# Sell Mineral Rights in Richland County, Montana | Berlin Royalties > Selling mineral rights in Richland County, Montana? Berlin buys Elm Coulee Bakken and Three Forks minerals around Sidney, Fairview, Savage. Free valuation with the work shown. Source: https://www.berlinroyalties.com/montana/richland-county/ Publisher: Berlin Royalties, a veteran-owned oil and gas mineral and royalty buyer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, buying for its own account since 2014. Call or text 918-984-1645. License: free to quote and cite with attribution to Berlin Royalties and a link to the source URL. Where We Buy · Montana · Richland County ## Sell your Richland County mineral rights. Sidney, Fairview, Savage: Elm Coulee, the field that started the modern Bakken era, and still Montana's leading oil county by a wide margin. [Get a Free Valuation](https://www.berlinroyalties.com/free-valuation/) or call or text [918-984-1645](tel:9189841645) Elm Coulee is where the modern Bakken started. The field was discovered in 2000, and horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing proved the Middle Bakken here several years before North Dakota's boom began. Richland County is still Montana's leading oil producer, with roughly 1,151 producing wells and about 1.4 million barrels a month, and it carries the state's highest permit activity by a wide margin. The program now is largely infill and redevelopment inside the existing footprint rather than new exploration. Kraken Operating is dominant. Continental, Sinclair, Devon, Slawson, Chord, Whiting, Petro-Hunt, and Heritage Energy also carry production or permits. That maturity means the honest valuation question here is how many locations remain on your specific unit, not whether the field works. Richland is predominantly fee minerals, with a real federal component visible in the Egan Federal wells and Montana state trust sections 16 and 36 throughout. There are no reservation lands in the county, which distinguishes it sharply from Roosevelt County next door. Two Montana specifics matter to your check. Montana withholds 6 percent of net royalty at the source, which is a tax prepayment rather than a fee and which many out of state owners never reconcile. And Montana has no dormant mineral act, so unlike North Dakota, your interest does not lapse for nonuse. Send us a check stub or a legal description and we will tell you what your unit still supports. Drilling Activity · Updated 2026-08-17 ## What's happening in Richland County right now Active Rigs 2 Running for Kraken Resources, White Rock Oil & Gas Permits, Last 90 Days 38 Most active: Kraken Operating LLC, Continental Resources, INC., Whiting Oil And Gas Corporation Completions, Last 90 Days 0 New wells turned to sales in the county. County totals. Source: Enverus, as of 2026-08-17. Rigs are currently active; permits are those approved in the last 90 days; completions are wells reporting first production in the last 90 days, which lags by state. A zero does not mean nothing is happening, only that nothing was reported in that window. Activity like this is exactly what moves mineral value. If it is happening near you, find out what your interest is worth before you take anyone's offer. Formations & Plays ## What produces here ### Middle Bakken Elm Coulee field, discovered in 2000, is where horizontal drilling and fracturing first proved the Bakken at scale, several years before the North Dakota boom. ### Three Forks Developed alongside the Bakken across the field. ### Red River, Ratcliffe and Madison, Nisku Conventional pays that predate and underlie the shale development. Counties ## Communities we see in Richland County title Sidney Fairview Savage Lambert Crane Wherever your tract sits in Richland County, we will research it free and value it with the work shown. Questions ## Straight answers for Richland County owners Is Elm Coulee still being drilled? Yes. Richland County is where Montana's sustained Bakken activity is, now largely infill and redevelopment inside the existing Elm Coulee footprint rather than step out exploration. Kraken Operating is the dominant driller, with Continental and Heritage Energy also permitting. About 1,151 wells produce across roughly 929 leases, and the county leads Montana in oil at roughly 1.4 million barrels a month. Why does my Montana check have six percent taken out when my North Dakota check does not? Because Montana requires it. Montana law requires remitters to withhold 6 percent of net royalty under M.C.A. section 15-30-2538, with a de minimis exception under $166 per period or $2,000 annually. It is a prepayment of Montana income tax rather than a fee, and you reconcile it by filing a Montana return. A great many out of state Richland County owners never file and never recover the overwithholding. My Elm Coulee interest already has old division orders on it. Does that hurt the value? Not by itself, but it does mean the title work is layered. Elm Coulee has been producing since the early 2000s, so many tracts carry unit designations, older division orders, and several rounds of operator changes. That is normal here and we deal with it constantly. What matters more to value is how much infill inventory remains on your specific spacing unit, and we count that explicitly. Free Valuation ## Find out what your Richland County minerals are worth. Free, no obligation, and no pressure. We reply within one business day, usually faster. Prefer the phone? Call or text [918-984-1645](tel:9189841645) and you will get Stephen, the owner, not a call center. If we miss you, we text back the same day. Your Name Phone Number Email Address Where are your minerals located? OklahomaTexasNew MexicoLouisiana ArkansasKansasNorth DakotaMontana WyomingColoradoUtahCalifornia West VirginiaOhioPennsylvaniaKentucky MichiganMississippiAlabamaAlaska Sand/Gravel/AggregateOther / Not sure County (if known) Interest type Select an option Minerals and Royalties Working Interest Overriding Royalty Interest An Entity (LLC, Partnership, Trust) Not Sure Are you currently receiving royalty checks? Select an option Yes No I Used To But They Stopped Not Sure Have you received offers for your minerals before? Select an option Yes No What best describes your situation? Select an option I'm ready to sell now I'm exploring my options I'm just curious what they're worth Anything else? (optional) Get My Free Valuation No cost, no obligation, and we never share your information.