My siblings and I own mineral interests in Weld County Colorado. Recently my siblings received a payout for royalties that had been held in suspense. I did not receive a payment even though my interests are the same as my siblings. I contacted Civitas Resources and they said they were missing a division order. For the last four months, I have been asking Civitas to send me a division order. Despite multiple phone calls, emails and letters… crickets. Is there anyway I can compel some action from Civitas on this? KAT
Send them a certified request
I refused to sign my division orders for four wells because they kept trying to include a provision to wait until they hit $100 before distributing money. My lease which was signed by one company (they sold it onward) said payment every month. They rattled their saber I held firm. I kept asking when they were going to pay me and how much interest they were going to pay. They gave in and paid.
MANY companies will withhold payment until your check reaches a minimum amount. $25 is more typical, but $100 is not outrageous. Many people don’t realize how much an oil company spends on getting people paid every month when they are trying to pay at times tens of thousands of owners.
I understand the issue and expense of writing checks, as I have worked in several major corporations that issued thousands of checks daily… My point was that I refused to sign the division order because they were claiming the $100 threshold, which violates the lease contract that states payments to be paid monthly. While saying that nothing in the division order altered my lease in any way. Which was entirely B.S.
I’m not sure if this is the place to ask, About 5 months ago I was sent a check for back royalties, I called to make sure that I should receive them and was told yes. I just received a letter that states that thru human error I was and should not of been and they want me to repay the money. I’m not sure how to proceed and could use some direction. Thanks
Just curious how much money are you talking about?
It will depend on the facts and circumstances, including the state where the minerals are located. Is this an overpayment of royalties for a well that you own? In Texas, you can tell the company to deduct the overpayment from future royalties, even if that may take a few years. Other state may have different requirements. If this is for a well where you own no minerals then that can alter the situation.
Did you sign a division order? Most DOs have a provision to the effect that if you are paid incorrectly, it is your responsibility to repay. If you did not sign a DO, you have no liability. Even if you did sign and ignore them (which I would not recommend), they will likely recoup the overpayment from future checks. Communicate with them and try to work something out.
OK that sort of confused me. The property/wells are in Oklahoma (Coal County). An organization came to me and offered me a royalty lease because my grandfather sold the land and then bought the mineral rights back. That organization then arranged for Jones Energy to explore/ drill for Natural Gas. They ended up drilling three wells in all, of which I owned a very small royalty percentage. I do not have ownership of the wells just the mineral rights. Sometime later they sold this off to another company Pablo Energy who then sold it off to Foundation Energy, who I am dealing with now. Pablo Energy must have retained the right to drill as they got approval to drill a horizontal multi unit well. I ended up with 52.38% which brings my royalties decimal down to 0.00016442
Now their statement has an entry under the heading Prod/WPT but that does not appear to be educated from anything.
So it seems to me that Foundation is deducting expenses where Pablo is not.
I think the lease basically says that there are no deductions. but am not sure.
Over 100k. They sent me a Division order in 2022 which I signed. It states m” Your account is in title suspense and needs resolution before it can be paid. Next I knew the sent a large check in June 2024. I called them and asked if they were sure it was mine. They said yes. Now they say there was human error and was paid in error.
This is in Weld County Colorado and the Riyalties date back to 2019
You need to consult a Colorado oil and gas attorney.
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You definitely need to talk to an Oklahoma oil & gas attorney. Hampton & Milligan in OKC is a good firm.
Definitely need to speak to an oil & gas attorney, preferably one that also does litigation. What county are the well or wells located in?
These are in Weld County Colorado. It’s really screwed up my life. I only get Social Security and this money knocked me out of subsidized housing and Medicaid for the next year.
That is another reason to consult an attorney before returning the funds. You may have counter claim of being placed in a position of suffering severe economic harm due to oil company error.
Yeah, definitely need to find one. Any recommendations in the Colorado Springs area?