Cowley County, KS oil & gas discussion group. Share your experience regarding lease bonus, royalty rates, drilling activity, and oil & gas news.
We recently were approached by an oil company concerning our mineral rights near Atlanta Ks. anyone here have experience with this?
Hi we have land south of Udall. I understand that Sandridge is leasing in Cowley but haven't heard anything about what they are paying. Which company approached you?
I'm not sure yet, my father is sending me the info. A google search of the mississippi lime play show a lot of potential for the region but until some of the horizontal wells are drilled near my area, I will not know what the potential productivity is. Our land is near Atlanta, by the way. I have noticed in other areas the lease fees increase rapidly as productive wells are drilled closer. What is your opinion of this.
Hi Kelly, I attended an oil and gas business to business expo yesterday put on by Kansas Commerce Dept. It was really interesting. There were representatives from Sandridge, Shell Oil, Tug Hill, Wayne Woolsey and Osage Oil. In general they are saying that the Mississippi Shale producing wells should last decades. They also said that there was a learning curve involved in being able to hit a pool with a well. There are three of these companies entering the Cowley County area. They are Tug Hill, Shell and Sandridge. From what they said at the meeting, it is important to sign with a company that has been actively drilling in the Mississippi Lime to increase the odds of having a producing wells, which these three companies have. I had hoped to hear gossip about lease rates, but I didn't hear anything. To give you an idea of the lease pay we are getting in this part of the country, I received $550/acre for 3 years with an additional 2 years option. for our property in Sumner County which is directly west of Cowley. As for Cowley County, we received an offer of $350/acre, but we decided to wait and see if we could get closer to the $500 mark. What we did in Sumner County was form our own pool of neighbors. We were able to assemble 1200 acres all connected to each other, so that we had a good bargaining position. Luckily we had someone who was willing to be the spokesman for the group. We could sign for the amount he negotiated or we could try it on our own. I thought $550 was good enough. We are doing the same thing in Cowley County. The spokesman told me a couple of weeks ago that things are starting to heat up again in Cowley so I should be patient. I have another 400 acres in Elk County. What I plan to do there is to try to figure out the township, range and ring id numbers for the surrounding properties to take to the County Clerk. I should be able to find out if they have already signed a lease. If they have, I plan to approach that oil company. I hope this information is helpful.
Hi Joyce, thank you for the information regarding lease rates and from the oil expo. I live in New Mexico, so attending such events would be difficult for me. We were only offered $50 per acre and 1/8 royalty from Mako Operating. They even went so far as to send my father a bank draft for the full amount. I would imagine that they are trying to lowball as many people as they can and then flip the leases when activity increases in the area. Hopefully my father will decline the offer and return the check as I suggested to him. The idea you had of speaking with your neighbors was a very good one. Not only does it increase your bargaining position, but it saves the operating company the trouble of doing the same work under less sociable conditions. A win-win. The information I can turn up on internet searches is still limited most likely since this is a new oil play. So I will keep searching. By the way, what royalty rate were you offered? Anyway, thanks and have a good day. kelly
HI to both, We live near Cambridge in Cowley and recently got an offer from Val energy for $50/acre and 1/8th royalty. The papers they sent had Mako operations listed. They said they were planning on drilling approximately 30-40 wells in Cowley. We were told it would be a vertical well, no mention of horizontal drills or fracking. We also received a bank draft but wanting alot more info before signing anything. Thanks for the info you have provided. We only have small acreage and live on our land so we have alot of reservations about living with wells, tanks , smell, noise etc..
Hi guys, Last year we were offered $350.00/acre. We received $550 in Sumner County. We thought we could be patient and see if we can get the Cowley lease higher. You guys need to be really careful and Kelly tell your Dad, there are some independent land men working in the area offering $50 for purchase of all mineral rights, not a lease but an outright purchase. I know they approached a neighbor to the Cowley land. Some of the landmen are using the term lease but the contracts are showing up with language to purchase mineral rights not lease them. I wouldn't be in any hurry. Each week I am finding another oil and gas company entering the county play. I would really like to hear of the companies and lease amounts you run across. You know there are organizations to help the oil companies, organizations for the independent driller but I have not run across an organization for the people who actually own the minerals. This is the only forum I have found that is meant for us. So I think it is important to share info. Thanks for the communnications, Joyce
We have received several oil lease offers & some "contracts" sent in the mail. We have ignored all mailed contracts & stopped returning or accepting calls. These were from landmen - not sure from where. Today, Val Energy called offering $50 an acre for a lease. Needless to say, we would not be interested in them since others offered something like $250 an acre & we said no thanks. They were saying that the other landmen who had called us were offering to buy out our oil rights. But that's not correct. The contracts sent were offering to lease only - at something like 1/8 royalty along with their $250 an acre offer. Some of my relatives have received a nice offer that they took & they did get a check in the mail. It's hard to know what to do & when to do it concerning oil leases. We were very uninformed, but it looks like we need to educate ourselves on this subject. If someone offered $500 an acre & 1/8 royalty in Cowley County , I do believe we would be very interested. Also - we were wondering why literally all of our neighbors have an oil lease & seem happy with theirs. Makes me wonder if those offers last year weren't legit after all. Our land is surrounded by huge ranch that is owned by someone else & their ranch land is leased out. We live NE of Dexter - in between Dexter & Cambridge in Cowley County. Good luck to all & God bless. Any info. is appreciated.
The "contract" from Hammerhead Resources (thought they said Val Energy when they called) reads: "You are being paid $50 per mineral acre for your full (1/1) interest in the described....acres for a three (3) year term..." Complete with a bank draft. Glad they sent a postage paid return pky. We'll be returning their paperwork & bank draft.
BTW - Maco Operating Co. is listed Lesee.
Have just taken over a family trust and discovered mineral rights in Cowley Co., S1/2 SE Sec. 6, twp 35S Rge 3E; NW Sec. 26, Twp 32S Rge 3E.
Are there still producing wells here? Any info would be a big help.