Dealing with several Operators could use some advice

My mother passed away in Jan 2014, her mineral rights were split between me and another family member, recorded in march of 2015. Right off the bat, I noticed that the size of the checks for S&M Energy were different. My mother was averaging a certain amount when she was alive, while afterwards me and the other family member combined average about 2/3rds less then what my mother did though production was the same. Then later while going through the numbers, I found a strange circumstance between a 2 month period of 2 check amount averages, right after her death.

Before we got the deeds transfered in our names from our mother, S &M changed my mothers owner number, there’s no explanation for it. I also noticed that the revenue interest checks decreased by 2/3rds and carried over from her to us, though everything else was the same, and its still that way today. Since then, that company was sold its interest in our wells to another company. I’m trying to get the records and statements from all these companies, as well as back pay owed for wells my mother had interest in, but were hidden from us by Chord Energy and Whiting, until I confonted them in proving our interest. If i didn’t know for sure tjat I was an owner, they would have never told me, and I would have just walked away. How many other owners did exactly that? Believe them and walk away? First it was “you don’t have interest,” then it was " it’s not productive anymore, you have nothing coming, " finally now it’s, " we already paid you." But, in 2015 we received a check for the exact same wells, for 18 months, for 180,342 bbls, today were owed for 9 yrs worth of revenue, 304,121 bbls, and it’s literally just pennies? Thousands and thousands in difference. Something is not right… Plus decimal interests are off. My mother gained interest from another family member, it’s reflected in about half the wells, but they refuse to pay, or even look, and when they do, saying that we already got paid for it, which I know we didn’t. Wait, how could I already have gotten paid, when you just said i don’t have interest? This is all crazy. I’m having alot of problems with all these operators (XTO, S&M, Whiting, Chord), all except one, White Rock - your guy rocks!

I’ve identified 6 separate issues that effect revenue, but the analysts wont help me, often pointing me to another oil operator that bought them out, or an excuse why I won’t get paid, or find out information, just ingororing my emails and requests. I just want records and statements, to have a clear picture of whats going on here, now and in the past, and there’s so much going on from what i can see, but getting clarification and back records Its like pulling teeth.

I’ve been gone for 9 yrs, in another country, I know its my fault for not keeping up and paying attention to the detals. I wasn’t involved, I get it. However, I’m back. The other family member doesn’t know what even to look for, they are handicapped mentally, and I feel like our mineral rights have been taken advantage of because we weren’t paying attention and just trusted these operators too much. I know mistakes can be made, I’m not after blood, just my issues addressed, and everything made correct, so i can at least feel good about all this. This is all I have left from my relationship with my Mom, so its important, you know? Its not just about money. J want to pass these rights to my children someday, but not like this.

But, I’m being lied to, and the other family member was a minor for several of the years owed, she doesn’t deserve this…

I don’t have much money to just go hire an attorney. I don’t have any money at all really, living paycheck to paycheck just surving. But, if I’m right, and after spending weeks in study and research. And I’m 99% sure I am, were not only owed quite a bit of money for back payments, but current and future revenue as well. Plus, I have no idea what wells we actually have an interest in, and I can’t trust anything these people tell me. For instance do i have interest in the wells on the property next to me, its just a few feet across the fence line? I’m not crszy, this is really happening, and I just feel overwhelmed and alone, and out gunned. I didn’t even want first in the first place. I can’t let this go on. Is there any advice you might give? I mean, I’m going to have an ongoing relationship with these companies, i don’t want conflict, I want it to be as pleasant as possible. Butt man, things need to be fixed and there is alot. This is all just a nightmare

You will need to start by methodically collecting all relevant data. List the county and State here for greater assistance. If you are in TX, then go to the TX RRC and start building your dataset. Create a plat covering your mineral ownership by using a screenshot from the RRC GIS information. Start to overlay the unit and permit information. Make sure to use API numbers and not well names since that can lead to confusion. API numbers can be tied directly directly tied to the company property numbers.

