Liz, every mineral owner needs to do their own due diligence or they could be losing a substantial amount of money!! The terms and conditions in your lease is the most important instrument you will ever sign with the Oil Co. which, could hold you to whatever you agree to today, and for decades!! In other words, you can initially get a bad well. but later they could drill a “gusher” and if you have a bad lease in place, you may seriously regret not taking this seriously.
Question - if you had to do it over again during lease negotiations what would you have done differently? Any and all advice is greatly appreciated.
K, thanks Mr. Barnes.
Liz, I may have a minority view of folks on this forum. I signed the lease offered by T.S. Dudley on behalf of Devon Oil without modification. The Osage/Slawson consortium pooled, permitted, drilled, and started paying almost on time and without complication. This is contrary to the near doom and gloom advice of some of the old salts/experts on this forum. No lawyers involved in any way shape or form. Sooo, make your own decisions. In my case, the title was unclouded. My rights were related to royalties only rather than surface rights. Indeed you should listen to the wise ones who have vast experience. Mine is limited to one well in a lifetime and not very many acres to fret about. Best wishes.
Harley,
Oil companies love people with little mineral interested and don’t own the surfaces. Most will not spent the money to give them any problems and lots of people won’t even know they are losing money each month.
Yes Virginia, I understand. The ignorant are vulnerable. My Mother and I just happily signed the leases over the years. Never understanding much. Even including the last lease that has now turned into something. My cousins and I nearly sold our rights about 18 months ago. When the offers started escalating each month, I decided to get wiser. Thus found this Forum and the Mineral Help Tab above. Even called an attorney in Perry whose name appeared here on the Forum. Too late, already leased.
As best I can tell from the payments and documentation thus far, we are not losing much if any. What the future holds? Who knows.
I have read over the last months your posts, Martha’s, Ron Mckenzie and a couple of others. I certainly know more. Still have one unleased property near Cushing and down here In Texas Eagle Ford Shale. The lease down here has expired, so wisdom gained will be used. Too bad the laws are so different down here.
Liz, I’ve had some good times and I’ve had some bad times in the oil and gas business, so I write my own leases for the best times that are still to come. US oil and gas needs and concerns will continue to develop and this forum is a great way to educate ourselves about the entire industry to ensure they do the right thing for mineral owners moving forward.
Liz, Martha and Virginia can be your best friends here.
If one does not want to expend any effort or cash, I would simply make the pooling election. I would go for the highest royalty. I would survive somehow whether a well was ever drilled or not and if a successful well or multiple wells are drilled, the royalty would far outstrip a little more bonus up front. Protect the upside. If this well does not come in terrific, the next one in another formation might. In a pooling the state may not give the operator all of your formations, the lease likely will if you don’t negotiate it.
Never, never, never sign a lease as is! Why would you give money to the Oil Co.? Take for example the difference between accepting 3/16th. and 1/5th. royalty. The way I figure it is about $200. more per mo. (average well) in my pocket rather than, the oil co’s.!! Be extremely selective who you listen to! HINT, it’s the one’s who have truly made their money from the business, not the old duds who ultimately have an alternate agenda being on the forum here, like “gossip”!! lol “Drill baby drill”!!!
It all comes down to who you want to listen to. If you listen to an attornyy, they will all tell you never do anything without consulting an attorney. If you have a headache, do not take anything, not even aspirin, without consulting a doctor. If you want all of the facts, read everything here on this site and decide for yourself, and not simply those “in the business” who don’t want you to know any of the facts except what they tell you. I still say Virginia and Martha are a wealth of knowledge and present a well established pattern of being right, and willing to share the cold, hard facts with anyone who is open to facts. Do not, in my opinion, take the word(s) of the so called “professionals” they only want what they want.
Sir Ron Von, thank you for vote of confidence. Once upon a time I was a very young and inexperienced ‘oily’ and a geologist and a landman taught me most of what I know over a cup of coffee at my kitchen table . Now, it’s my turn to help others. Pay it forward.
Good Lord! You certainly had me going for awhile Harley! ha,ha,ha
Virginia is right on the money here, in that oil companies love we who own the minerals but not the property, and there are severalreasons for this besides we do not give them much trouble. However, especially in my own case, it is a question of priorities vs allotment of time. My own interest is so small that for me to even think about resolving differences with the oil companies, who will probably win anyway, I simply decide not to pursue the issue, it is not worth my time. I have other things to do, but I do like coming here and witnessing the reaction to matters people problay can not control anyway. I also recognize that this is not a good way to handle the matter, and I am wrong in this pursuit. If everyone felt about it the way I feel about it, the Oil Companies would be dancing and singing and rejoicing for it. It is what they want, so, please forgive me for saying I would much rather write some more poetry, write some mor songs, than argue with Phillips 66 or Exxon or T-bone Pickens, LOL, or to pay some already paid off lawyer for “argueing” my case for me when I know I will still lose anyway. But please, please, please, other Mineral Owners, do not give up your fight. May God be with you, but I have some more poetry to write today.
I am doing my research and was wondering what Energy companies (not exploration or operators) are buying oil in this area. I know the operators and exploration companies are drilling; however, I would like to know what energy companies i e. Conoco, BP, etc are they contracting with? Thank you for your help in my research.
Something strange just happened. I received an offer from an landman and then after knowing that I was being forced pooled, he backed out of the deal due to “extensive research”. Would this have anything to do with the exploration company I am arguing at OCC with may have said something? Is this a common occurrence?
Liz, I only know that P66 has a pretty decent sized refinery in Ponca City I think it is, and they have pipelines all over Logan and Payne counties and that area, so I would imagine they buy a lot of it.
Also would want the ones outside of Texas or OK. Maybe Louisiana based companies?
Liz, you can search by the location option and see who is buying the products. Might be one company for oil and one for gas. Use a leading zero if single digit.
On the force pool, sometimes the land men withdraw their offers once the force pool orders are released. Not worth spending their time on it anymore. Although I think you still can lease within 10 days of the order being signed. Also sometimes, once an operator gets a majority of the leases under its control, it withdraws other offers because they will pick up the rest at the FP. Not uncommon for orders to be withdrawn at any time.
Sir Ron Von, I may have posted this before, but all this happening in Cushing still boggles my mind. http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/15/us-energy-oil-cushing-fac…