Sell mineral rights in the Bakken

Where the Bakken lies and which counties matter

The Bakken and Three Forks formations sit inside the Williston Basin, which extends across North Dakota and Montana and into Canada (USGS, 2021). On the North Dakota side, the EIA's Bakken region covers 15 counties, including McKenzie, Williams, Mountrail, Dunn, Divide, Burke, Stark and Billings (EIA, 2024). The North Dakota Industrial Commission's Oil and Gas Division permits wells and publishes well files and monthly production by county.

In Montana, the play centers on Richland County, home to the Elm Coulee field. Richland County produced 16.2 million barrels of oil in 2024 and Roosevelt County 4.3 million, out of 26.7 million barrels for the whole state (Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation, 2024). The Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation issues drilling permits, keeps well and production data and sets spacing units.

More than 17,500 wells had been drilled into the Bakken and Three Forks by 2021, producing about 4 billion barrels of oil (USGS, 2021). Most mineral rights in the core counties are therefore already leased and held by production, so the question is how many more wells are coming.

What Bakken wells produce

Bakken wells produce light crude oil with associated natural gas. The Bakken region produced about 1.31 million barrels of oil per day and 3.49 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day in June 2024 (EIA, 2024). Across 2024 the region supplied 9% of US crude oil output, and its rig count averaged 34 (EIA, 2025).

The Bakken Formation has four units: the Pronghorn Member, a lower shale, a middle member and an upper shale (USGS, 2021). The shales are the source rock, and the middle member is the main horizontal target. Oil from the lower shale has also moved down into the Three Forks, so operators drill its upper interval as a second target under the same acreage.

Bakken wells produced about 1.2 thousand cubic feet of gas per barrel of oil in 2014; by 2024 that ratio had risen to 2.9, and gross gas output was up 186% while oil was up 14% (EIA, 2024). On a royalty statement for Bakken mineral rights, that shows up as gas and natural gas liquids lines growing next to the oil line.

Why mineral rights buyers compete in the Bakken

Buyers come to the Bakken for predictable wells and two targets in one unit. Operators drill long horizontal wells from multi-well pads, with Bakken and Three Forks wells side by side under one spacing unit. A buyer of Bakken mineral rights is paying for the undrilled Three Forks and infill wells as much as for the wells already flowing.

The second draw is the resource still in the ground: a mean 4.3 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil in the Bakken and Three Forks of North Dakota and Montana (USGS, 2021). The third is public data: permits, well files and production are published, so a buyer can model your mineral rights before calling you. Many independent buyers work the same counties, and that competition is what you want on your side.

What Bakken mineral rights are worth

Producing Bakken mineral rights are usually priced as a multiple of recent monthly royalty income. Buyers adjust that multiple for the wells' decline rate, how many Three Forks and infill locations remain in the unit, and whether new permits have been filed. A unit with a fresh pad under construction draws stronger offers than one drilled out years ago.

Non-producing Bakken acreage is priced per net mineral acre. Buyers weigh distance to active rigs, whether the mineral rights are leased and at what royalty rate, and which county they sit in. Mineral rights in McKenzie County are not priced like acreage on the basin's edge, and Montana acreage outside Richland and Roosevelt counties draws far less interest.

Buyers check everything before they bid. They pull well files, permits and production from the North Dakota Industrial Commission's Oil and Gas Division or the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation, read county deed records, and check your lease and division orders. Having those ready speeds up every offer on your mineral rights. For a large or inherited interest, talk to an oil and gas attorney before you sign.

How to sell Bakken mineral rights

Fill in the short form with your county, your interest type and whether your mineral rights are producing. We send your request to up to three independent buyers who work that county. Each buyer prices your mineral rights separately, and you compare the offers side by side.

The decision stays with you. Accept the strongest offer, counter it, or keep your mineral rights if none of the offers is right. The service is free for owners; buyers pay us for the introduction. We never buy minerals, so there is no house bid to push you toward. When you are ready to sell mineral rights, competing bids are the fastest way to learn what the market will pay.

How to get offers for Bakken mineral rights

Tell us the state and county and what you own. We send your request to up to 3 mineral rights buyers who purchase in that part of the Bakken. They review the public records and contact you with offers, and you choose whether to sell, sell part, or keep.

Bakken mineral rights questions

Last reviewed October 13, 2026. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Facts come from the official sources listed above; confirm anything that matters to your sale with a qualified professional.