Mineral rights
in Montana.

Montana's oil and gas activity is concentrated in the eastern third of the state, where the Williston Basin (and its famous Bakken play) extends westward from North Dakota. Richland, Roosevelt, and Sheridan counties have seen meaningful Bakken development, though never at the intensity of the play's North Dakota core.

South of the Bakken, the Cedar Creek Anticline runs through Fallon and Wibaux counties, producing from shallower conventional reservoirs at a steady, long-standing pace. Further west, smaller plays exist in the Powder River Basin of southeastern Montana and the Big Horn Basin, but activity in both is limited.

For Montana mineral owners, inherited rights often trace back several generations to ranching and homesteading families. Ownership records can be complex, especially for split estates where the surface has been sold away but the minerals remain in the family.

Montana's oil and gas production is driven by three distinct basins, with the Williston accounting for the majority of modern activity.

A handful of eastern Montana counties account for most oil and gas activity in the state. If your minerals are in one of these, we can almost certainly help you understand what you have.

Montana's operator list reflects both Bakken-focused independents and long-standing conventional operators. Many producing wells in the state are operated by smaller companies that are less familiar to mineral owners in other basins.

Montana's oil and gas regulatory framework is neither as permissive as Wyoming's nor as involved as Colorado's. The state takes a balanced approach that tends to favor development while preserving meaningful public input on permitting decisions.