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Montana · Williston Basin · Bakken

Sell Mineral Rights
in Richland County,
Montana.

Richland County is the largest oil-producing county in Montana and the western edge of the Bakken core. If you own mineral rights here, you are sitting on the productive heart of the Montana side of the Williston Basin. We are happy to help you understand what you have.

#1
In Montana Oil
largest producing county
~10,000ft
Bakken Depth
typical TVD
10,000ft
Standard Lateral
two mile horizontals
Sidney
County Seat
regional service hub
1,280ac
Standard DSU
2 section spacing
01 The Basin

The Montana Bakken,
where the play meets the state line.

The Williston Basin spans parts of North Dakota, Montana, and Saskatchewan. The most productive part of the basin sits on the North Dakota side, but the same rock continues west across the state line, and Richland County captures the slice of that play that has consistently delivered the best results in Montana.

Richland County has been the largest oil producer in Montana for years, accounting for the bulk of state oil production by itself. The county sits along the Yellowstone River where it meets the Missouri, with Sidney serving as the county seat and the regional center for oilfield activity. Drilling intensity in Richland is lower than across the line in McKenzie or Williams counties, but the play is the same play, and the operators are largely the same operators.

Montana's oil business is concentrated in a handful of counties along the Williston Basin, and Richland is the one at the top of that list.

If you are reading this, you probably own a piece of that. Maybe it came through a will, a letter showed up in the mail with an offer to lease, or you are trying to make sense of a royalty statement that started arriving years ago. This page is for you. Below we walk through the rock, who is drilling, where in the county your minerals sit, what shapes value, and how the regulatory side actually works in Montana.

Starting point

Have minerals in Richland County? Send us what you have and we will take a look.

Send Us the Details →
02 The Rock

Two formations. One spacing unit.
Stacked pay across the column.

Richland County's productive geology is anchored by the same two unconventional reservoirs that drive the rest of the Bakken: the Middle Bakken and the Three Forks. They sit on top of each other and are commonly developed with multiple wells per 1,280-acre spacing unit. The same acre of mineral rights can produce royalty income from several wells over time.

Middle Bakkensiltstone and dolomite

The Middle Bakken is the original Bakken target and remains the workhorse formation across the basin, including in Richland County. It sits between the Upper and Lower Bakken shales, which act as the source rock that charges the entire petroleum system. On the Montana side, the Middle Bakken thins and shallows compared to the deepest part of the basin in North Dakota, but it remains the primary commercial target.

For mineral owners, the Middle Bakken is typically the first formation drilled when a spacing unit is developed. A standard development pattern often includes multiple Middle Bakken wells per 1,280-acre unit, with completion designs that have evolved significantly over the past decade.

Depth Range
9,000 to 10,500 ft
Type
Siltstone and dolomite
Typical Lateral
10,000 ft
Lead Operators
Continental, Chord, Kraken
Three Forksmultiple benches

Below the Bakken sits the Three Forks formation, a separate carbonate-and-shale interval that has emerged as a major target in its own right across the Williston Basin. The Three Forks contains multiple distinct benches, often referred to as Bench 1 through Bench 4 from top to bottom. In Richland County, development has focused primarily on the upper benches, which are the most consistently productive on the Montana side.

For Richland County mineral owners, the Three Forks is the reason a single spacing unit can support several wells over the life of development. Each well is a separate revenue stream tied to the same underlying minerals.

Depth Range
10,000 to 11,000 ft
Type
Carbonate and shale
Active Benches
Bench 1 primarily
Common Pairing
Stacked with Bakken
Legacy Conventionalolder targets

Before the modern Bakken horizontal era, parts of Richland County saw conventional development in shallower formations, including the Madison and other older intervals. Many older vertical wells in the county target these horizons, and some legacy royalty interests in Richland still receive income from conventional production rather than Bakken horizontals.

The practical implication for mineral owners is that an older royalty stub in Richland County may reflect either a legacy conventional well, a modern horizontal Bakken well, or both. Understanding which is which is part of the analysis when valuing a position.

