I have mineral interest in Blaine and Kingfisher county. Are Landmen specific to one area or county or could one Landman help me in both counties? Im trying to track down deeds and leases that are recorded but im not getting much help from the current operators on how to find them or where to look. Some operators have book and page number to find the lease but no information on the deed. Blaine will only look up information with book and page number but will NOT look up information under specific section number. Any help would be appreciated.
Land men can look at any county, it just cost money for them to drive to the other court house.
You can go to the county clerk office and look up records yourself. I'm sure they will show you were the books are, then you go to the section, township and range. They will not look it up for you as they are busy recording things, but usually they are more than helpful to show you where things are. Once you get to your legals, you will find leases, easement, deeds, etc. If the minerals were separated from the surface, you will need to look in different books. It's not hard.
Also, you can look up some thing on line at OK county records. com. Then for about $10 a month, you can open the records and for a small fee get copies off line. I'm sure how far back these counties have put on -line.
A land title company will also have records and there is generally at least one land title/abstract company in any county where oil and gas drilling is occurring or may occur.
They have land books that go by time frame and lists names on deeds - these are a copy the land books and you can look up warranty deeds (sales of land - both surface and mineral - and mineral deeds (leases)
When dealing with county people realize they are just doing their job and have to deal with people who have a low opinion of them - don't be like every body else. BE NICE! Ask politely. Be a regular joe.
And be honest with the people you are asking, tell them you don't know anything. When both I and then my wife did so, they were exceedingly nice to us. We even offered to buy them lunch, but they had to turn us down (conflict of interest)
Realize that you can get this information in two places (county office & land / abstract office) and they COST money to get copies of what you want. $2 a copy for certified copies and you want to prove they came from the county court - so pay the money happily as you now have written proof filed in the county court system.
One caveat about any online system - I use the OK one for example, The digital records only go back SO FAR - I think in OK, it goes back to the early 1980's. So if you want to research a given piece of land all the way back to when the US gov issued a land patent (homesteaded) then you will have to get into the paper records that are NOT on line.
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Hello, I have leases in Kay County back from 1984 I need copies of. The okcountyrecords.com site says their database only goes back to 1986, and a search in that section, township, range shows no leases listed for "all time." Can I assume the leases are kept by microfische at the county recorder, or would they have made paper copies?
Strangely enough, NO.
The counties that I have been to or contacted keep PAPER records.
At some point in time, the county decided to automate their records. BUT it costs money to do that with old records. So they pick a time frame, in this instance, it's 1986, and they decided from that point forward they would automate.
But if you want info before that, either you or a representative for your interests (cost $) - that is where a land title/abstract company comes into play. If you do not want to or just can't visit the county courthouse yourself, you can pay a company to do that research for you.
Two caveats -
1) having someone else do the work costs money - how much depends on what you want done and how deep your pockets are - and make no mistake "ALL THE MARKET WILL BEAR" is a fair price in an OG research project.
2) YOU will know your relatives names when you see them in print on deeds, be they warranty deeds or mineral deeds. I had an abstract done by a Land Title & Abstract company. Was not cheap and had it done for two sections I had questions about. Took about a year (maybe a little less). But when I got it, there were several names at the top of the list that I recognized as my relatives. Then there a few more that I did not recognize. But if you work for the title company they are ALL just names and do not mean much to you as the paid researcher.
Do those two things make sense?
Yes, thank you, it does. I have a catch 22 situation where upon my father's passing some years ago, he had only Division Orders and no lease copies. As trustee I did continue to get paid royalties but I never had copies of the leases. Only two sources for those: the county and the field operator. I have called the operator recently twice to get a status on a halt in field production, but The field operator will not return my phone calls, and they're not likely to provide me with lease copies. And that's one reason I need lease copies...to check the originals on shut-in clauses, and what time period the operator is allowed. Maybe I'll make a trip to Oklahoma in the spring. (I have contacted a landman through this board, but his schedule doesn't take him that far east in the state very often). Appreciate the input.
Ed,
If you know the legals of the minerals, then you can go to the County Clerk office and look them up yourself. They will either be in the mineral book if they were separated from the surface several years ago. Otherwise, they will be in the land book. You start with the last date and then work backward till you find the lease and deed. The oil company usually will not give you information and the Co. Clerk office will not look things up for you. But, they will usually show you the books to look in. Now if you are in TX. you need to know the name of the person who had it before you, then you see who had it before that, etc. Good Luck.
1. we would love to have you visit Oklahoma.
2. With that said, you might contact other landmen, and not just rely on the one you've contacted so far.
3. Based on the age of your leases, I would very much doubt that there is a stated time limit on how long a well can be "shut-in."
OCC has time limits on how long a well can be shut-in. But, you have to prove that the well hasn't produced in that time frame. It's used to be one year, but it can change.
You may want to call OCC and ask them to look up your well and ask for the time limit. 405-521-2613 Be sure to have your legal and name of the wells.
Wish I had seen this earlier. My husband went to pull deeds in Kingfisher County two days ago and Blaine is the next county over from there. From the other replies...they are correct. Since you have the section, township and range it would be simple for you to find the deeds and leases. It is just a matter of looking for the correct name in the index book. If there has been production on there for a long time the lease could be in the previous owners names.