Hi, I’m new to this forum and the industry so please forgive me if I misspeak or am asking a question that has already been answered. (I did a search and didn’t seen anything more recent than 2019.)
Is there any new/planned activity in Golden Valley County, North Dakota? If so, what kind? Thank you.
We can give a better answer if you give the township and range. The last new permit in any township in the county was mid 2017.
That being said, there will most likely be a huge slowdown in any activity for the next few months given the current economic and health situation.
Hi Eileen,
Looks like you and I are the only Golden Valley mineral rights holders left up here!
I started on this forum 8 or 9 years and it was abuzz with all the action in the Bakken Shale overall, with some decent focus on GV. The fellow members were/are extremely helpful and I wouldn’t have been able to learn the ropes without them.
As for the past 2 years, the activity and oil production has seemed to disappear.
It was a seller’s market, not anymore. My leased rights 6 years ago at a decent per acre and royalty are pretty much worthless now.
I am not sure when things will, if ever, turn back up to the frenzy it once was.
Contacting an energy company or landman may get you more answers.
If you gain any more insight, please share, city will do the same.
Good luck and stay safe! Brian Burns
Thanks for the quick reply and info! I will have to look up the township and range - at least I know what that means. I suppose this will be more relevant for discussion after this crisis is over. Stay safe!
Brian, I actually am a trustee for a Trust that has interest in a lease up there. I’m trying to learn about the area and how all this works and what I should or shouldn’t be doing.
Why has the activity and oil production disappeared? Is it due to the oil prices or what professionals think are left in the reserves? I wouldn’t think mineral rights would ever be worthless. Unless you mean right now because right now no one is producing due to low oil prices. Is that the case?
I know my questions are naive so think you, in advance, for tolerating them. 
I’ll keep researching and if I find out anything useful, I’ll be happy to post it here. Thanks and stay safe, too! Eileen
I’m also wondering what happened to this area. We did sign a lease several years ago but nothing ever came of it. I was thinking some it might be political and thought with Trump it might open up the drilling again. I think it all depends on who is in office as to where this will go. I am not trying to be political, that is just my opinion.
Eileen,
By worthless I just meant no demand currently.
I believe the over-production and resulting price drop has cooled things. There are far more qualified people on here that can give you a better answer. There are so few wells anymore, drilling is slight at best according to the maps.
I will forward you some old info if you need help negotiating lease $, term and royalty. There are several important details to learn with the leasing process, coupled with the actual lessor (landman or energy company), everyone wants their piece.
More to come…
We are in an unprecedented time at the moment. The shale plays have sweet spots and not-so-sweet spots. The breakeven points for a company to make money depend upon many factors-cost of drilling, pipeline takeaway capacity, oil and gas prices, etc. At $25 oil, drilling is not cost effective except in a very few places in the country. We are going to see a drastic slowdown for a while. Has to do with a decrease in demand over COVID-19 and the Russia-Saudi oversupply situation that will take months or years to readjust.
In the meantime, it is a great time to learn about the business. The Mineral Help tab above is helpful. There are several good books about the oil business designed for mineral owners. “Look before you Lease” by Stafford is good, “Money in the Ground” are two of my favorites.
Also, In ND, you must claim your mineral rights every 20 years or they can revert to the mineral owner. Now would be a good time to catch up on any claims and get them filed.
Thank you Brian and Martha. This is a great resource! I will stay tuned and continue researching to learn. Have a great day!
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