Newbie trying to get started

Hello all,

I am a newbie to mineral rights. In 2010 I inherited the mineral rights to several sections in Pottawatomie County (as well as Cleveland, Kingfisher, Logan, and Seminole) from my late father. Basically I know very little as my father did not keep good records. I'n not sure how to go about determining if there are existing wells and, if so, whether they are producing. I have watched several very basic video tutorials on mineralrightscoach.com to try to get up to speed on the concepts and terminology but I need to know what I have in terms of acreage, net mineral interest, and existing/planned rigs. Does the SE, NE, etc indicate a further subdivision of the lot? If there are multiple rigs in that section, do I have an interest in each of them? Do operators hold royalties in perpetuity for mineral interest owners that they haven't been able to track down?

Sorry, just not sure how this works or even where to start.

Any help is greatly appreciated!!

Here are my Pottawatomie properties:

2-8N-4E SE SW

4-9N-5E S/2 SW

5-6N-5E S/2 NE

11-8N-4E W/2 NE/4

20-7N-3E NW

22-6N-3E S/2 SE/4

Donald, I have minerals in 20-7N-3E and and 22-6N-3E also. Many of us were in your situation at one time. My advice, along with responses from others, will help you get started. I notice you have posted this to your other groups, so you will likely get a variety of suggestions and answers to your questions.

Based on what you have said, first download (and print) “Basic Information for the Oklahoma Royalty Owner” Last Revision - September 2012, (Oklahoma Corporation Commission) found at http://digitalprairie.ok.gov/cdm/ref/collection/stgovpub/id/241683 . This 37 page (+ cover) guide is excellent - lots of good information! This will help with the SE, NE, etc. question you asked. It will also start you getting enough background to ask questions on this forum that will get responses. Looks like you are off to a good start.

George Wilson, a frequent resource speaker at National Association of Royalty Owners events, says “Remember the 5 M’s of mineral ownership (Managed Minerals Mean More Money)”! The first step to managing your minerals is to organize your records. Label file folders with legals for each section, range, and township. Keep the original/copy of everything. Start with whatever your father had, and fill in with recorded documents as you can locate them (deeds, leases), spacing applications, permits to drill, completion reports, division orders, etc.

An investment worth considering is membership in the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) which includes 1 state membership. My wife and I have attended annual conferences of OK-NARO for the past 7 years. Check out the NARO website http://www.naro-us.org/ . The Oklahoma Chapter page has links and information on claiming unpaid lease bonus or royalties held in the Mineral Owners Escrow Account (MOEA) or Unclaimed Property Fund held by the State Treasurer. Be sure to check all name variations of family members who owned or may have owned property in the state. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission Consumer Services Division has an exhibit at the state meeting and each year there are many thousands of dollars discovered by attendees. They also do a conference session on using the OCC databases. The following suggestion covers a very small part of the information they have available.

To answer your question about existing or pending wells (including activity in adjacent sections), open this link http://imaging.occeweb.com/imaging/OGWellRecords.aspx , then enter the Legal Location. Next check the box Exclude ECM (unless your minerals are in the Panhandle). Click Search, to see EVERYTHING in the OCC system that has been scanned for that section. You may wish to limit the search to a more recent date if the section has been heavily developed over the years. Drop down to Scan Date, enter a beginning date and use today's date in the last field. These are documents that the O&G companies never send mineral owners. As you begin researching your minerals, leave the Form # blank. Later you may want to limit to specific documents. Some of these are: Form 1000, Permit to Drill, Recomplete or Reenter; 1001A Spud Notice; 1002A Completion Report; and 1073 Transfer of Operator. There are other forms, but these will probably be of most interest. IMPORTANT - because surface location for horizontal drilling is often in an adjacent section, be sure to search all 9 sections! See page 32 of the “Basic Information for the Oklahoma Royalty Owner” booklet for an explanation of the United States Land Survey System.

For leasing activity in your area, other forum members here are the best source, so ask, making sure to give the legals with at least section, township and range. Then be sure to share what you know when others ask. You may be fortunate enough to own in a county with free online access to County Clerk documents. Filed leases complete with addenda/exhibits can be read and perhaps printed. Call the County Clerk for information and login instructions if available. Bonus amounts are not included on leases.

Come back with your questions or comments. This is a learning place for all of us.

1 Like

Great information Wesley, especially “Basic Information for the Oklahoma Royalty Owner”. I will check out the other resources as well. Thank-you for taking the time to educate me!