or were you referring to the Kittleson wells in section 27 of 141/105. The Faiman well in section 14 doesn’t look good, producing 10 barrels for july and 3899 bbls of water. That area of GV is really volatile for hit and miss production.
MPH is probably an investor looking to speculate on a piece of the play. If you haven’t done so, you should also contact the three companies listed below which recently bought some ND state leases. It is always in your best interest to have competing bids before you lease.
FWIW, after drilling two dry holes (sections 20 & 21 in 141-104) Whiting’s latest vertical well (sec 31 in 141-104) appears to be a producer, though it’s unclear how productive. Whatever they found there Whiting did then permit a new well 1 1/2 miles to the west of it in 141-105 section 35.
Snues, you are right the area really is hit or miss. Yes the two dry holes are both of the KG Ranch wells. No I don’t have any inside information. My dry hole comments are from actually visiting these well sites after the completion of drilling. I’m just reporting what I found. Whiting also drilled a horizontal on 141-104 Sec 21 NE (next door to the dry hole in the NW). I’m not sure how that one panned out. They did bring in a workover rig to the Faiman well so they must believe something is there. Though once again I don’t know if that helped.
Eastern MT, I’ve noticed they continue to permit an occasional horizontal well, but haven’t found great luck with them just yet. The added cost of H vs Vertical and with the spotty production within the area, its good they’ve hit some big wells in other counties to absorb some costs they’re losing. I wonder how much longer they will pursue drilling there. Empire Oil has done a lot of leasing within Slope County this year, I wonder if they will attempt H wells or stay with Verticals out there.
Snues, I don’t see them abandoning this Red River play. With the lower costs ($3.5 MM) on verticals even modest wells can pay off. A few of these have paid out in less than a year. Though they’ll certainly lighten up on drilling if they only see spotty results. As you know results to date indicate pockets of oil rather than an even distribution. Some of their wells will never pay out so they’ll certainly back off if they begin to only hit small producers & dry holes. Which is why I’d encourage fence sitters to get their minerals leased sooner later than later.
The horizontal Red River well efforts appear to be an experiment. The first one was a bust (141-105, sec 15-10). Then they recently drilled two more (141-104, sec 24 and in sec 21). I have no idea how they panned out. Whiting must believe their H well success in the Bakken could be replicated on these Red River wells. So I guess these wells are worth the additional cost just to determine what is possible. If they fail then they will revert to strictly verticals which cost less than half of the H wells.
I’m glad to hear Empire is actively leasing in Slope Co. It indicates they suspect the Red River potential may be wide spread. I’d guess the horizontal vs vertical question will be answered in Golden Valley county then proceed with any drilling in Slope accordingly. It would be wonderful if this Golden Valley drilling eventually extended all the way down to the Cedar Creek & Cedar Hills fields. At least that is my personal hope. We need to be realistic yet can still dream big!
anyone know what the outcome of
#26008 - WHITING OIL AND GAS CORPORATION, MCDANOLD 33-11, NWSE 11-142N-105W,
GOLDEN VALLEY CO. is?
Thanks,
Allan
My family owns 40 nma in 140-104-12 and has just been approached about a potential lease. I see there is a new “confidential” status well by Whiting about 3 miles away, which is probably what triggered this inquiry.
Does anyone have a feel for what others are getting for bonus and royalty?
Is anyone else in the area getting similar inquiries?
Thanks.
We have been approached by five companies just recently. So it will be interesting on how the offers work out.
We were contacted in August regarding Township 141 North, Range 105 West Section 19 and Section 30. We were offered $200 acre for a 4 year lease and 1/16 royalty. We did counter, they declined and that was the end of the communication. Our lease with Petro Hunt expired in September so we’ll see if any other offers pop up.
What company approached you? You want to be the last one in your area leased to get the highest bonus/royalty.