A recent sale of oil and gas leases on federal lands in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota brought in $3.9 million in bonus bids from 12 winning bidders.
The average bonus bid per acre was $74.80.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management said May 9 that 151 parcels offered in the three states received bids in the agency’s May 8 auction. All but two of the parcels are in Montana.
The highest single-parcel bid was $238,400 for a 596-acre parcel in Richland County, Montana, by Western Land Services Inc. of Sheridan, Wyo.
The highest per-acre bid, at $2,800, also came on a parcel in Richland County. The rural county along the North Dakota border is located in the heart of the booming Bakken formation oil fields.
The bid on the 41-acre tract was made by TDB Resources L.P. of Salt Lake City, Utah. The total price was $115,011.50.
Harvey Mineral Partners of Dallas, Texas won more than half of the total parcels.
The leases are good for ten years after they are issued.
The other nine winning bidders included:
A.R. Evans & Associates
Billings, Montana
Herco LLC
Billings, Montana
Magnum Producing L.P.
Corpus Christi, Texas
Marathon Oil Company
Houston, Texas
Murfin Drilling Company Inc.
Wichita, Kansas
Nisku Royalty
Billings, Montana
NovaNRG LLC
Sugar Land, Texas
Relentless Energy LLC
Sidney, Montana
Yates Petroleum Corporation
Artesia, New Mexico
—The Associated Press contributed to this story
