https://fortunionminerals.com/news Plain-English summaries of Bakken operator deals plus North Dakota and Montana regulatory news, with a note on what each means for mineral owners. en-us Fri, 16 Oct 2026 16:00:00 +0000 https://fortunionminerals.com/news#eor-phase-two-2026-10-16 https://fortunionminerals.com/news#eor-phase-two-2026-10-16 Fri, 16 Oct 2026 16:00:00 +0000 State officials, industry leaders and a U.S. senator used an October 16 press event to promote a second phase of the Bakken enhanced-oil-recovery push, which would move from single-well tests to projects covering as many as 200 wells. Phase one, a $157 million effort announced in May, has six large pilots: three are underway, a fourth is permitted and two await regulatory approval. Backers are pursuing $400 million in federal loan guarantees, and the Petroleum Council expects a request for state funding in the next legislative session. What it means for mineral owners: The stated goal is to extend field life with gas injection; whether and how that reaches a given tract will depend on unit and lease terms, so watch for Industrial Commission notices covering your acreage. Source: https://northdakotamonitor.com/2026/10/16/north-dakota-officials-are-jumpstarting-next-phase-of-effort-to-boost-bakken-oil-production/ https://fortunionminerals.com/news#state-lease-auction-2026-10-15 https://fortunionminerals.com/news#state-lease-auction-2026-10-15 Thu, 15 Oct 2026 16:00:00 +0000 The published results of North Dakota's October 2026 state mineral lease auction list 192 tracts covering about 19,219 net acres. Bidding varied sharply by county. Calculated from the results table, the seven McKenzie County tracts averaged roughly $4,194 an acre, nine Burke County tracts about $2,134 and 19 Williams County tracts about $1,928, with the highest single bid, $5,170 an acre, in Burke County. Tracts in Slope, Golden Valley, Bowman and Renville counties averaged between roughly $1 and $13 an acre. What it means for mineral owners: These are lease bonuses on state-owned minerals, not sale prices for privately owned minerals, but the spread between core and fringe counties is a useful public signal of how much location drives value. Source: https://www.land.nd.gov/sites/default/files/documents/Minerals/Auction%20Results/October%202026%20Auction%20Results.pdf https://fortunionminerals.com/news#montana-bogc-october-2026-10-14 https://fortunionminerals.com/news#montana-bogc-october-2026-10-14 Wed, 14 Oct 2026 16:00:00 +0000 Montana's Board of Oil and Gas Conservation scheduled a business meeting for October 14 and a public hearing for October 15 in Billings, with a docket running from number 511 to 599 and applications in Richland, Roosevelt, Sheridan, Hill, Glacier and other counties. One Richland County request asks for an overlapping temporary spacing unit for a Bakken/Three Forks horizontal well. At its August 12 meeting the board had reviewed draft legislation to cap the drilling permit fee at $1,000 and a draft rule change that would lengthen permit duration from six months to one year, with the legislation headed to the EQC in September. What it means for mineral owners: Spacing and permit decisions in Richland and neighboring counties determine which Montana tracts share in a new Bakken well, so check the docket for your sections. Source: https://bogfiles.dnrc.mt.gov/HearingsAndOrders/HearingFiles/2026/2026_10/2026_10_Docket.pdf https://fortunionminerals.com/news#devon-exits-eagle-ford-2026-10-08 https://fortunionminerals.com/news#devon-exits-eagle-ford-2026-10-08 Thu, 08 Oct 2026 16:00:00 +0000 Devon Energy, an active Williston Basin operator, agreed on October 8 to sell about 90,000 net acres in Karnes, DeWitt and Gonzales counties, Texas, to Crescent Energy for $4.2 billion in cash. The assets account for roughly 4% of Devon's production, and the company says after-tax proceeds will go toward share repurchases and debt reduction. Closing is expected around year-end 2026, subject to regulatory approvals. What it means for mineral owners: Bakken minerals are not directly affected, but Devon says the sale sharpens its focus on its highest-return assets; it also has spacing and drilling applications pending in several North Dakota counties on the Industrial Commission's November dockets. Source: https://investors.devonenergy.com/investors/press-releases/press-release-details/2026/Devon-Energy-Announces-Agreement-to-Exit-the-Eagle-Ford-for-4-2-Billion/default.aspx https://fortunionminerals.com/news#chevron-hess-midstream-2026-10-06 https://fortunionminerals.com/news#chevron-hess-midstream-2026-10-06 Tue, 06 Oct 2026 16:00:00 +0000 Under a definitive agreement announced October 6, Hess Midstream will acquire Chevron's DJ Basin gathering and storage assets, pay Chevron $200 million in cash, and cancel all of Chevron's ownership in Hess Midstream and its general partner, making it an independent company. Chevron's Bakken gathering and processing agreements would be extended from 2033 through 2045 at lower tariffs, and Hess Midstream expects Chevron to drop from three Bakken rigs to two in December 2026. The company also guides to Bakken throughput falling about 5% in 2027 before leveling off from 2028, and expects the deal to close by year-end. What it means for mineral owners: A two-rig program points to steady but slower new-well activity on Chevron's Bakken acreage; whether