The Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Bozeman Montana

Aug 6, 1:49 PM EDT

Tribal leaders mark entry in natural gas business

HARDIN, Mont. (AP) -- The Crow Tribe is officially in the natural gas business.

Tribal leaders joined executives from Ursa Major, an Oklahoma-based energy company, on Wednesday to celebrate the start of natural gas production at the new Venne-Old Elk compressor station near Hardin.

The station is named to honor former tribal Chairman Carl Venne and Secretary Andrew Old Elk, two deceased leaders who helped get the tribe involved in the natural gas project.

Production from seven wells drilled by Ursa Major officially began Friday.

Tribal leaders say getting the project up and running is a milestone for the tribe, and the first step in working with companies to develop the reservation's rich supply of energy resources.

"The Creator has blessed us and put us in the right place in terms of all the natural resources we have," said Cedric Black Eagle, tribal chairman. "We also thank Ursa Major for taking the risk with us to achieve this milestone."

Jason Frankenberg, vice president and general counsel for Ursa Major, praised the insight of Venne and Old Elk, as well as the continued support of Black Eagle, the other leaders and the tribe's Oil and Gas Committee.

"Nobody said it would be easy," Frankenberg said. "Many said it couldn't be done. Once a vision is shared, it's unstoppable. And today, natural gas is flowing from the Crow Reservation."

Ursa Major began talks with the tribe's executive branch in 2006 and started drilling exploratory wells in December 2007. By the fall of 2008, Frankenberg said the company decided to fully develop the project.

The company intends to drill seven or eight more wells by the end of the year and continue adding wells over time. Frankenberg said within five years, the goal is to have 100 wells.

Over the course of the natural gas partnership, the tribe could receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties. The tribe's first royalty check, for about $10,000, will probably come in about 45 days, Frankenberg said.

The reservation is along the northern edge of the Powder River Basin, which produces nearly half of the nation's coal annually.