GREAT FALLS, Mont. (AP) -- The Fort Peck Tribes are seeking permission from the Bureau of Indian Affairs to partner with a Colorado-based investment firm to drill for oil on the reservation in northeastern Montana.
The Fort Peck Indian Reservation sits atop an estimated 60 billion barrels of oil. The tribe recently created Fort Peck Energy Co. with Native American Resource Partners of Denver.
Tribal Councilman Rick Kirn says the proposal was being presented to BIA officials this week.
NARP has proposed investing $100 million on the Fort Peck Reservation.
Kirn said the energy project originally sought to drill in the Bakken Formation in eastern Montana and North Dakota. But he says the price of oil has gone down so much that a Bakken well might not be feasible. He says the tribe may start with a smaller project.
