Any royalty owners noting that they have not received March 2016 royalty payment from Urban?
has anyone received money from Parsley yet?
Helen, we finally received our bonus payment from Parsley, but it took over a month to actually get the check.
Although most of you probably already do this, everyone in this group should also join the Reeves County group. It is the most active group on MRF and has the best information on what is going on in the area, in my opinion.
Everyone should look at the Apache announcement on the Reeves group. Part of it goes into Pecos County.
http://www.mineralrightsforum.com/group/reeves-county-tx-oil-gas
We live on our little ranch in Pecos County Texas off of FM 2593. There are several sections of land that are under our fence, every other section being mineral classified land. After years of no oil or gas activity, an investment company got hot on us drilling several big oil wells on both the mineral classified and our land. They told us they held the lease but will not show it to us. We never could get them to solidify a surface users agreement with us. After about $60.000.00 built up in unpaid caleche taken from our land, I locked them out of our pit. We have not been paid for surface damages on our land, we have filed liens. The managers of the investment company came to a disagreement and one took control from the other via investor vote and the new manager operates under a new company name and operator no. (Aegis Oil (#008551) changed to 7S Oil and Gas (#954992). We have had to file multiple violation reports with the RRC and Pecos County Groundwater District over oil and water spills and dumping produced water into existing pits as well as plugging liabilities and illegal dumping of oilfield trash. Apparently some part of the lease is severed now, but I do not know how to discover the detail of the severance. The investment company is actively collecting more investors for more new drilling. They have built several pads without drilling permits and are set to stake more wells next week. Production reports filed with the RRC show little production from the existing wells, some don’t produce at all. Things are going to get worse for us. I have found some information on surface owners rights with Earthworks and the Texas Land Owners and Mineral Owners Association, but it seems landowners really get the short end of the stick. Where can landowners go to find information on our surface rights and what are the legal qualifications that oil and gas companies must follow when coming on to our land? How do we enforce them? How can we go about exploring the details of the lease over our land, get contacts for mineral owners on our land, and discover the details of any severances on our land. I feel like there are resources I am not aware of. Thank you.
Good morning Laura,
I advise you to contact Wade Caldwell for legal help and guidance.
http://www.lawyers.com/san-antonio/texas/G-Wade-Caldwell-1704332-a/
Clint Liles
Did you sign any leases? If GLO mineral classified lease, then it does not provide surface damages for pad site unless you add as addendum. The caliche is a different matter. If you signed the oil company’s lease form, then your rights are limited by its contents. If you do not own minerals in fee under your fee surface, then you are owed surface damages. Look at tx.countygovernmentrecords.com for assignments from your lessee to new companies. Free to join and search and only $1 per page to download pdf. For mineral classified leases, all documents must be provided to GLO and will be in lease files that are on-line. You need an attorney and likely need to file a lawsuit from your description. This is not going to be do-it-yourself project. Especially with 2 separate companies involved as there may be issues regarding which company us liable for 008551 is Aegis Fluids Management LLC per RRC. Just looked at tx.countygovernmentrecords.com and there are multiple liens and judgments against 7S. Assignment in 2015 from Aegis to 7S. Declaration of Reverted of Oil and Gas Assignnent by Aegis against 7S in June 2016. Then a Quitclaim, Assignment , Bill of Sale and Conveyance from Aegis, Salvador Oil, Austin Davis and Beason to 7S in July 2016. This loOKs very complicated. Pull all the documents and consult an attorney.
Thank you TennisDaze and Clint Liles for your advise. Patrick Reagan Beason of Aegis Oil, and now William "Gilligan" Sewell of 7s have refused to provide any lease for us. We have signed nothing. We have been provided and seen nothing from either company. We have asked our attorney to have 7s supply a lease showing that they have the lease over our ranch. Not only do they refuse to provide a lease, they promise to counter sue us for filing a frivolous lawsuit. Do you have any idea why they would not show the landowner their lease?
From your post, it appears that you are a surface owner, but do not own the minerals. The minerals are a dominant estate so the operator has the right to drill. The issue is damages and payments for roads, electric lines and other ROW. The oil company does not get to use the surface and take caliche for free. Many oil companies only record a memorandum of oil and gas lease, which will describe the underlying minerals but does not include all the lease details. The oil company does not have the obligation to provide the lease to the surface owner. As explained, you can research on-line to find the recorded lease(s) or memorandum and the assignments to see what companies own the leases. You can also contact the mineral owners directly to ask about the leases and whether they are still in effect. They might give you copies of what they signed. Keep in mind that few leases specify surface use and related damages so that may be of little use. Finally, if you are the mineral owner and you signed a lease that says that the oil company can use the surface for free, then this may limit your compensation. You need to follow the advice of a qualified oil and gas attorney and, apparently, be prepared to litigate.
Ms. Briggs, it's called hide the ball. If you were in possession of all pertinent facts you could with relative ease decide whether to sue or not.
Since you are uncertain, the likelihood of you filing suit is greatly diminished and the lessee can do whatever they feel like.
