…A fraction of the drilling in the Bakken is taking place in Montana, which saw its last oil boom lose steam in 2006. Production on wells in Montana isn’t fully taxed for 18 months, leaving towns to wait two years for money to upgrade infrastructure. When taxes do kick in, the state receives 52 percent, with about 47 percent divided between counties and school districts. Cities get one-tenth of 1 percent.
Montana will collect $800,000 less from each new well compared to North Dakota, even as continuous drilling to increase productivity deepens the impact on cities and extends it over long periods, said Mark Haggerty, an economist with Bozeman, Montana-based Headwaters Economics…