Depth Range
Varies, generally shallower
Type
Conventional carbonate
Status
Mature, low decline
Where Active
Older fields
03 The Operators

Who is drilling on your
Richland County minerals.

Richland County's operator landscape consolidated meaningfully through the 2020 to 2024 period as several public Bakken operators went private, merged, or were acquired. The operators below cover the bulk of current drilling and royalty activity, though smaller private operators hold pieces of the county and a handful of legacy operators continue to manage older conventional wells.

i.
Continental Resources
Continental is the largest oil producer in the broader Bakken and one of the most active operators on the Montana side of the play. Founder Harold Hamm took the company private in late 2022. Continental holds substantial acreage in Richland and surrounding Montana counties, and has historically been one of the consistent drillers of horizontal Bakken and Three Forks wells in the area. Mineral owners receiving Continental royalties have less public visibility into development plans since the privatization, but the company remains active and is generally considered a stable operator.
Private · Largest in Bakken
Major MT Position
ii.
Chord Energy
Chord Energy was formed by the 2022 merger of Oasis Petroleum and Whiting Petroleum, then expanded further by acquiring Enerplus in 2024. The combined company is one of the largest pure-play Bakken operators and inherited substantial Montana acreage from the Oasis and Whiting legacy positions. Chord is active in Richland County and is one of the most visible operators when it comes to permits and recent drilling on the Montana side.
Public · Pure-play Bakken
Major MT Position
iii.
Kraken Resources
Kraken Resources is a private operator focused on the Williston Basin with a meaningful Montana footprint. Private operators like Kraken have been increasingly active on the Montana side as the larger publics have concentrated their core drilling programs in North Dakota. Kraken has been one of the more steady drillers in Richland and surrounding counties in recent years.
Private · Pure-play Bakken
Active in Richland
iv.
Denbury / ExxonMobil (legacy CO2)
Denbury Resources, acquired by ExxonMobil in 2023, has historically operated CO2 enhanced oil recovery projects in eastern Montana, including the Cedar Creek Anticline that runs through southern Richland and adjacent counties. These are conventional projects rather than Bakken horizontals, but they generate meaningful royalty income for owners on the structures involved. The Exxon transition has not changed the day-to-day operation materially for most owners.
Major · Conventional EOR
Legacy Conventional
v.
Private Operators & Long Tail
Richland County has a long tail of smaller operators including various private companies that picked up positions through divestitures from the larger publics. Some of these operators are highly active in specific townships even though they hold smaller overall positions. Mineral owners may also encounter older operators of record on legacy wells whose interests have changed hands several times.
Mixed · Multiple operators
Many Smaller Positions
See a familiar name?

We know how these operators develop in Richland County. Happy to give you context on yours.

Ask About Your Operator →
04 The Geography

Not all Richland County
minerals are built the same.

Richland County covers roughly 2,100 square miles of eastern Montana, with the Yellowstone River cutting through the southern portion of the county on its way to join the Missouri. The Bakken core thins as you move west across the county, and where in the county your minerals sit shapes everything from operator activity to remaining drilling inventory.

