Inherited Mineral Rights and money

[Vanessa1]

I am very new to owning mineral rights and not very educated about how everything works. I inherited money that had not been paid out since Equal Energy could not find me. Then the company stopped production in 2015-16. I am now getting a letter from Anchor Land Group on behalf of Prairie Gas Co. of Oklahoma, LLC. I have seen in this forum that Anchor Land Manage. is not a good company to go with. I am also wondering if there is anything going on in Section 15,14N, 4E.

[Lee_E_Dumas]

Vanessa1, if you know the well name and section,township and range of the well in question, you can go to Oklahoma corporation commission site. Have a great day.

[Vanessa1]

Lee, how do I find the well name?

[Lee_E_Dumas]

You should have a well name like john 1- H or a division order of the legal interest you have in the well. Your land people should have that information on the lease paperwork that was sent to you.

Also their should be section. township,and range with well in agreement.

Thanks have a pleasant day

[Kedash]

Looks like there is (was) a well out there named the Vesta 1-4H on a 640 acre unit, covering the entire Sec. 15. Presently not producing. Prairie is named operator.

If they are trying to get a new lease ask them what their plans are.

[Vanessa1]

Thank you all so much. You have really helped.

[M_Barnes]

Vanessa, welcome to the forum. Equal Energy had several horizontal wells drilled into section 15. Looks rather like the spokes from a bicycle wheel. They looked like pretty nice gas wells. Not sure why they were turned off as they didn’t have a normal pattern of decline. May have been mechanical trouble. Don’t know.

Are you getting a letter to lease? There has been quite a bit of leasing in Sections 14 & 15 by CE Operating during 2018.

Or are you getting a letter to buy? Or is the company trying to find you in order to pay the funds due to you?

[Lee_E_Dumas]

Hello M_Barnes, FYI CEO operating did a lot of leasing in Lincoln county in 2018. They sent out leases to minerals interest owners and they do not respond to certified mail in October of 2018. Never paid on leases they had interest in.

[M_Barnes]

Lots of comments on the forum about lessees who do not pay on leases. Never turn over a lease without getting a check. Search for Mr. Winblad’s comments on the issue recently. If they filed the leases, there could be legal issues to resolve.

Looks like the CE Operating might be one to stay away from on any future leases until they ante up.

[Richard_Winblad]

Thanks Martha:

Beware of Delivering Lease Without Payment:

Failure of a company to pay a lease bonus is a theme that has been raised in this forum far to often. Below are a few discussions on the topic. It is always best to exchange a lease for a check at the time of the transaction. This may not always be possible because of distance. In such cases it is probably better to have an escrow company or attorney to hold the lease until the consideration is paid.

Sometimes companies file leases without payment of bonuses.

There have been cases were companies take leases but never file them. They return the leases later stating that they were never funded by the company. In the meantime, the mineral owner cannot sign with another company.

It is much easier to prevent the issue than to remedy it after the fact.

Below is a sample of Nightmares:

Canadian County - Bonus not paid ! Lawyer?

Signed a lease on March 2016 for Minerals in T 10N R 05W . Normally I receive a Bonus check within 30days of signing; however, we are now a good 70 days without the Bonus. I did check with the County Web Site and the lease has been filed, and called the landman and he said the checks are going out slowly. The lessee is not a oil company, but appears to be a private LLC. Anyone else had an experience like this? Is it time to contact a lawyer?

Oil Lease Bonus Payment Not Paid

I am a member of a family who has had oil/gas interest in Canadian county for many years. I have never been involved as an active member concerning the leasing process and know little about it. I am now in a situation where I need to acquire some basic knowledge before involving an O&G attorney. Our family signed a 3 year Lease Agreement for a certain amount per acre for a known amount of acreage. Through some research the agreement seemed to be a fairly accepted and a standard agreement …

Bonus not paid on a top lease

I recently signed a top lease on some minerals in Colorado. The Land Company now refuses to pay the up front bonus money. Do I have any recourse if they have not filed the lease?

Help! I was never paid my bonus!

Some years ago, there were many complaints that landowners had not been paid their bonus and the lease was filed of record. To help with that situation, I am developing a clause for my Professional Lease Form that reads as follows: 7. PAYMENTS TO LESSOR. Lessee covenants to pay Lessor as follows: (A) SIGNING BONUS: Lessee agrees to pay Lessor a signing bonus in the amount of __________________Dollars ($_________) by company check or in United States Currency. The bonus payment shall be pai…

Bonus Payment not paid

I recently read a thread about a bonus payment not paid and the lease was signed. Advice was to find out if it recorded and try to null the lease before the fact. This is what I was trying to avoid with Exterra. I want an escrow. I will pay for the escrow costs, just so I have the money before I release the papers. Now this poor guy has to figure out what to do and the advice ranged from hiring an attorney to recording a null on the lease or don't release papers until the money was paid. …

Signing Bonus Never Paid, Well Drilling in Progress

Kodiak O&G retained Lone Tree to obtain a lease from me on mineral acres I own in Dunn county N.D. They sent me leases twice in 2007. I executed, notorized and returned both leases. As both leases looked identical to me I assumed the draft time limit had run out or some such. I followed directions both times and submitted both drafts to my bank for payment. Neither of the drafts were honored, but the lease was recorded both times. Dealing with Kodiak now, they tried to maintain that the leases w…

Mineral Lease Bonus Payment

My wife and I signed and returned a mineral lease letter agreement on 11/30/2018 agreeing to lease our minerals effective 12/01/2018. We signed and returned the lease in December with the agreement that toe bonus would be paid on 01/01/2019. The letter agreement did not have any stipulation whereby the lessee could void the contract. However, the lessee has failed to honor the agreement and has not issued the bonus payment. Do I have good standing for legal action against the lessee to force…

Breach of lease agreement

I own minerals in sec20, T7, 2W as well as minerals in sec 17,t7,2w. We signed a lease with ProMinerals Partners. Terms 2,000 per m/a and 3/16. ProMinerals has filed the lease in November 2019 with the county courthouse, but we have not received any bonus consideration agreed upon. It has been 5 months since filing and ProMinerals is not responding to inquiries. They offered to let us out of the lease, but I told them I was very happy with the agreement and didn’t plan to allow them out of their…

[Vanessa1]

Thank you M Barnes for responding. I am getting a letter of lease proposal. Terms seem pretty low to me ,although I am new to all of this. One proposal is $100 per acre, 0.1250 (1/8) for 3 years. Equal Energy pulled out of lease in 2015 and I have had no activity since. Equal Energy found me and paid out when they stopped production. I would like to keep activity on the lease but at going rates by a company that is trust worthy.

[Vanessa1]

Wow, all this has helped a lot. I didn’t know I should get a lease bonus first. This website has been a great help for me. Is there a standard amount I should negotiate for or does it depend on the location ? I do know of an attorney in the location of the well, should I call him ?

[M_Barnes]

The lease bonus is based on the value of the perceived products and the economics of getting to them. Location, location, location. I would not go for a 1/8th lease. My minimum is 3/16ths and 1/5th or 1/4 if offered. Lincoln is not going to have very high offers. A local oil & gas attorney in the area should be knowledgeable about the going rates.

[Vanessa1]

Thank you M Barnes. I do know an attorney in Chandler ,Ok. I guess I should contact him for help. I do not live any where near Oklahoma so I think it would be easier to have him help me. Thanks again.

[Lee_E_Dumas]

Vanessa1, If interested I can Recommend a attorney for you in Chandler. If not I fully understand. Thanks Lee Dumas

[Vanessa1]

Thank you Lee , I have worked with one 3 years ago when I got the inheritance. He was honest and fair.