ND auction for oil drilling rights fetches $5 million; McKenzie County draws most interest

A quarterly state auction for oil drilling rights on North Dakota state land has fetched more than $5 million.

More than 12,000 mineral acres in nine counties were auctioned last week.

About 7,500 acres were auctioned for $2.9 million in McKenzie County. The remaining acreage was in Billings, Bottineau, Dunn, Hettinger, Mountrail, Renville and Williams counties.