North Dakota Auction Results -- Lease Sales -- Bonus Paid -- Is $14,000 the New Record? -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

Link here. 

Results:

Dunn County: successful bids ranged from $800 to $8,500. Most seemed to be in the $2,000/acre range. The $8,500/acre was for two tracts, one for 105 acres and one for 26 acres; Northern Energy.

Billings County: only a dozen parcels, all in T140N-R100W and T139N-R100W, and four tracts were in the same section: 36-139-100.  Those tracts went for $2,500/acre, but all the others between $13,000 and $14,000/acre. And this was Billings County. Davis Exploration had the deep pockets. Most parcels were for 80 acres, some for 40 acres.

• 28-140-100, 40 acres; $14,000/acre
• 35-140-100, 80 acres; $13,000/acre
• 22-140-100, 80 acres; $13,000/acre
• 22-140-100, 80 acres; $13,000/acre
• 26-140-100, 80 acres; $13,250/acre
• 27-140-100, 80 acres; $13,000/acre
• 28-140-100, 80 acres; $14,000/acre

There is nothing in the immediate area (such as other producing wells) to compare, but it's near where near-record prices were paid in Zenith and Bell oil fields not too long ago.

McKenzie County:successful bids ranged from $4,500 to $9,000; fourteen parcels in all. J Mark Alvord bought 1.48 acres for $9,000/acre, so that explains that -- 15-154-97. Baby Lion Oil & Gas LLC bought 51.55 acres for $4,500/acre. Who wants to start the rumor that Bud Brigham has started a new LLC? If so, it's not Baby Lion; that company is out of Austin, TX, but first time I had heard of it. It turns out it's just me: unknowing (ignorant is too harsh). Baby Lion was successful on some bids at the BLM lease in Billings in July, 2011. They must have some deep pockets, also. At that auction they bought 40 acres paying a bonus of $8,400/acre. Titan Resources is aptly named: paying almost $9,000/acre for two parcels, one with 115 acres and one with almost 160 acres.

Divide, Renville, and Stark had a few parcels, but nothing of note, and nothing in Williams County or Mountrail County.

And I am very, very impressed with how fast they got these results posted.