Sidney Area
T22N-T24N R57E-R59E
Sidney is the county seat and the operational center of Richland County's oil business. The area immediately around Sidney has seen consistent Bakken horizontal development, particularly toward the North Dakota state line. Spacing units in this area generally have multiple Middle Bakken and Three Forks wells already drilled, with remaining inventory still to come.
Activity: High Development: Mature, infill
Fairview / ND Border
T22N-T26N R58E-R60E
The Fairview area sits on the North Dakota state line and captures the western edge of the Bakken core. This is generally the most productive part of Richland County, with operators commonly drilling laterals that cross or parallel the state line. Activity here remains some of the most consistent in Montana.
Activity: Highest in MT Development: Active
Northern Richland
T25N-T27N R55E-R59E
The northern part of the county runs toward the Roosevelt County line and the Missouri River corridor. Bakken activity continues here but generally at lower intensity than in the Sidney and Fairview areas. Some sections have producing wells, others remain undrilled with future development potential depending on operator priorities and commodity prices.
Activity: Moderate Development: Selective
Yellowstone River Corridor
T20N-T23N R55E-R59E
The Yellowstone River cuts through southern Richland County. Surface considerations along the river corridor can affect drilling locations, and some sections see operators drill from offsetting surface locations to reach the target acreage. The minerals themselves remain developable, but development requires a bit more navigation than open prairie.
Activity: Moderate Development: Surface-sensitive
Cedar Creek Anticline
T18N-T22N R55E-R57E
The Cedar Creek Anticline is a long-running conventional structure that runs through southern Richland and into adjacent counties. CO2 enhanced oil recovery has been active on parts of this trend for decades. Mineral owners on the structure may be receiving conventional royalties rather than Bakken royalties, and the valuation logic is different.
Activity: Conventional Development: EOR / mature
Western Edge
T20N-T26N R52E-R55E
The western part of Richland transitions toward Dawson and McCone counties, where the Bakken thins and becomes less consistently productive. Wells here are generally less productive than the eastern part of the county, and activity is more selective. Some legacy conventional production exists in older fields scattered through the area.
Activity: Low Development: Limited
05 Your Valuation

What your Richland County
mineral rights are worth.

There is no universal formula. Valuation in Richland County is shaped by current production, future drilling inventory, operator quality, lease terms, and commodity prices. Richland is the most productive oil county in Montana, but value still varies meaningfully from section to section depending on how the Bakken core thins moving west. What follows are the four scenarios we see most often.

01
Producing Minerals with Active Royalty Income
Valued on cash flow plus remaining inventory
If your Richland County minerals are actively producing and you receive monthly royalty checks, valuation typically starts with the trailing twelve months of royalty income. A buyer applies a multiple based on expected remaining well life, future drilling potential on the spacing unit, and commodity outlook. Sections near the North Dakota border tend to carry stronger multiples than sections in the western part of the county where the play thins.
What shapes the number: well vintage and remaining productive life, how many additional Middle Bakken or Three Forks locations remain undrilled on your spacing unit, your royalty rate, the operator quality, and whether your lease permits cost deductions for transportation and processing.
02
Unleased Minerals in Active Development
Valued on drilling proximity and future potential
Unleased Richland County minerals, particularly in the Sidney and Fairview areas, are valued on expected development timing and operator activity within a few miles. Buyers look at recent permits, operator acreage positions, and the trajectory of drilling within a township. Unleased minerals also carry optionality because the buyer can negotiate lease terms directly with the operator.
What shapes the number: nearby permit activity, the operator's recent drilling pace in your township, formation quality beneath your specific section, comparable lease bonuses paid on surrounding tracts, and whether the section is likely to be force pooled.
03
Small Fractional Interests & Inherited Positions
Often overlooked, often worth more than expected
Many Richland County mineral owners hold small fractional interests inherited across multiple generations, often spread across heirs in different states. These positions sometimes get ignored by larger buyers because they are administratively cumbersome. We pay them the same attention as larger interests and we are comfortable doing the title research on fractional chains, including positions held by descendants of original homestead patentees from the early 1900s.
What shapes the number: net mineral acre count, royalty rate if leased, producing status, operator quality, remaining drilling inventory on the spacing unit, and whether other heirs holding the same chain are also ready to move.
04
Legacy Conventional Royalties
Valued on remaining decline plus EOR upside
Some Richland County mineral owners receive royalties from older conventional wells, often on the Cedar Creek Anticline or in scattered older fields. These positions are valued differently than Bakken horizontal positions. Conventional wells generally have lower decline rates but more limited future drilling potential. CO2 enhanced oil recovery projects can extend the productive life meaningfully and stabilize royalty income for years.
What shapes the number: current production rates, decline trends, whether the field is under enhanced oil recovery, the operator's investment in the project, and your specific royalty terms and any cost-bearing language in the lease.
Your specific situation

We would rather look at real facts than speak in generalities. Send us what you have.

Request an Analysis →
06 The Regulatory Landscape

Montana rules,
Bakken realities.

