MDU Tacks On Additional 27,000 Bakken Acres

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Description

Bought additional 27,000 leasehold acres in Richland Co., MT.

MDU Resources Group Inc., Bismarck, N.D., (NYSE: MDU) has recently acquired an additional 27,000 acres of leaseholds in Richland County, Montana.

Its subsidiary Fidelity Exploration & Production Co. now holds approximately 57,000 net leasehold acres in Richland County, all acquired in the past year. This acreage position is a contiguous block immediately adjacent to the prolific Elm Coulee field. The company has spud its first of two appraisal wells. Depending upon results, a continuous drilling program utilizing one to two rigs is being planned.

“We now have the acreage, drilling rigs and services as well as the organizational capability and experience to sustainably grow our Bakken production,” says Kent Wells, president and chief executive of Fidelity. “Our systematic approach of appraising and continuously improving our drilling and production operations is starting to pay dividends and we have only just begun.”

With the latest acreage acquisition, Fidelity holds a total of approximately 124,000 net leasehold acres in the Bakken area with plans to invest approximately $160 million in the region this year.