Here is a copy of the Unit Agreement. My relative's deed says he owned interest in minerals in
W/2 Section 3 block A-25, PSL
It appears that this is included in Tract #6, Exhibit A in this agreement. Does this mean there should be royalties?
Dear Susan,
This document creates a Field Wide Unit. That is allowed in Texas in the interest of conservation, etc.
By definition in the field wide unit agreement, your relative will either be a royalty owner or a working interest owner.
There must be some reason for you not to be receiving any income from the unit. The most likely reasons are that the unit was dissolved, never effective (not likely), production has ceased or there is incorrect owner information. There is also the possibility that the unit was reformed under another unit agreement. My suppositions are based on the Jenkins Field Wide Unit Agreement being the only relevant document.
UPDATE:
I just looked on the RRC website and the Jenkins Unit (San Andreas) quit producing in 2002. It had decent production in the last production month. I bet my lunch money that there is a another document involved somewhere. The unitized zone was the San Andreas formation. Might sure be another field wide unit agreement. I have not taken the time to look at production history on the wells that might be producing in the limits of the Jenkins Unit. That would be the next step, or ask the researcher if the unit has been dissolved, modified, reformed, renamed or something.
Buddy Cotten
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Mr. Cotten - Thanks so much for checking this out. It's all pretty confusing to me. I am going to concentrate on getting my mother-in law's name on the mineral
deed so that if there is someone interested in leasing, they know who to contact. My father-in-law passed away in 2005, and I'm not sure anything came in his name before this recent piece of mail which has stoked our interest.
Hopefully, there will be some activity in the future and someone will be able to find her! Thanks again.
Looks like Chevron took over the unit in 2002 and has produced over 1,500,000 BBL since that time. I guess I have to find out if my relative's land is still part of the unit.
Buddy Cotten said:
Dear Susan,
This document creates a Field Wide Unit. That is allowed in Texas in the interest of conservation, etc.
By definition in the field wide unit agreement, your relative will either be a royalty owner or a working interest owner.
There must be some reason for you not to be receiving any income from the unit. The most likely reasons are that the unit was dissolved, never effective (not likely), production has ceased or there is incorrect owner information. There is also the possibility that the unit was reformed under another unit agreement. My suppositions are based on the Jenkins Field Wide Unit Agreement being the only relevant document.
UPDATE:
I just looked on the RRC website and the Jenkins Unit (San Andreas) quit producing in 2002. It had decent production in the last production month. I bet my lunch money that there is a another document involved somewhere. The unitized zone was the San Andreas formation. Might sure be another field wide unit agreement. I have not taken the time to look at production history on the wells that might be producing in the limits of the Jenkins Unit. That would be the next step, or ask the researcher if the unit has been dissolved, modified, reformed, renamed or something.
Buddy Cotten
Mineral Manager
There you go. Good follow up. Looks like the title guy missed some important things.
Buddy CottenSusan Helsley said:
Looks like Chevron took over the unit in 2002 and has produced over 1,500,000 BBL since that time. I guess I have to find out if my relative's land is still part of the unit.
The Jenkins Unit does appear to have been taken over by Chevron in 2002-2003. It presently consists of 41 producing wells with, as of December 2013, a combined daily production of 260.5 BOPD and 127.1 MCFD.
At roughly $95 per barrel and $5 per mcf, that's over $25,000 a day or $9.125 million a year - not bad beans!
I was not able to obtain a copy of the Tax Assessors Mineral Tax Rolls for the Unit through DrillingInfo. I am not certain why that information is not available, it usually is. The County Appraisal District should be able to provide you with a copy.
Susan, your relative needs to contact Chevron. Their contact person and number is listed at the top of Page 6 of the file named "04. Jenkins Unit Information". They are more than likely disbursing the royalty checks, so it will probably be their Royalty Division Order Department you will need to get in touch with to sort out the papers and get your relative's royalties flowing.
On occasion checks are disbursed by the purchaser(s) of the products, however, so don't be surprised if you are directed to them. The two company's contact people and numbers are also at the top of Page 6.
Whichever Company, they will require certified copies of documents proving your relative's ownership and when those are approved, will send your relative a Royalty Division Order to sign. Once they have processed that, your relative will begin receiving their royalty checks.
If any monies attributable to your relative's interests have been held in Suspense the initial check or two may be quite large, but don't expect them to be that large every month. And remember that you have to pay both County Taxes and Federal Income Taxes on the income (as well as possibly State Income Taxes if you live out of State).
On Sections 2 & 3, I gathered what information I could on those because they were both shaded in on Susan's map.
