BILLINGS, Mont. – Missouri River Royalty Corporation of Bismarck was the highest bidder in the recent Bureau of Land Management Montana/Dakotas oil and gas lease auction.

The corporation had a total bonus bid of $66,990 for a 329.647-acre parcel in Burke County.

For this sale, BLM offered 13 parcels covering just over 7,800 acres in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota for oil and gas leasing through the competitive online auction. There were 29 registered bidders. All 13 parcels received bids.

BLM Montana/Dakotas raised over $340,000 in the quarterly oil and gas lease sale held online Sept 24. Nearly 50 percent of the revenue from the sale will go to the states where the oil and gas activity occurs, in this case Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota, while the rest will go to the U.S. Treasury.

The BLM awards oil and gas leases for a period of 10 years, and for as long thereafter as there is production of oil and gas in paying quantities. If the leases result in producing oil or gas wells, 12.5 percent of the royalties collected is also shared between the federal government and the states.

The BLM generated a record $1.1 billion from 28 oil and gas lease sales in fiscal year 2018.