Richland County mineral rights and royalty buyers

Richland County at a glance

Richland County is in far eastern Montana, up against the North Dakota line. Sidney is the county seat and largest city, and Fairview is the other incorporated town. The Census Bureau counted 11,491 people in 2020 and estimates 11,377 for 2025, across about 2,085 square miles (Census QuickFacts). Outside of town, most of the land is ranch, hay, and small grain, with wells and tank batteries scattered through it.

That matters if you own minerals here. Montana treats minerals and surface as separate estates, so the person who owns your minerals often doesn't own the field the well pad sits on, and the Board has notice rules for that (see below).

What Richland County sellers should know

Activity here is concentrated, and that is the main thing that sets one tract apart from another. The Board's hearing notice for its October 15, 2026 hearing lists 99 county dockets we could count, and 69 of them name Richland County. Many ask for temporary spacing units made of three, four, or six whole sections for horizontal Bakken and Three Forks wells, or for permission to drill more wells in a unit that already exists. A docket is an application, not a well, but it shows where operators are putting their effort. A tract inside one of those units is a different thing from a tract with nothing filed near it.

If you haven't leased, Montana's pooling statute is worth reading. After a good-faith attempt to pool voluntarily, the Board can pool a permanent spacing unit after a hearing. An owner who won't pay a share of the costs has them taken out of production only, but on top of the actual share the order adds 100 percent of that owner's share of surface equipment and operating costs and 200 percent of the share of drilling, completion, and related costs. An unleased interest is treated as carrying a one-eighth royalty until the costs are recovered. The notice gives you 30 days to elect and has to state the well location, depth, formations, expected cost, and spud date. The text is at section 82-11-202 of the Montana Code, and our spacing and pooling guide explains the idea for North Dakota, where the numbers differ.

On the surface side, the Board's page for mineral and surface owners summarizes the rules: the surface owner gets notice 20 to 180 days before disturbance, owners of occupied structures within 1,320 feet get notice of a proposed well, and the operator owes damage compensation. It is at dnrc.mt.gov. Montana's production tax on non-working interests, which covers royalty owners, is 15.10 percent as of January 1, 2024, according to the Montana Department of Revenue. Our oil and gas tax page sets that next to North Dakota's.

On federal minerals, BLM's October 27, 2026 Montana-Dakotas sale offered a single Montana parcel, in Musselshell County, so nothing in Richland County. Notices for future sales are on BLM's Montana-Dakotas page, and we track them on our lease sale results page.

How Fort Union buys in Richland County

We buy as principal, with our own capital, and we don't charge a commission. There are four steps. First, you send the county and legal description, plus anything else you have, such as net acres, a decimal, or a royalty stub. Second, we build the runsheet and map the tract into current spacing. Third, you receive a written cash offer that states the interest we think we're buying and the assumptions behind the number. Fourth, if you accept, we draft the mineral deed, handle tax proration and recording, and wire the funds at closing. Typical close is 21 to 45 days, and we pay standard closing costs on deals we complete. You can read the full steps on the process page. Montana records deeds and leases with the county Clerk and Recorder, and we'll run that search for you.

Jim's take

Questions? Email Jim at jim@fortunionminerals.com

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