Associated Press

Officials of the state and the Three Affiliated Tribes say they have a new tax agreement to encourage oil and gas production on the Fort Berthold reservation.

Gov. John Hoeven and tribal Chairman Marcus Wells say the Tribal Business Council has unanimously approved the agreement. They say it will combined a two-tax system into one to provide more stability for energy companies.

Privately owned fee land and tribal trust land on the reservation have had different oil tax rules, and officials have been working to make the system more uniform.