Last updated October 25, 2026. Dates come from the agency pages listed under Sources and can change.
Upcoming sales
Montana-Dakotas Q4 2026 oil and gas lease sale
- Agency
- BLM
- Date
- Oct. 27, 2026
- Size
- 20 parcels, 3,387.53 acres
- Status
- Online sale. BLM says results post Oct. 27 or 28.
BLM's August press release rounds the size to 3,388 acres. The protest period ran Aug. 25 to Sept. 24, 2026, and BLM issued Amendment No. 1 on Oct. 13 to correct stipulation language on four parcels. The regional lease sales page showed Oct. 20 when we looked; the press release and the ePlanning project page both say Oct. 27, so we use Oct. 27.[1], [2], [3]
Montana-Dakotas Q1 2027 oil and gas lease sale
- Agency
- BLM
- Date
- Feb. 23, 2027 (planned)
- Size
- 60 parcels, 18,565.44 acres (current count)
- Status
- In planning. Public scoping ended Sept. 24, 2026. The comment period on the environmental assessment runs Oct. 27 to Nov. 27, 2026, and BLM lists the sale notice and a 30-day protest period for Dec. 22, 2026.
BLM's project page says its dates are subject to change and lists results for Feb. 23 or 24, 2027. The August 25 press release called this a January 2027 sale, while the project page shows Feb. 23, 2027, so check both before you plan around it.[4], [5]
As of October 25, 2026, the Trust Lands minerals page lists no upcoming oil and gas lease auction.
Recent sales
Oil and gas lease auction, October 2026
- Agency
- ND Trust Lands
- Date
- Oct. 6 to 13, 2026
- Size
- 192 tracts, 19,219.03 net mineral acres
- Status
- Closed. The Trust Lands event page tells bidders to register with Efficient Markets, and the auction closed Oct. 13.
- Results
- About $10.2 million in bonus bids (our tally of net acres times bonus per acre across the 192 tracts in the results list).
The Trust Lands results list shows each tract's county, location, bidder, net acres and bonus per acre. It doesn't print totals, so the totals here are our own arithmetic.[6], [7]
Oil and gas lease auction, March 2026
- Agency
- ND Trust Lands
- Date
- March 2026
- Size
- 178 tracts, 16,441.54 net mineral acres
- Status
- Closed.
- Results
- About $10.9 million in bonus bids (our tally of net acres times bonus per acre across the 178 tracts in the results list).
Totals are our own arithmetic from the Trust Lands results list.[8]
How BLM sales work
The Bureau of Land Management sells federal oil and gas leases in Montana and the Dakotas through quarterly sales. BLM runs them online through Efficient Markets.[1] Each sale has a project page on BLM's ePlanning site. It lists a public scoping period on the proposed parcels, a comment period on the environmental assessment, a sale notice with a 30-day protest period, and then the sale and its results.[4]
BLM says leasing is only the first step in developing federal oil and gas. Before drilling can begin, an operator has to submit an application for permit to drill, which BLM reviews and posts for public review.[1]
How Trust Lands auctions work
The North Dakota Department of Trust Lands manages about 2.6 million acres of state-owned mineral interests, and its main income from them is oil and gas lease bonus payments and royalties.[9] It holds oil and gas lease auctions, and the event page for each one links the land unit list and tells bidders to register with Efficient Markets.[6] The Minerals Management page also has a link for nominating tracts for an upcoming auction.[9] After an auction closes, Trust Lands posts a results list by tract.[7]
Why we track these sales
A sale shows which tracts the agencies offered and what bidders paid in bonus. That's useful context for an owner in the county, and it's a sign of leasing activity. It isn't a valuation of anyone's minerals or royalties, and we don't treat one sale's bonus numbers as a price for another tract. Federal and state sales also cover federal and state minerals, not private ones. For a privately owned interest, the lease and the title are what count. Our FAQ and the royalty estimator are better places to start. The five county pages are Williams, McKenzie, Dunn, Mountrail and Divide.
Fort Union buys minerals and royalty interests, so we have a commercial interest in this subject. Nothing in this guide depends on selling to us, and each statement comes from a public source listed below. Our editorial standards explain how we source and review our pages. If you ever want to know what we'd pay for your interest, the offer page is the way to reach us.
Sources
Sources are listed in the order we first cite them. We checked each page on October 25, 2026.
- BLM announces October 2026 sale of oil and gas leases in Montana/Dakotas — Bureau of Land Management, August 25, 2026.
- Montana-Dakotas Q4 October 2026 Oil and Gas Lease Sale, project page (updated 10/23/2026) — BLM ePlanning, viewed October 25, 2026.
- Montana/Dakotas regional lease sales — Bureau of Land Management, viewed October 25, 2026.
- Montana-Dakotas Quarter 1 2027 Oil and Gas Lease Sale, project page (updated 10/08/2026) — BLM ePlanning, viewed October 25, 2026.
- BLM invites initial public feedback for January 2027 oil and gas lease sale in Montana/Dakotas — Bureau of Land Management, August 25, 2026.
- Upcoming Oil & Gas Lease Auction beginning October 6, 2026, and closing October 13, 2026 (event page) — North Dakota Department of Trust Lands, viewed October 25, 2026.
- October 2026 Auction Results (tract list) — North Dakota Department of Trust Lands, viewed October 25, 2026.
- March 2026 Auction Results (tract list) — North Dakota Department of Trust Lands, viewed October 25, 2026.
- Minerals Management — North Dakota Department of Trust Lands, viewed October 25, 2026.
This guide is general information from public sources. It isn't legal or tax advice. For your own lease, title or check, talk to a North Dakota attorney.