I may shortly need to negotiate the leasing of Bakken mineral rights in Divide County, ND. I am looking for the current trend of terms. Thanks for any help.
You need to give a section, township and range. Divide county will have a range of prices depending upon location.
Section 3, Township 161 North, Range 102 West.
It appears that KODA Resources is the company taking leases. They have only filed Memorandum of Leases, so very little information is public. Most of the leases are for five years. Maybe someone on the forum can share what their offers have been.
KODA is running a rig in the next township south. Drilling two-four horizontal wells per section.
Yes, KODA is whom is interested in the mineral rights. The started out with 4 or 5 sections in a row, east to west. They drilled to fully drain the entirety of the sections, then moved north to the next tier of sections. They have now looking to drill out the top row of sections in the township. Thanks for the help.
I have 1/4 ownership in 160 acres in Divide County (Township 160N, Section 21, Range 103W). KODA has attempted to contact me about leasing, and I’ll be calling them back today. The last time I leased it was in 2011. Each of the four owners received $12K bonus on a 5-year lease at 17% royalties. I’d rather go with a 3 year lease this time and 12K is the equivalent of $16,700 in today’s world. We didn’t get any further bonuses on the lease and no wells were ever drilled. Would these be fair terms for a new lease, or should we ask for more bonus or a yearly bonus after that as I see some owners do? Are any other companies, like Continental drilling in Divide Co. now and, if so, should we contact them & see if they’re interested in making an offer? Any help appreciated! Sara
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The fact that your last lease was 2011 should be a bit of a tell on demand. In 2011, oil was $100 a barrel and people were pretty delusional in hindsight.
I personally think you should not get your hopes up for a five figure lease bonus. What they offer you is going to be your starting point, not a 2011 lease. Try to get a 20%+ royalty rate and ask for more bonus then they offer you. That’s about it.
A bit about myself, I started out as a geologist and then went into data processing. My current work gives me access to up-to-date data on wells and production in North Dakota and other producing states. This allowed be to do a bit of a deep dive into what is happening around your parcel.
Where you are located, is along the northwest border of where the intense development of the Bakken has occurred. Koda is trying to push that border to the west. In your township, the only active well is Koda’s in the northeast corner of the township. No other wells are close to your parcel. I have a subscription to the North Dakota county recorders website. It shows that Koda is the only company, so far, that has obtained leases in your section. Overall in the entire township, Koda is the biggest player. There are a handful of other companies with leases, but they all are small. I doubt that anyone other than Koda will be in a position to actually drill a well. The documents I found on NDRIN do not give the terms of the leases. But I did come across a website that provides a list of terms of recent leases. It is rather expensive to subscribe to. But for $49.95 they will sell the report for a single county. This site is “U. S. Lease Price Report”. I hope this helps.
Thanks so much for this info-very helpful. Koda has made us a reasonable offer that we’re seriously considering, and things seem to be progressing. I’ll check that website out that you’ve mentioned. Thanks, again. Sara
The “steamroller across the country” approach that Koda is taking in their development scheme requires that they lease all of the mineral right for whole sections. They have to get your rights. So you might be able to get a bit more than their first offer.
Really appreciate the info. Does $475 an acre bonus & around 17% royalties sound pretty fair in today’s world to you (& anyone else who wants to jump in here)? Thanks, Sara
Knowing what is a good price is above my pay grade. Hopefully someone else will have better experience to share.
Sara, you may want to consider doing a little online research. You can access Divide Co records at this url Login for a $30/mo fee. What I have done successfully in the past is locate other owners through the county records and contact them for information. Try to stay as close to your property as possible for relevant information. The key is share information with them if you want them to do the same. Good luck.
Thank you so much. I’ll look into that but in the meantime, I’ve received an inquiry (voicemail) from another exploration company, so I’ll be looking into their offer after the holiday. Sara
Hi Sara,
Negotiating with multiple companies will get you the best deal. Good luck.
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Back in 2014, I was communicating with a man named R W Kennedy regarding my property and oil concerns. If he’s still active in this field, I’d like to talk with him if anyone knows who he is or where I might find him. Any help much appreciated. Sara
No in 1985 they got 500 acre bonuses 20% royalties and I’d say at least 1000.00
Is that US Lease Price Report? (That doesn’t seem very helpful).