Unpaid bills in oil and gas are not uncommon. If you sue them they may well settle their bill with you before it ever gets in front of a judge. Not paying you is cost effective unless you sue in which case they will probably pay if you have a good case to avoid tens of thousands of dollars in legal fees on top of having to pay you. It's all about the money.
Ms. Briggs,
At some point the mineral estate was severed from the surface estate by deed. The language in that deed establishes the right to explore for and access the minerals. Check the title insurance documents received with your purchase of the surface. They may quote the terms establishing the right to go on your land. If the driller/operator usurped those rights you may have a legal claim. A few minutes with an experienced real estate or mineral lawyer reviewing the deed may set you in the right direction.
Gary L Hutchinson
Minerals Managment
Thank you Mr. Hutchinson, rw kennedy and TennisDaze. I really appreciate your input very much. I am owner of surface only. Although I would love to be paid for my caleche and surface damages, I am even more worried about the validity and continued operations from these operators. I would appreciate your advice on one more aspect of my situation. Based on the criminal history of the operators I am dealing with, and a September 29, 2016 charge by the SEC on Aegis for defrauding investors, https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2016/lr23663.htm, and my own research with the assistance of a local landman, where we could not find a valid lease formed since 1988, I fear there is not a valid lease for this production, and mineral owners may not even be aware of any activity. How can I find out who the current mineral owners are that would be attached to my surface? My concern is that investor owned rigs may have been drilled and operated under fraudulent investment conditions without a valid lease. My efforts are an attempt to make the operators prove they are operating under my fence legally. Thank you. Laura Briggs
We own several parcels of land in Pecos County, and we were contacted by a land service agency in Oklahoma that would like to run a pipeline through one of these properties. They sent paperwork for a pipeline right of way and release of damages for $125 per rod, and will not do a title search before this is signed. They have also sent a payment agreement, and I have no reference point as to fairness of their offer, so, I'm looking for anyone who can help me out as to the offer, or steer me in the right direction for an attorney who handles this type of offer. Thank you.
William, odd for them not to do title work until the Pipeline ROW Agreement and Release are signed. Not sure that's really the case. On the terms you may want to include in the Pipeline ROW Agreement, here's a blog post I wrote about things to consider: http://www.mineralrightsforum.com/profiles/blog/show?id=4401368%3ABlogPost%3A403043&commentId=4401368%3AComment%3A403958.
As for the Release, I would be very careful that it doesn't include more than ordinary and reasonably anticipated damages from the instillation of the pipeline (it's probably much broader than that).
And as for the money, find out the size of the pipeline and you should be able to get at least the non-mineral lessee amounts described in the University of Texas Rate and Damage Schedule found here: http://www.utlands.utsystem.edu/forms/pdfs/Rate_Damage_Schedule.pdf
Also be sure to limit to a single pipeline and that it is not a permanent easement. ROW should expire with 1 or 2 years of non-use. The release form is not normal. Pipeline company must be liable for any and all future related damages, injuries, repair of fences, restoration of surface, etc. I recommend you consult an attorney who is experienced in easements.
Thank you Eric and Tennis for your thoughts/information. They are requesting a permanent easement/right-of-way of 50' (25' on either side) with rights of ingress and egress. If anyone has any suggestions/information for an attorney in the area that specializes in this I would appreciate recommendations. The pipeline will be used for brackish water as I understand the proposal. Again, thank you!
Laura Briggs,
Unfortunately, in Texas the minerals are the dominant estate and the mineral owner or their lessee have an implied easement to use the surface in a manner that is reasonably necessary to access and capture those minerals. There is however the judicial accommodation doctrine that they must follow. Essentially they have to accommodate existing surface use by you. They must also pay you for damages which it seems like you are having a hard time coming to terms on with the Lessee. I hope it all gets worked out for you!
Best of luck,
Cam
The price you can command for the easement depends on location and size. Do you have a large enough tract where it would be hard to go around you? Do you have a lot of infrastructure already where your land is scarce? If so, you may be able to get 3x the UT Lands rates. 2x is not uncommon just because of the activity in the area.
One important point is term easements, which give you an opportunity for a renewal payment, versus permanent easements. Permanent easements are normally taxed at capital gains rates where term easements should be taxed as ordinary income. Overall, a term easement is better, despite the tax difference, because the renewal payments could far outstrip the tax difference. The trick is to get a short enough term where you have a reasonable shot at getting a renewal.
50 feet width for contraction and then only 30 feet. Ingress and egress limited to ROW and not to any other surface. Otherwise trucks can simply drive willy-nilly all over and destroy the fragile land. If there is a lease road that the company wants to use, make them pay and limit to construction period. Never agree to permanent easement because you lose control. You can agree to a single larger payment, such as 3x UT rates, for ROW that terminates upon non-use for 1-2 years, and company will still classify as capital gains. It does not have to be permanent ROW for this treatment under IRS rules, only that pipeline company can justify as pipeline for 30 years. Pipeline company wants permanent easement in order to get bank loans against it. Also make ROW nonexclusive.