Why would you join a federal unit? If you have no lease…you could be a WI owner instead of a RI owner. These Shell units are huge and will only diminish your take.
OK, I'm new to this and pretty confused! Wouldn't there be a higher probability of having a well drilled on or near your property by joining a federal unit if you have a smaller mineral interest? (I am told that I own around 21 net acres..?)People keep posting on this site that joining a unit this size will diminish your take, which as a mineral owner is very worrisome, but I have researched myself and asked my attorney and apparently your "take" will not be diminished at all by joining the unit because the royalties are shared inside a participating area (I think that's what it is called) that is inside of the bigger unit and not over the entire unit as a whole. Has anyone else heard this, or am I getting some crazy advice?
One more question for you, mahoney, or anyone else that knows the answer, wouldn't you have to pay your share of the drilling costs if you join as a WI owner instead of a RI owner? I don't know much about the industry but it seems like that could get rather costly for an individual mineral owner (me)...and if I join as a WI owner how do I get paid? Is it still a royalty from the operator? Is it some complicated formula to determine my take? Sorry for so many questions...just trying to wrap my head around this!