The Spearfish formation
Footprint and mineral-owner context for the Spearfish, drawn from the same state oil and gas commission well records behind our county pages. Every figure on this page is an estimate subject to verification of your specific interest.
Last updated June 2026.
What is the Spearfish?
The Spearfish is a producing formation named across 3 counties in North Dakota, in the Williston Basin, with 567 active wells on record across those counties.
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What are your Spearfish minerals worth?
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The Spearfish shows up in state oil and gas commission well records as a producing formation or pool in 3 of the counties and parishes we cover, across the Williston Basin. Every county where it produces sits in the same basin, though well counts and operators differ county to county. Across those counties, state records show 567 active wells producing, with the heaviest activity in Bottineau County, Renville County, Ward County. This page is built from the same public well-record data as our county pages, not a USGS geologic assessment, so it does not carry a play-wide resource estimate the way our larger flagship formation pages do.
Counties in the Spearfish play
These are the counties and parishes we cover where state commission records show the Spearfish producing. Each links to that county's own Spearfish well count and operators, not just the general county page.
What the Spearfish means for your minerals
A resource estimate for a play is not the value of your acreage. Your mineral and royalty interest is valued on the income your wells actually pay, roughly 36 to 72 times your average monthly royalty check, the same as 3 to 6 times your annual royalty. Where you land in that band depends on your wells decline, the operator, your royalty rate, and any undeveloped drilling upside. For the full method and a free on-screen estimate, see what are my mineral rights worth.
The Spearfish is part of the Williston Basin. For the basin-wide value bands and the counties we buy in, see the Williston Basin page.
Spearfish questions
- Which counties does the Spearfish produce in?
- State commission well records show the Spearfish producing in 3 counties we cover: Bottineau County, Renville County, Ward County. See each county's page for the full local well and operator picture.
- How many wells produce from the Spearfish?
- Across the counties we cover, state oil and gas commission records show about 567 active wells tied to the Spearfish. That figure is a sum across counties from public well records, not a measure of any one owner's interest.
- What is a Spearfish mineral interest worth?
- A Spearfish interest is valued the same way as any producing interest: roughly 36 to 72 times your average monthly royalty check. Where you land in that range depends on your wells' decline, the operator, your royalty rate, and any undeveloped drilling upside. This is an estimate, not an offer.
Sources
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