BLM Montana-Dakotas Office Offers 3,388 Acres in October Lease Sale as Williston Basin Output Tops 1.28 Million Barrels Per Day

The Bureau of Land Management's Montana-Dakotas office put 20 oil and gas parcels totaling 3,388 acres in Montana and North Dakota up for competitive bidding in its October 2026 lease sale. A 30-day public scoping period ran from June 18 through July 20, 2026, receiving comment on acreage spanning Greater Sage-Grouse priority habitat and prospective Williston Basin formations.

What the Sale Includes

Montana contributes a single parcel of 160 acres in Musselshell County, administered by the Billings Field Office. The remaining 19 parcels, covering 3,228 acres, fall within North Dakota under the BLM Dakota Field Office. The BLM's April 2026 scoping notice did not specify North Dakota county-level locations; final parcel maps and stipulations appear on the National Fluids Lease Sale System (NFLSS) ahead of bidding day.

Federal oil and gas leases carry a 10-year primary term. The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 set the federal onshore minimum royalty rate at 16.67%, replacing the 12.5% floor established by the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920. Winning bidders pay the lease bonus at auction and the royalty rate on production.

The Williston Basin as Context

North Dakota produced 1,153,000 barrels of oil per day in June 2026, up 28,000 barrels per day from May, according to the North Dakota Industrial Commission. Bakken and Three Forks formations account for 96.2% of that state total. Across the full Williston Basin, including portions of Montana and South Dakota, output reached 1.28 million barrels per day by mid-2026, representing 9.8% of total U.S. crude production, according to OilPriceAPI basin tracking data.

That output holds steady against a backdrop of falling rig counts. The most recent Baker Hughes rig survey put U.S. oil-directed rigs at 452, with the national total at 588. The Williston Basin commands a smaller share of the active national fleet than the Permian, meaning federal acreage in the region draws more targeted bidding from a smaller operator pool. WTI crude settled at $81.41 per barrel on Tuesday's CME close, down 4.23% on the day, per OilPrice.com data.

Parcel Economics and Spacing Unit Math

Oil Authority derived the following from BLM parcel data. At 3,388 acres across 20 parcels, the average holding is 169 acres per parcel, consistent with a quarter-section offering unit of 160 acres. Bakken operators drilling two-mile laterals typically assemble a 1,280-acre spacing unit for each well. An operator bidding for a contiguous full Bakken unit would need to win eight adjacent quarter-section parcels at auction. If the October sale's 20 parcels cluster geographically, they could support two to three complete spacing units.

Prior BLM Montana-Dakotas lease sales have generated substantial revenue when commodity prices aligned with Williston Basin economics. One prior sale generated more than $130 million from a larger parcel package. With WTI at $81.41, operators face a softer price deck than the levels that drove peak Williston bidding in prior years, which may temper per-acre bonuses in October.

Environmental Stipulations

The BLM's scoping notice identified at least one parcel within a Greater Sage-Grouse Priority Habitat Management Area. Leases in those areas carry stipulations that restrict surface-disturbing operations during sage-grouse nesting seasons, generally March 15 through July 15. Federal courts have consistently upheld such lease conditions as consistent with BLM's multiple-use mandate under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act.