A number of wells have been permitted over the years, but only 3 of them ever drilled. One was a Dry Hole, one produced for about 5 years and a third, the Andrews, S E Charitable Trust No 1 is still producing. I have included information on all of them for your use.
If your relative owns interest in the NE/4 of Section 3, they may need to contact OXY USA or the companies purchasing the products for the Andrews, S E Charitable Trust No 1 well. Their contact information is at the top of Page 10 of the file named "03. 34609 ANDREWS, S E CHARITABLE TRUST NO 1".
There has been a flurry of very recent leasing in Section 3 over the past few months. If your relative has interest in the entire two Sections, they should expect to be contacted soon. Note that the leases are 1/4 royalty leases with three (3) Year terms - that is always a good indication that the company(ies) are very interested in the area.
About any large sums of money coming your relative's way, one thing I try and always caution people about is that if your relative relies upon Medicare coverage for any medical issues or are reliant upon any type of long term disability program, any large influx of cash may render them ineligible for continued coverage.
That may be something your relative needs to look into before signing any Royalty Division Orders. It might be wiser to assign the interest to their children or other heirs (people still in their earning and taxable years). At least the one(s) trustworthy enough to take care of your relative in their later years
WOW! Thank you so much. This is incredibly helpful information. I sent a certified letter to Chevron last week requesting that they look into this further and inform me if my relative has royalties coming to her. I wish I had had this information when I contacted them, but at least I am more confident than ever that I am on the right track!
Unfortunately, the family does not own rights in NE/4 of section 3. Only W/2 and SE/4, but perhaps new drilling will approach those areas as well. I have downloaded the files.
Again, I can't thank you enough. Your information and guidance re: next steps in exactly what I needed.
You're welcome.
Has the family been approached about leasing their interests in Section 3?
Or do they just own Royalty Interests?
Sent you a friend request. Would prefer to respond in private message.
Mineral and royalty interest are owned. the land or portions of it have been leased in the past, but no lease
since 1997 as far as my search goes.
Charles Emery Tooke III said:
You're welcome.
Has the family been approached about leasing their interests in Section 3?
Or do they just own Royalty Interests?
If you have copies of your source deeds, you might want to contact one or both of the companies leasing in Section 3. They might be looking for you.
If you need their contact information let me know.
Charles
I would love their contact information when you have a chance.
What do I say when I contact them - "I heard you may be leasing in Section 3, Blk A25, here is my info if you want to get in touch?"
Funny how OXY USA was able to find my FIL in order to send out notice relating to nearby property, but the one's actually drilling in the unit were not. Weird.
Also, when you say source deed, are you referring to the original Mineral Deed? I do have a copy in hand.
Thanks again for your help.
It may just be that different Landmen have different skill levels.
Your Source Deed (or documentation) can be a Mineral Deed, a Deed whereby you or a predecessor in title reserved minerals or royalties, or court proceedings regarding a Will or Intestate Succession. Whatever paperwork created your interests.
I'll see what I can find on the Land Departments for you.
Charles
For the Jenkins Well, we already discussed how Chevron's contact information is on Page 6 of the file named "04. Jenkins Unit Information". Sandra Stedman with their Houston offices can be reached at 866-212-1212.
If she is not with their Royalty Division Order Department, she will be able to direct you to it. Eventually you will be in touch with whoever with their Department is responsible for the Jenkins Unit.
Cimmaron Field Services appears to be a Land Services firm. That means they usually research the records and lease lands, etc., for client companies. They may not be the "End User" of the leases they took in Section 3, but will be able to either assist you directly or put you in direct contact with their client.
Christian Patry is Director of Operations for Cimmaron's Midland, Texas office. He can be contacted at 877-944-2705 x1057. He will more than likely direct you to the company Landman responsible for that area.
Anthem Oil and Gas appears to be more oriented towards buying mineral and royalty interests than leasing mineral interests, so expect an offer.
Their website gives one phone number for their Midland, Texas office: 432-684-8200. Says to ask for Eric Boyt, Acquisitions Manager, Trey Walker, Manager of Minerals and Royalties, or John Norwood, Vice President.
From what I could see on DrillingInfo, Cimmaron only has 4 Leases in Gaines County, 3 of which are in Section 3. Anthem only has 3 leases in Gaines County, all in Section 3. Why they jumped in to Section 3, I don't know. Maybe somebody they know owns some of the minerals.
Anyway, get in touch with Chevron and get that ball rolling. Then call the others and see what you can find out from them.
And don't forget to add a provision in your lease that requires them to provide you with copies of any Title Run Sheets and Title Opinions covering your lands and interests.
