What can a person do if he or she is being totally ignored by your Lessee on a Oil and Gas lease and the well drilled and has been producing since March 2009. My cousins have been receiving royalties since the fall of 2009. I have sent letters, e-mails and have been put off. I will not name this company who is out of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but they never e-mail me back and if I call, you never talk to anyone, you just receive a vioce mail that they will get back to you. This does not happen. If you send a letter, where would you send it that it doesn't just disappear, like the others that I've sent. Certified ones disappear also. No response. My Brother also contacted this company and was told things would happen soon, They did not happen. The person he spoke to has changed jobs and cannot be reached anymore. They must have fired her for promissing payment to a royalty holder! He also gave up on contacting this company after a few days, as he has no time for chasing these people. The gas well is located in Johnson County, Texas, so I may file a complaint with the Secretary of State or the Attorney General of the State of Oklahoma or would any of the Members of this site or professionals have any other recomendations for this problem.
Thanks, Dennis
I think you should name the Company for all to see and avoid.
Dennis: Your situation is one where I believe it calls for an Oil and Gas Attorney to assist you. I am assuming you have an undivided mineral ownership interest with your extended Family. I am in a similar situation on the undivided interests. Is there anything different about your mineral ownership from your cousins? I have been following the activity in both Johnson and Hill County, where our mineral interests are located. These Companies are doing different things with pooling and such to get longer laterals to maximize production. You may need to check your property deed and verify your mineral ownership unless the surface estate has been sold leaving only the minerals to your Family. Did you receive a Division Order stipulating your decimal ownership interest?
Mike: Thanks for your response. I was the first person contacted about leasing and gave the names of my cousins to “the Company” and my mother signed a lease in 2008 and has yet to receive a royalty payment. Well was in production in March of 2009. We have not been sent a Division Order as promised by “the Company” and yes, the minerals were reserved in Deeds passed down until 1953 when the family sold the land and we reserved 100% of the minerals to our family. I have discussed the mineral ownership with a lawyer from “the Company” and I was satisfied with his title report and thought that things were on the right track, but this was the last place that thing appeared to be moving in the right direction.That was in 2009. I would never have signed if i would have known how much time and hassel this leasing has led to. Thanks, Dennis
I would read your mineral lease and look for the provisions stating the time frame for which royalty payments are to commence. One of our leases stipulates 90 days or effectively 120 days, the way I read it, after the well starts producing. What I would be curious about is why your cousins apparently received a division order but you did not. There must be a glitch somewhere.
Dennis Broadbrooks said:
Mike: Thanks for your response. I was the first person contacted about leasing and gave the names of my cousins to “the Company” and my mother signed a lease in 2008 and has yet to receive a royalty payment. Well was in production in March of 2009. We have not been sent a Division Order as promised by “the Company” and yes, the minerals were reserved in Deeds passed down until 1953 when the family sold the land and we reserved 100% of the minerals to our family. I have discussed the mineral ownership with a lawyer from “the Company” and I was satisfied with his title report and thought that things were on the right track, but this was the last place that thing appeared to be moving in the right direction.That was in the 2009. I would never have signed if i would have known how much time and hassel this leasing has lead to. Thanks, Dennis
Read the lease as to how to proceed. Most of them in TX have a clause in there dictating what you must do if there is a problem. Most of mine (I am an operator), say that you must notify the operator, in writing, and wait 60 or 90 days before doing anything else, even getting an attorney involved (unless you want them to write the letter). The letter can be a simple, “I haven’t seen a division order, and the well started producing in 2009. This is a formal demand for a division order to be created, per my mineral interest as outlined in the deed found in Vol X page X in the county records.”
Then they will have so many days to respond. If not, then you get to find an attorney to sue, if you think it is worth it at this time. Dont contact the gatherer, that is pointless since their contract is with the operator. Dont contact the RRC, they dont care and per Texas laws, they can’t get involved in what is basically a real estate civil matter.
As to mail disappearing…Try FedEx and require a signature. USPS likes to just drop off certified mail, even with a return receipt, which is pointless. FedEx wont do it if you require a signature. Send it from a FedEx Kinkos or something, so they may know the sender when they glance at it. If they refuse it, keep it and the airbill from FedEx, it will help, since the next step, usually outlined in the lease, is that you will need to use a process server wherever they are located to have them served. I know it is a pain, but you have to play by the rules in case it shows up in court, that way you are the one that looks all shiny.
Just was contacted(6-29-2010) by “the company” and they claim they are still working on my great grandfather’s probate. This was the same thing they were working on a year ago. I think that someone droped the ball and now after my persistance, they have picked the case backup and are working to get us a Division Order. Like I said, this is the lease from HELL.
