Navigating Texas Railroad Commission website

Oil and Gas Leasing Help
1

I have some older (1950's to present) division orders and mineral deeds, but can't find them on the Texas Railroad Commission website. I don't seem to have the criteria they are looking for.

I have Property Number, Unit/Well Name, legal description, division order number, county, sometimes owner number. I don't have API number.

Can someone point me to instruction on how to begin researching which of these oil/gas leases are producing and which are not? How do I begin searching correctly on the TX RR Commission website? Do I need to research individual counties as well?

I know in the end I will need to hire a landman and an attorney to complete this search, but I would like to do as much work on my own as possible to keep the costs down since it may be a dead end and funds are limited.

Thank you so much for any assistance you can offer.

2

Vanita

What information is it exactly that you are looking for on the website?

3

Trying to find out if any of these older leases are producing. Those that were older could have benefitted from newer fracking technology. These belong to my mother who is 100. Curious if she has gotten lost over the years in name changes when spouse passed away or when she has changed addresses. Wanting to find out if they are viable so I know whether to go further with my research in hiring landmen/attorneys to finish the job.

Hard to find them on the TX RRC site. Wish there was a way to simply look up the description (which doesn't change) or look under the original owner's name. Am I dreaming?

4

Unfortunately, you are dreaming. It's going to be a little more complicated than that. If you have the API number for the wells, you can search that way, but the RRC still makes it more difficult than necessary.

From the main page, click on Oil and Gas at the top. Next, go to the bottom and click on "Research and Statistics"

Next, go all the way to the bottom, middle of the page, and click on "Maps- Public GIS viewers"

Next, click on "Launce Legacy GIS"

This will open the GIS viewer. On the right side, you can search by API number. The first 3 digits are the county code, the next 5 digits are the well code.

This will then take you to that particular well. You will need to zoom in and zoom out to see what you are looking for.

You can also click on Survey/Abstact within the GIS viewer and search that way.

I hope this helps.

5

Hi, Vanita -

100! Wow! Tell her I send my humble congratulations.

If you will send me the legal descriptions and Well Names, I will look the wells up for you.

And I will need you list your Mother's legal names over the years, married and unmarried, to see if any funds are being held in Suspense.

If you would like to send that information to me privately, then accept my invitation to become A Friend on The Forum. We can talk privately that way.

Charles

Charles Emery Tooke III

Certified Professional Landman

Fort Worth, Texas

6

Charles,

Good post!

What can you do if the operator will not release funds in suspense?

Thanks,

Bob Malone, Malone Petroleum Consulting

7

Robert -

As a Petroleum Consultant, you should know that once she has satisfied a company's requirements as to paperwork, they have no choice but to release any funds being held in suspense.

Even if some Division Order Clerk tried to stall her, a nicely worded Love Note from an Attorney would get things moving very quickly. No oil company would want their name brought up in court papers under circumstances like that. They'd get their lunch eaten, both in the Courts and in the Press.

And I'd help make sure the Press got wind of it. The Bar Associations and the AAPL, too, if the circumstances warrant it.

Hope this helps -

Charles

8

Charles,

Absolutely that helps. Your thinking is a lot better than enduring months of stalling.

Thank you very much for your learned wisdom!

Bob Malone

Malone Petroleum Consulting

9

My pleasure.

Before you have your Attorney send a Love Note, have your Assistant (or better yet, your Attorney's Assistant) call the company's main number and politely ask the Receptionist who their Agent Of Service is (that's the party that receives papers regarding legal actions being brought against the company - the person that gets "Served").

Now, if the Receptionist knows this offhand, you may be in a little trouble in your efforts to resolve your issues with this particular company. The vast majority of Receptionists, fortunately, do not.

I watched my Father, who practiced Law for more than 50 years, have his Assistant call up a company and do just that and after being put on hold for about a count of 10 while the company's Receptionist asked her Supervisor for the information, the President of the company personally took the call, heard my Father out, and personally had the issue resolved in less than a week.

We all know that there are some really Losers out there, but most companies will bend over backwards to not end up in lawsuits.

Hope this helps -

Charles

PS: If you need an Attorney to assist you in your efforts, I know one in Houston that writes fine Love Letters.

10

Charles,

Your reply is excellent and helpful.

Another one just crossed my desk since royalty owners are reaching non-consent payouts which is a service I provide. This stuff makes your eyes roll.

There were 4 kids. One bad one was cut out of the will, but signed a lease and did not tell the other 3 kids. He received a nice bonus and a nice well was drilled. It would seem the oil company drilled a free well since they do not have a valid lease.

Thanks again,

Bob Malone, Malone Petroleum Consulting

11

Robert -

Bad Landwork / Land Title Research is rampant in the industry right now, with all the very poorly trained kids that have flooded the market these past few years.

My Nephew came back from the Tarrant County Courthouse one day (I live in Fort Worth, TX, which is the County Seat) with a real quizzical look on his face. I asked him what was the matter and he told me how over the past several months he had been sharing a work table at the courthouse with a group of 7 other Landmen from another company (which, for the sake of peace in my life will remained unnamed).

He said how he had stood up about 2 that afternoon and started to pack his papers up when one of the other Landmen asked him if he was knocking off for the day. My Nephew replied "No, I'm headed to Probate, District Court and County Court".

In choir-like unison, the other 7 Landmen all asked "What are you going there for?"

These were Landmen who had been preparing Title Runsheets more than 5 years.

I am not an Attorney, but agree with you completely about your Clients' having a free well. If the property involved is in Texas, the Attorney I mentioned earlier is Board Certified in Oil, Gas and Mineral Law AND Civil Trial Law and extremely well experienced. He would probably take the case on a contingency basis and kick their ass.

Accept my offer to become A Friend on The Forum and I'll send you his contact information.

If what you say is true, the record title owners have the company over a barrel, which the company will very quickly come to recognize. The only recourse they could possibly have would be to sue the guy that signed for their Bonus Payment and any Royalties he has received back, but those issues may be contingent upon whether he warranted title or not.

They could maybe sue the Landman or Land Services Company that prepared the Title Runsheet for their money back from them, too.

As far as their getting to keep their Well goes, however, they'll have to throw money at the problem until it goes away.

Appreciate the faith -

Charles

12

Charles,

I accepted your offer to become a friend before I found this great reply from you.

So, I double accept your kind offer to be a friend which I consider to be a great honor.

Thank you!

Bob Malone, Malone Petroleum Consulting

13

Charles,

You tha Man with a Plan

Keep On Keepin On

Clint Liles

14

PS: If you need an Attorney to assist you in your efforts, I know one in Houston that writes fine Love Letters.

Charles, I sure would like to have the address and telephone number of the attorney that writes good love letters. Thanks, Kraut.