Hope this helps -
Charles
It helps a ton! Thank you.
Your welcome!
Hope they have a bunch of money in Suspense for your relative and that your relative is a generous one!
Speaking of which, monies in Suspense-wise, Page 1 of the file named "04. Jenkins Unit Information" is a history of the companies that have Operated the well over the course of time.
If Chevron has royalties held in Suspense for your relative, make sure and request that they determine for you whether or not any royalties held in Suspense by the prior companies was passed forward to Chevron or are still being held by Exxon or Texaco. Very important issue.
If any monies are still being held by the prior companies, the people with Chevron should be willing to help you recover those as well.
Hope this helps -
Charles
Thanks. I spoke with a woman at Cimmaron who is going to call me back tomorrow after she talks to the person in charge of leasing that area. She said that they might be able to help with getting documents straightened out re: heirship, etc if they are interested in the land and offered to refer me to an O and G attorney if they are not. I am , of course open to any recommendations of attorneys from forum contributors, but hesitate to commit much of my MILs money unless we are fairly certain that there is money to be found. Certainly will go that route if we are presented with a lease.
I too hope against hope that there is plenty of $$ held in suspense and that it is not too difficult to get it. I have my mother in law all excited - thinking she's going to be the next Suellen Ewing (or Granny Klampett!!) I told her not to get her hopes up, but we are having fun joking about it!! It's been a fun and interesting process for me, and I am learning a great deal. It is awesome to have people like you with the knowledge and willingness to share it!! Many thanks again, and I will keep you updated if you like as events unfold.
Sue
Landman are much less expensive than Lawyers and can pull together copies of what documents already exist in a matter of days.
Anything else required, like Affidavits of Heirship, might take a little time, but they are fun to do.
Make sure and get copies of any documents they find or prepare regarding the heirship(s) for your family's records.
I already have the mineral deed, division orders and some old leases showing my deceased Father-in-law's interest in the property to the present time. I have also obtained an "authenticated" copy of his will, from the county in NY where he died. I'm just not sure whether I should file that with Gaines County, or if it will be sufficient to change the title to my Mother-in-law's name, since he left her all of his "real and personal" property. The will was not probated.
On the Texas AOH form it states: "DO NOT COMPLETE THIS FORM IF THE DECEDENT LEFT A WILL THAT WAS PROBATED IN COURT OR THAT THERE HAS BEEN SOME OTHER TYPE OF COURT DETERMINATION TO THE ESTATE" Once I file the will, what happens? Will land men doing research be able to contact my MIL? I feel like somehow my FIL's info has been overlooked before, as there is activity going on and no one has reached out. I would like to make it more visible.
No response to my calls to Cimmaron or Chevron thus far. I know I haven't given the oil companies much time to respond, but I thought I would have at least received a call asking for more info.
I just want whomever might be working on/interested in leasing the mineral rights to know we exist, and certainly if my MIL is due any royalties, I would like her to receive them.
Thoughts?
I"m not an attorney and suggest you consult one for matters like this. But it is my understanding that if your Father-in-Law's Will was never probated, it has no effect on inheritance at all - as if he died intestate (without a Will).
I know he left a Widow and that his Will leaves everything to her, but did he leave any children?
Some States require that a Will be probated or an Administration be had establishing inheritance, others do not.
Some have time limits within which a Probate matter or an Administration be initiated.
In Texas, for example, I think you have 4 years to file a Will for Probate or open an Administration of an Estate to settle it. If you don't by that time, your properties pass to your heirs as if there was no Will.
Does New York require that the Will be probated or is there a statute of limitation or whatever regarding probate matters there?
If it is required and/or the time limit has not been reached, then you may need to have the Will Probated there, then file certified copies of the Will, Inventory and Order Admitting Inventory with the County Clerk's Office in Gaines County.
Under certain circumstances you may be required to open Ancillary Proceedings in Gaines County for the Will to be accepted there.
If New York doesn't require that the Will be probated, and he didn't leave any children, then all you may need is an Affidavit of Heirship and maybe a certified copy of your Father-in-Law's Death Certificate.
File those of record with the Gaines County Clerk's Office, request certified copies of them after they are recorded and send those to the Chevron's Royalty Division Order Department and/or Land Department with the legal description of the subject lands and the Unit Agreement.
With those items, they should be able to transfer the royalties into your Mother-in-Law's name. They'll send out a new lease if they need to and new Royalty Division Orders - whatever they need to sort it all out.
What is an AOH form? Affidavit of Inheritance?