Richland County operates under the Montana oil and gas regime, administered primarily by the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation. Even though the Bakken is the same play that runs across the state line, the regulatory process in Montana differs from North Dakota in procedural detail, and mineral owners benefit from understanding those differences.

The MBOGC and how forced pooling works

The Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation regulates oil and gas activity on state and private minerals across Montana, including Richland County. The Board permits wells, sets spacing, conducts public hearings on pooling and unitization applications, and maintains the public well database. Montana allows compulsory pooling of unleased minerals into spacing units when an operator establishes that pooling is appropriate, which is the standard framework used to develop Bakken acreage in Richland County.

Standard 1,280 acre DSU pattern

Modern Bakken development in Richland County typically uses 1,280-acre drilling and spacing units, which is two adjacent sections combined. This matches the design of two-mile horizontal laterals and is consistent with the approach used across the basin. Older conventional development in the county follows different spacing patterns, often based on smaller historical units.

The BLM, federal minerals, and the Fort Peck reservation

Richland County has federal mineral acreage administered by the BLM Miles City Field Office. The Fort Peck Indian Reservation lies just to the north and into Roosevelt County, with parts of the reservation extending into northern Richland. Mineral interests on tribal trust land are administered through the Bureau of Indian Affairs and have a different leasing process than state or private minerals. If your minerals are on or near the reservation, the analysis is more involved than for fee minerals.

Montana tax considerations

Montana imposes oil and gas production taxes that differ from North Dakota's. Production tax rates and incentive structures have changed over time, and the net effect on royalty checks depends on the well's vintage, the operator's elections, and current tax rules. Mineral owners typically see this reflected in their royalty statements as deductions or net pricing rather than line items, but the difference is real and worth understanding when comparing positions across the state line.

07 Questions We Hear Often

The real questions
mineral owners ask.

We have been through these conversations hundreds of times. Below are honest answers to the things people actually want to know.

