I own certain mineral rights in Kern County that are presently under lease. I wish to do an interspousal transfer of my rights from myself to myself and my wife. We are both residents of Oregon. I have two questions, but maybe only one. 1. Can non-California residents create a community property interest in California mineral rights if the parties reside in a non-community property state? and 2. Can anyone recommend a Kern County attorney who can do the transfer for me?
I too am interested in the current subject. But, I also have some other questions, I inherited my undivided interest on approx 70 ac in Maricopa from my grandmother 10 years ago. This property has been in my family for over 100 yrs and been producing oil most of that time. Since my grandmothers death in 1994 we have had three (3) different oil companies involved in the production, Occidental being the current one. All of these changes took place without our knowledge and production has gone from ten (10) wells to just one (1). Oxy will not share any info on the other undivided interest owners, so this makes it difficult to compare notes or to strategize for a more favorable outcome. Question 1: With all of these changes in the current lease, by the way, production has never stopped, is it possible we have more lease money or bonus money due us? Secondly, the oil company who sold the lease to the second party did not hold four years of royalties in a special reserved account, nor any royalties ever paid to our family.
If all this sounds confusing I can empathize with you because that is exactly what I am experiencing in dealing with the oil companies. Thanks for any advice you can offer. Take Care, Spencer Mendivil
Charles:
If your lease is producing there typically is no rents or "bonus" money due. (In California we rarely see "bonus" money, just rents when the lease is not producing and royalties when it is.) The lease should state how much land each well can hold. Thus, if a producing well can hold 40 acres and the parcel is larger, then the mineral owners have the right to inform the oil company that they need to drill additional wells, get the old wells back into production, or terminate the lease as to the acreage that is not held by production.
Typically, the standard lease has a provision which gives the oil company the right to assign the lease to another oil company without any further consent of the mineral owner. Thus, the lease can be assigned and transferred without your knowledge.
If you do not hold record title to the mineral interest the oil company likely does not know to whom it owes royalty. Given that you are an heir to the previous mineral owners, you must obtain record title to the property, or at a minimum provide sufficient information to the oil company, so that they will transfer the interest on their books to you and thereby start paying you the royalties. NOTE: there are particular statutes of limitations that come into play whereby you can lose the right to obtain past-due royalties. Therefore, you should contact Oxy to get started on any claim you may have to the royalty. Hope this helps.
Mr. LeChat: I suggest you contact an estate planning lawyer for this problem given that your question is a function of the particular laws concerning community property and not really one regarding mineral interests.
Mr. Mendivl, The land department at OXY will probably try to help you if you don't walk in the door thinking they are a bunch of pirates. There certainly are some little rat mom-and-pop oil companies who deliberately cheat land owners, but OXY is not one of those. They are a huge company, and it's simply not worth their while to engage in such shenanigans. They will furnish you a copy of the lease if you need one, tell you how many wells are there and what they are producing (this information is also available on the California DOG website), and show you what they believe your interest to be. The DOG website will also show what was produced during the four years when you got no income. The lease may have been shut in, or the operator might have cheated you, or paid the wrong persons. It's up to you to find that out from whoever the operator was at that time. OXY probably has a Division Order, naming all the royalty owners and their respective percentage interests, but will probably only show you the interests pertaining to you and your family. That protects the privacy of the other owners.
If you disagree with their findings, or if you feel that an interest that should have come down to you from an ancestor is not reflected on their schedule, an independent land company (there are several reputable ones in Bakersfield) can investigate the state of your title, and possibly make recommendations. This can sometimes be fairly expensive (like $5,000 or more) so if the property is not producing a lot of oil it is probably not worth it.
Finally a consulting geologist, or a little time at the library, can probably give you information on the state of the field and the potential for further development or enhanced recovery. After a century, it may just be played out.
CHARLES SPENCER MENDIVIL said:
I too am interested in the current subject. But, I also have some other questions, I inherited my undivided interest on approx 70 ac in Maricopa from my grandmother 10 years ago. This property has been in my family for over 100 yrs and been producing oil most of that time. Since my grandmothers death in 1994 we have had three (3) different oil companies involved in the production, Occidental being the current one. All of these changes took place without our knowledge and production has gone from ten (10) wells to just one (1). Oxy will not share any info on the other undivided interest owners, so this makes it difficult to compare notes or to strategize for a more favorable outcome. Question 1: With all of these changes in the current lease, by the way, production has never stopped, is it possible we have more lease money or bonus money due us? Secondly, the oil company who sold the lease to the second party did not hold four years of royalties in a special reserved account, nor any royalties ever paid to our family.
If all this sounds confusing I can empathize with you because that is exactly what I am experiencing in dealing with the oil companies. Thanks for any advice you can offer. Take Care, Spencer Mendivil