A lot of horizontal drilling in your area. Each line is from one to two miles. Red circle is where ROSEWOOD RESOURCES has wells. I think your area is adjacent to their current wells. Blue circle is Catarina.
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Require the landman for ROSEWOOD RESOURCES to send you a map showing the location of your mineral property.
A little history of the area from Texas Monthly, 8/98: (Dolph Briscoe was governor of Texas) Briscoe and his wife finally bought the three-story mansion, which had been built near the town of Catarina in 1902 by Charles Taft and equipped with oversized bathtubs to accommodate his oversized brother, President William Howard Taft.
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Follow this link to a commissioners court meeting Nov 2020 or Google search “subdivision c of catarina taft dimmit county”.
2.14 APPROVED: OPEN/CLOSE BIDS FOR OIL & GAS LEASE – TAFT –CATARINA COMPANY LANDS
[RE:– County Judge Francisco G. Ponce opened and duly read aloud the two(2) Bids timely submitted :
- GULFTEX ENERGY LLC (San Antonio) $ 3,000.- per acre
- ROSEWOOD RESOURCES (Dallas) $ 4,200.- per acre ]
MOTION: Mike Uriegas SECOND: Alonso Carmona THAT THE COMMISSIONERS COURT APPROVE :
Opening and Closing of all BIDS for the Oil & Gas Lease located in Lot 6, Block 34, Subdivision “C” of the Taft-Catarina Company Lands and designate County Attorney and County Auditor to review/analyze bids for report/recommendation and allow the County Attorney, Langley & Banack Law Firm to negotiate w/bidder Rosewood as presented.
You might call their county attorney at Langley & Banack Law Firm to see if the bonus you should ask for is $4,200 with a 25% royalty and do not participate in production expenses.
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Also ask the landman to give you the research he used to determine you mineral ownership. His work may be a spreadsheet that starts at sovereignty and goes through all the sales, transfers and inheritance leading up to your ownership. Very interesting and very important that you keep it.
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Wow!!! Thanks SO very much for all your info!!! How did you get that map??? What site did you go on??? I am calling the landman tomorrow. Just been waiting so I can research more and get a better understanding of all this!!! The landman did say that Rosewood had just bought 1700 acres in that area!!! Thanks again so much!!!
Excellent advice! Wish I had know this 30+ years ago.
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P.S. My sugggestion for finding a lawyer, is not meant to hire one in perpetuity, but to make sure you have eliminated all weirdness in the document you sign that favors the producer and absolutely does not favor you.One or two hours of an attorney’s time, if the person is really good, is all is should take, maybe even just one hour. And I agree with L.Shannon, too, if that works. Thanks LShannon for the information about the addendum.
Ann59 the area you are interested in appears to be in A-1241 of Dimmit County. RRC map link https://gis.rrc.texas.gov/GISViewer/
This is just to the southeast of the area LShannon indicated for the Rosewood activity in the area. Area should be close to 28.349N 99.635W using latitude and longitude.
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Oil Production in the Catarina area. http://gis.rrc.texas.gov/GISViewer/index.html?api=12735155
I have mineral deeds for the mineral rights that I own in 4 counties in Oklahoma. I wasn’t aware that I have to reclaimed them every 20 years. Have I misinterpreted what you are saying? Isn’t a deed proof of ownership for ever? Thanks, John Mann
Hi, John, my understanding that a Deed is a Deed is the same as yours. Truly sorry to have cause any confusion.
Oklahoma has a very limited dormant minerals law that is hardly ever used. You do not generally have to claim the minerals in OK. Other states like ND do have the 20 year limit. LA has 10 years for non-producing minerals. Each state may or may not have the law.
When you say, LA has ten years for non producing minerals, what I think you are referring to is how long you can reserve the minerals (or servitude in the case of LA) if you sell the land. As long as you own the land there is not time limit regardless whether there is any production.
Yes, you are correct. I don’t have any minerals in LA, so didn’t have the exact language. My attorney for ND said that we had to claim the non-producing minerals, but to claim for the producing at the same time just in case. Over time, they may cease production and I want it filed as a backup.
Congratulations, Ann59. I was you 4 years ago, inherited a small fractional interest in a tract in Reeves County TX, was totally ignorant. Happy ending, my small acreage is producing excellent royalties from the first well, and I expect many other future wells in this “stacked pay” … I’m part of a 640 acre pool that will have numerous horizontal wells stacked & staggered at different depths. Our first well paid $10,500 royalites per acre in the first two years, not including lease bonus, despite low prices in the pandemic, and there will be more future wells drilled. I regard our well as 4-star, pretty good but not great.
It was much work & research for me (I’m retired), and some legal expense, but I enjoyed the learning process and especially receiving bonus & royalties. This forum website helps very much. Suggestions …
First, I phoned the landman often, pestered him, learned more from each call. (2) looked up my section on the Texas Railroad Commission online map, delighted to see all the “offset” wells in the vicinity. (3) Looked at the monthly oil & gas produced by the offset wells, told me the kind of production success, you can do some math, e.g., 2-mile long laterals cost $7-$9 million, pay 25% royalties, you can gauge how quickly wells break-even (payback) for operators.
(4) I needed to record an Affidavit of Heirship to improve my clear title, because of intestate death in my title chain, your landman can tell you have clear & strong your title is. You might need to record probated will(s) in the Texas County. (5) I learned to use TexasFile to search county land records to do my own title searching of our tract’s history.
(6) I learned who my neighbors are in the two sections, in which our 2-mile long lateral was to be drilled. Some neighbors were superrich with huge acreage, I downloaded their recorded leases, and saw where their lease addendum provided good terms, I insisted on signing an identical lease, far superior, especially because it did not reduce my royalties for post–production expenses for either oil or gas. I also replicated the requirement that lessee provide me with Division Order Title Opinion on request, so I know exactly who owns the pooled acreage. County property tax records (ad valorem taxes) are public info, I was able to study the tax records to see ownership of surface & minerals.
Your first lease will probably be your last lease, lessee holds it by production as long as O&G is produced in paying quantities.
Obviously, if you’re one of five family members who own an undivided tract, you must collaborate.
Never forget, the landman works for himself/herself, and not for you. That said, if you ask the right questions, most will not lie to you, although they will not tell you things if you don’t ask. You might consider hiring/retaining your own landman, many follow this forum, you could share costs with your other “partners”.
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Ann, I use google a lot and have an inheritedforum you can email me.
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What is an inherited forum???
a google email account
Thank you so much for all the wonderful info. I have such limited time to research all this so any help in pointing me in the right direction is very much appreciated. My lease also says something about being in a 640 acre track. There are 5 acres. 5 of us own an acre but myself and my brother are the only ones that I know of that have even been contacted??? And my brother does’t even own a cell phone of a computer. So i’m thinking he’s waiting on me to figure everything out. Thanks again for the info!!!
Ann59, the 640 acre track is likely for the entire well. Since you have 1 acre, 1/640 will be one of the factors that goes into determining your overall royalty share in the well.
You could share your landman contact information with your uncontacted siblings, and they could call to see if they just need
to provide some contact information.