lower midstream tariffs ever show up in post-production deductions depends on your lease and the operator's accounting. Source: https://www.nasdaq.com/press-release/hess-midstream-lp-announces-transformative-transaction-leading-new-independent-multi https://fortunionminerals.com/news#supreme-court-royalty-deductions-2026-10-02 https://fortunionminerals.com/news#supreme-court-royalty-deductions-2026-10-02 Fri, 02 Oct 2026 16:00:00 +0000 Justices heard arguments on October 2 in an appeal by mineral owners whose royalty-deduction case against Hess was dismissed before it could reach a jury. The owners say deductions on their royalty statements grew from under 2% to over 30% between 2014 and now; Hess argues the evidence of excessive deductions and of damages is missing. Several justices pressed the owners' lawyers on who carries the burden of proof, and the court took the case under advisement. What it means for mineral owners: A ruling could shape how North Dakota owners challenge post-production deductions; in the meantime, read your royalty statements line by line and ask the operator to explain any deduction you do not understand. Source: https://northdakotamonitor.com/2026/10/02/north-dakota-supreme-court-hears-arguments-over-oil-royalty-deductions/ https://fortunionminerals.com/news#risk-penalty-ruling-2026-09-21 https://fortunionminerals.com/news#risk-penalty-ruling-2026-09-21 Mon, 21 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0000 A law-firm client alert dated September 21 describes a September 1 decision from North Dakota's Northwest Judicial District in Dorchester Minerals Operating v. Iron Oil Operating. The court let the operator apply about $683,000 of revenue from three later wells toward the unrecovered costs and risk penalty of a well the owners had elected not to join, reasoning that the pooling statute allows recovery from production of the pooled spacing unit. It is a trial-court ruling and may be appealed. What it means for mineral owners: Owners who go non-consent on one well in a pooled unit may see revenue from other wells in that unit held back, so weigh election decisions and review payout statements across the whole unit. Source: https://www.bwenergylaw.com/blog/2026/09/north-dakota-court-allows-recovery-of-a-wells-risk-penalty-from-subsequent-wells-drilled-in-the-same-spacing-unit/ https://fortunionminerals.com/news#chord-sells-marcellus-2026-09-16 https://fortunionminerals.com/news#chord-sells-marcellus-2026-09-16 Wed, 16 Sep 2026 16:00:00 +0000 Chord Energy agreed on September 16 to sell its entire non-operated Marcellus position, about 32,000 net acres, to POSCO International for $550 million, with closing expected in the fourth quarter. After the sale Chord says its portfolio will be focused exclusively on the Williston Basin. The company expects its oil weighting to rise by roughly 4 to 5 percentage points and annual capital spending to fall by about $25 million. What it means for mineral owners: No direct change to leases or units, but owners in Chord-operated spacing units now have an operator whose whole portfolio sits in the Williston Basin. Source: https://ir.chordenergy.com/2026-09-16-Chord-Energy-Announces-Divestiture-of-Non-Operated-Marcellus-Assets https://fortunionminerals.com/news#callan-pfanenstiel-2026-08-27 https://fortunionminerals.com/news#callan-pfanenstiel-2026-08-27 Thu, 27 Aug 2026 16:00:00 +0000 Callan JMB's Callan Power subsidiary signed an agreement on August 27 to buy non-operated working interests in 377 producing wells across five North Dakota and Montana counties from The Pfanenstiel Company for $12.5 million in cash, plus reimbursement of certain costs on wells in process. The company says the position produces about 150 barrels of oil equivalent a day net and covers roughly 3,000 net acres held by production, and it expected to close before October 1. The release notes the purchase follows an earlier announced acquisition of Reger Oil assets. A closing announcement had not been located as of October 25. What it means for mineral owners: It shows smaller buyers assembling non-operated Williston positions; the mineral and royalty interests under those wells are separate from the working interests being sold. Source: https://www.otcmarkets.com/stock/CJMB/news/Callan-Power-to-Acquire-Williston-Basin-Non-Operated-Oil-and-Gas-Assets-with-48-Million-Proved-PV-10-and-83-Million-3P-P?e=&id=3528353 https://fortunionminerals.com/news#blm-october-sale-2026-08-25 https://fortunionminerals.com/news#blm-october-sale-2026-08-25 Tue, 25 Aug 2026 16:00:00 +0000 The Bureau of Land Management announced on August 25 an online oil and gas lease sale for October 27, 2026, offering 20 parcels totaling about 3,388 acres in the Montana/Dakotas. BLM finished scoping in May, closed public comment in July and ran a protest period through September 24. Leasing is only the first step: an operator must still obtain an approved permit to drill before development can begin. Results were not yet available as of October 25. What it means for mineral owners: Federal leasing near your minerals can signal operator interest in the area; the parcel list and maps are on BLM's ePlanning site if you want to see how close the offered parcels sit to your acreage. Source: https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-announces-october-2026-sale-oil-and-gas-leases-montanadakotas