Owner numbers can change due to a changeover in revenue accounting systems, but the company will maintain a historical reference system.

Once you have all of your data together, then approach the companies with concise questions. You have the duty to ask specific questions in order to resolve the issues. The broader your questions, the longer your response time and the greater likelihood of an insufficient answer.

There is no benefit to the company to not tell the truth. Wrong answers are generally related to a lack of focus in the questions. Lastly, patience and diligence will help you resolve the issues since there are no silver bullets related to this type of hard work. Good luck to you.

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I know from personal experience that trying to do all this is a daunting task. For what’s it is worth, what I did when trying to get a handle on my mother’s mineral rights was to hire some knowledgeable help. I realize pretty quickly that it was all over my head. I have a couple of suggestions that might help:

For starters, look up Tracy Lenz and her company Pecan Tree, for starters. Tracy worked for years for oil companies and saw how individual owners didn’t have the capabilities or knowledge or staff to advocate for what’s right. I found her on this Forum several years ago and have never regretted my decision to use her for a couple of projects and I found her fees to be very reasonable. However, if you don’t have the funds right now, for sure go to her YouTube channel where she has loads of free information videos for mineral rights owners. She’s someone I would say is truly on “our” side with a passion for helping mineral owners.

Through Tracy, I also found another firm that I’m now using for landman and ownership and ongoing minerals management. It’s called JDub Enterprises And the owner’s name is Jimmy Wright . He has the same passion that Tracy does. They are being very helpful in all kinds of things from general landman type of things to negotiating leases, finding out ownership, and even doing title research.

There are probably other services like this out there, but I can speak from personal experience that these folks really helped (and are helping) me through the mess. And have saved me a lot of money and even more headaches.

I wish you well. It’s really frustrating I know!

I wish that I could hire somebody, and working 50 plus hours a week, bearly scrapping by, doesn’t leave alot of room or time for self education or research, but ive learned alot already. I seen something you wrote though, that tells you exactly understand. Alot of people I’ve talked to, really don’t. That Tracy is “Truly on our siide.” There really is ive come to find, two sides. And it sucks. I just wanted to be able to trust people, these companies, to do the right thing. To be honest and open, to be fair, you know? Especially with some thing like family mineral rights that have passed on from geneation to generation. And I did truly trust them, for years. And maybe I’m being naive, or Pollyannaish or whatever, about how the world works, and maybe that’s a fault in me to a degree, I don’t know. It just sucks. That those who are the most trusting, and often have the least of things in this world are so often taken advantage of by those who have the most. I just wish it wasn’t us versus them. I never wanted that, and I don’t think I’m unreasonable in disiring so.

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I couldn’t agree more. It does suck. My dad was in the oil patch as a geologist for decades and got screwed over so many times you can’t count. The old saying in the oil biz is something like shake hands on a deal but be sure to count your fingers when it’s over.

And I understand about not having the funds (and shouldn’t have to) but do watch Tracy’s content on YouTube, it’s free. She does also have an estimating tool called Pecan Estimate where you can put in your property details and get an estimate of value & lease bonus, see drilling status, etc. And I think it’s only $30 or maybe $50. I used it in a lease bonus negotiation and told the company I knew they were trying to screw me over with their offers. They gave in and gave me the higher offer. Well worth the money.

@Lundquist17 This is not a business for the “faint of heart”. Companies looking to lease or purchase your minerals have a duty to acquire/lease the interest at the least cost. With that said, they are not supposed to make representations that diminish the value of your property during negotiations; however, there are subjective ways to get around those limitations and some just ignore those limits.

You want the best deal available for your property, then you must invest the time, research and education to place you in a favorable negotiating position. Available time and financial limits can impact this, but that is the cold reality of any negotiation. There is nothing wrong with trust, but you must verify. This goes for your dealings with companies and consultants. Just because someone knows more than you does not mean they are not offering flawed advice.