Sell Mineral Rights in North Dakota
Run the decline curve first, then talk about a number. That's the order we do it in on every Bakken package.
The Bakken and Three Forks play across McKenzie, Mountrail, Dunn, and Williams counties is now a mature basin, not a new one. The bulk of the wells our desk evaluates were drilled somewhere between 2010 and 2018, which means most North Dakota mineral interests we see today are producing (PDP) assets several years into their decline curve rather than fresh flush production. That changes the math entirely.
A large share of North Dakota mineral owners live somewhere else entirely, having inherited an interest from a relative who homesteaded or ranched in the Williston Basin decades before anyone drilled a horizontal well there. If you're managing this from out of state, off a division order that shows up once a month with numbers that don't mean much on their own, our job is to translate that into a real read on where the asset actually sits.
Reading the Decline Curve, Not the Peak Month
A Bakken well's first twelve months look dramatically different from its fifth or eighth year. Initial production rates that made headlines when the well was drilled tell you almost nothing about what a mineral owner should expect today. We pull monthly production history from the North Dakota Industrial Commission's records and model where the well sits on its decline curve now, not where it started.
This matters most on wells drilled in the early core-development years, roughly 2010 through 2014, which are now well into their flatter, later-life production. Owners sometimes assume a well is 'done' because monthly volumes look small next to what they remember from years ago, when in reality it's settled into a long, low, still-payable tail.
PDP Math on Mature Packages
For a producing (PDP) interest, our underwriting comes down to remaining reserves, the well's current decline rate, and how many years of payable production are realistically left at current pricing. We're not pricing hope on a mature Bakken package, we're pricing a cash flow stream with a shape we can actually model from real data.
Where a unit still has undrilled locations, meaning acreage held by production from one zone while the Three Forks or a second Bakken bench remains untested, that upside gets valued separately from the existing PDP stream rather than blended into one number that overstates either piece.
Underwriting Nonresident-Owned Packages
A meaningful share of the North Dakota interests we evaluate belong to owners who've never set foot in McKenzie or Mountrail County. That's normal, not a red flag, but it does mean the paperwork trail matters more. Division orders, prior assignments, and probate records for out-of-state owners sometimes have gaps that a local landman would catch faster than a distant heir managing the file from a shoebox of mailed statements.
We handle the title and production research on our end so a nonresident owner doesn't need to make a trip to the county courthouse in Watford City or Stanley to get a straight answer about what they hold.
Where Development Has Been Densest
McKenzie County, seated in Watford City, has seen the heaviest development in the play, followed closely by Mountrail County around Stanley and Dunn County near Manning. Williams County, home to Williston, was an early core area and now carries some of the most mature production in the basin.
Operators including Continental Resources, Hess, Chord Energy, and Slawson have consolidated acreage across these counties over the years through mergers and swaps, so the operator listed on your original lease may not be the one operating the well today. We confirm current operator and unit status before quoting anything.
Questions Owners Ask the Acquisition Desk
My North Dakota royalty checks are smaller than they used to be. Is the well done?
Usually not. Bakken wells settle into a long, low-decline tail after the first few years, and smaller checks often just reflect that later stage rather than the well reaching its end. We model the actual decline curve rather than assume.
I live out of state and manage this interest by mail. Does that complicate a sale?
No, this is common. We handle the courthouse-level title and production research so you don't need to travel to McKenzie or Mountrail County. We just need copies of your division orders and any assignment or probate documents you have.
How do you value an interest where only one bench has been drilled?
We price the existing PDP stream off its current decline rate, then value any undrilled Bakken or Three Forks bench in the same unit separately, since blending the two into one number tends to either overstate the tired production or undervalue the real upside.
The operator on my lease isn't the one shown on my current statement. What happened?
Operator consolidation has been common in the Bakken through mergers and acreage swaps over the past several years. We confirm the current operator and unit configuration directly rather than relying on your original lease paperwork.
Is a producing North Dakota interest worth more than an undrilled one?
It depends on decline stage and remaining reserves more than producing status alone. A tired, late-stage PDP well can carry less remaining value than a strong undrilled location in an actively developing unit, which is why we model both on their own terms.
Want a range built from your statements, acreage, lease, activity, and ownership records?
Send the county and state, owner name, operator or payor, recent statement, deed reference, lease, division order, probate record, or written offer you have.