Watch your probate time their is a statue of limitation on probate, time can run out and the company will have to start over
and re-file probate. Hopefully they are not delaying this on purpose. Our family had to force division orders from the oil and gas company as well. Being a Law school student at the time our family pushed the company at every opportunity.
Keep on putting on the pressure. Good Luck.
The company has contated me and told me that they will pay me(when, god only knows) back to first production. they insisted that I was not entitled to monies because of a “Modification”? Then I was told that since the land in my lease was not in the well bore … . What? The three well pads and 50% of the well bore are on our leased property and after looking at the Division order, It states ; “Effective: Date of First Production”. Seems as the company have people who need an education in Oil and Gas 101. The message was a voice mail and left no explination of a mistake or what thier problem was. Just that I would be paid back to first production. Click, end of voice message. Hope to recieve monies before I die. Retirement is comming in about 15 years and would be nice by then if I have any luck.
Hi Dennis.I can relate to your problem.I cannot get info from my people either.I was told by a landman I should be getting a lot more money than I am and I know I own more than they even say.I actually asked to look at the title opinion and the title analyst told me to get my own.Gee, I wonder why?
The short answer that why you are not furnished a copy of the Title Opinion is that the Title Opinion is the property of the oil company.
Sophisticated lessors will require certain information to be furnished in the lease contract, such as title information, abstracts of title, drilling information, well logs, etc.
Although the response that you quoted was rude and not in line with good lessor-lessee relations, it was likely keeping in lines with sound business practice to not allow their intellectual (and perhaps very sensitive) work product be released.
32acesinthehole said:
Hi Dennis.I can relate to your problem.I cannot get info from my people either.I was told by a landman I should be getting a lot more money than I am and I know I own more than they even say.I actually asked to look at the title opinion and the title analyst told me to get my own.Gee, I wonder why?
PEOPLE:
The truth be told, the title opion is just that, an opion and not always the facts, some of the opions done by the landmen are the searching of the record by the landman, and they do miss or overlook some reservations on documents, I have had this happen to me. Maybe the company should backup their findings and not just let the mineral owner take their word. This is called blind faith and not a good practice. I have been give the title report, when asked, most of the time.
Dear Mr. Broadbrooks,
You are most correct. The opinion of title is only as good as the Abstract furnished to him for review and likewise, only as good as the competency of the attorney reviewing same.
Unfortunately, in hot areas, where lots of landmen are working, the skill set of the landmen working goes down with high employment. If a lesser experienced person is working in building the Abstract, the higher the opportunity for error.
At the end of the day, it is the Lessor's property and it is ultimately the Lessor's responsibility to verify their interest on the Division Order and if the interest is not correct, to dispute same and furnish the reason for their dispute to the operator's Division Order department.
In all my years and having interests in over 75 wells all over the country, I have never NOT known what my division of interest was and if it were correct.
Dennis Broadbrooks said:
PEOPLE:
The truth be told, the title opion is just that, an opion and not always the facts, some of the opions done by the landmen are the searching of the record by the landman, and they do miss or overlook some reservations on documents, I have had this happen to me. Maybe the company should backup their findings and not just let the mineral owner take their word. This is called blind faith and not a good practice. I have been give the title report, when asked, most of the time.
Hi Dennis,was just reading over some of these,discussions,and could not,contain myself any longer after reading yours. I am in Colorado and we have a Oil and gas commision in this state,am thinking that Tx has one also, I would contact them and they will look into your case,if you give them the information on what is happening, {or not happening in your case} they frown on, these Co`s that,play around with production money
, if there is a problem, they will find it and get things straight for you. We had some problems, with a cleanup site and once we contacted them,things changed in very short order. Hope this helps cal hopper
Dennis Broadbrooks said:
The company has contated me and told me that they will pay me(when, god only knows) back to first production. they insisted that I was not entitled to monies because of a "Modification"? Then I was told that since the land in my lease was not in the well bore ... . What? The three well pads and 50% of the well bore are on our leased property and after looking at the Division order, It states ; "Effective: Date of First Production". Seems as the company have people who need an education in Oil and Gas 101. The message was a voice mail and left no explination of a mistake or what thier problem was. Just that I would be paid back to first production. Click, end of voice message. Hope to recieve monies before I die. Retirement is comming in about 15 years and would be nice by then if I have any luck.
Mr. Cotten,
Is it possible to explain to me how I would determine my division of interest? I have originals of all Mineral Deeds.
Thank You.
Dear Ms. Sky,
I could not possibly explain to a lay person how to interpret the 4 corners of mineral conveyances.
Typically it takes years of experience and training. From time to time, I have my issues as well. Sometimes it is not that easy to make the mineral-royalty distinction. There is not reliable bright line language.
Throw in the Valence and King cases and many others and it is just not sometime that anybody could explain in a web post.
I would like to know the name of the Company, as they may contact me at some future date.