01
How much are mineral rights worth in Richland County, Montana?
Values in Richland County depend on where in the county you own, whether your minerals are leased or producing, who the operator is, and how much remaining drilling inventory exists on your spacing unit. Richland is the most productive oil county in Montana and sits on the Bakken core that crosses the state line, which generally supports stronger valuations than other Montana counties. The same mineral interest can have meaningfully different value from one section to the next. The only way to know what your specific minerals are worth is to look at the actual facts. We are happy to do that for you, at no cost and with no obligation to sell.
02
How is the Montana Bakken different from the North Dakota Bakken?
The same rock continues across the state line, but the productive sweet spot tilts toward North Dakota. Richland County captures the part of the play closest to that core, which is why Montana's oil production is concentrated here. Drilling intensity is generally lower than in McKenzie or Williams counties across the line, but the operators are largely the same companies and the development patterns are similar. The regulatory regime is different. Montana minerals are regulated by the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation rather than the NDIC.
03
I inherited mineral rights in Richland County but I do not have any documents. What do I do?
This is one of the more common situations we see. Start by gathering anything you do have: old letters from operators, tax statements, probate records, royalty stubs, division orders. The Richland County Clerk and Recorder's office in Sidney keeps deed records, and the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation maintains a public database of wells, operators, and production. We can usually identify what someone owns with just a name and a rough idea of where the minerals are located, because Montana mineral records are publicly accessible when you know where to look.
04
Should I sell my Richland County mineral rights now or hold them?
That depends on your situation. People who hold typically want long-term royalty income, do not need cash for other priorities, and are comfortable with commodity price volatility. People who sell typically want to convert future uncertain income into certain present value, simplify their estate, or use the capital for something else. Neither is wrong. The Bakken is a mature play with predictable behavior, which makes both holding and selling defensible strategies depending on your goals. We can help you think through the tradeoffs without pressure to pick a side.
05
What is the difference between an offer to lease and an offer to buy my minerals?
Leasing gives an operator the right to develop your minerals for a period of time, typically three to five years, with extension if production is established. In exchange you receive a bonus payment per net mineral acre and a royalty percentage on any production. You still own the minerals. Buying transfers ownership entirely, in exchange for a lump sum. After a sale, you no longer own the minerals and you receive no future royalties. Both have their place. Buying typically delivers more value up front, leasing preserves long-term upside.
06
How does forced pooling work in Montana?
Montana allows compulsory pooling through the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation, similar in spirit to the process in North Dakota but procedurally different. If an operator wants to drill a spacing unit that includes unleased minerals, they can apply to have those interests pooled into the unit. Owners typically have three options: negotiate a voluntary lease before the hearing, participate as a working interest owner (rarely the right move for passive owners because you take on a share of well costs), or accept the default terms in the pooling order. Most owners benefit from negotiating a lease.
07
Are there federal or tribal minerals in Richland County?
Yes, there is federal mineral acreage administered by the BLM Miles City Field Office, and the Fort Peck Indian Reservation lies just to the north and east in Roosevelt and Richland counties along the Missouri River corridor. Mineral interests held in trust for the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes or for individual tribal members are administered through the Bureau of Indian Affairs rather than the state. If your minerals are fee minerals adjacent to the reservation, the analysis is similar to other Richland minerals. If they are tribal trust minerals, additional considerations apply.
08
Can I sell mineral rights I inherited if other family members inherited the same minerals?
Yes, you can sell your undivided fractional interest without needing the other heirs to participate. This is common in Richland County, where many interests have been subdivided across generations of heirs, often spread across multiple states. A good buyer will work with your specific interest, not require you to round up cousins. We do this all the time.
09
How does the sale process actually work?
Step one, we do the research. You send us what you have, we pull Montana Board of Oil and Gas and BLM records, we check operator activity in the spacing unit, and we build an analysis. Step two, we send you a written summary with our reasoning. Step three, if you want to proceed, we handle the mineral deed preparation, you sign at a notary, and funds are wired at close. We move on your timeline, whether that is quick or deliberate. There is no charge for the research and no obligation to sell.
10
Why should I sell to Timberline Minerals specifically?
We are a family-owned office with roots in Texas and Montana. We work across the primary US basins but we spend most of our time in the Powder River Basin, the DJ Basin, and the Williston Basin. Montana is home territory for us. We know Richland County geology, the operators working here, and how the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation handles things. We work with mineral interests of all sizes. Our process is straightforward: we research the tract, share what we find, and make an offer. The decision to sell is yours, and we are happy to help you understand what you have either way.

Find out what your
Richland County minerals
are actually worth.

Send us what you have, or what you think you have. We will pull MBOGC and BLM records, check operator activity in your section, and put together a plain-English summary with our reasoning laid out. If it makes sense to go further, we move on your timeline. If not, you have a free breakdown you can take anywhere.

Request a Valuation (512) 626-7267
Free · No Obligation · Your Timeline
08 Keep Reading

More for Richland County
mineral owners.

Guide · 6 min read
I inherited mineral rights. What now?
A walkthrough of the first few things to look at, whether you just found out or have been sitting on it for years.
Read the guide  →
Guide · 6 min read
What is a pooling order?
If you received a pooling notice, here is what it actually means, what your options are, and how owners typically respond.
Read the guide  →
Guide · 8 min read
How mineral rights are valued
The core inputs that go into a mineral valuation. Production, inventory, operator, lease terms, and what each one actually means in practice.
Read the guide  →
Market Pulse

Bakken status, April 2026

The Bakken produced approximately 1.18 million barrels per day of crude oil in March 2026, the most recent month with confirmed data, roughly flat against February and modestly below year-ago levels. Per-rig productivity continues to improve even as the active rig count has trended lower over the past twelve months. For McKenzie, Dunn, and Mountrail mineral owners, the practical takeaway is sustained operator focus on infill drilling within the most productive Three Forks and Middle Bakken intervals rather than aggressive expansion onto the play margins.

12 month oil production trend
1,180
thousand barrels per day
Latest month
+5(+0.4%)
thousand barrels per day
Month over month
-10(-0.8%)
thousand barrels per day
Year over year
Last updated April 2026. Source: US Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook (April 2026).