I have a road going though our property we leased to the oil company that has well passed our place. We used to collect $1,000 per year for the oil company to use it. It hasn’t been paid in several years. The wells passed our place are still there but hasn’t been producing in years as well. The lease has expired on the road and I talked to the new owner of the field several times since october. He said he wants to get to the wells but I told him he can’t until we get a new contact. The old contact was done in the 1980’s and we want $4,000 per year this time. Other people in our area was getting $10,000 per year on about the same length road as ours. All we wanted was the cost increase from the 80’s. But since october he still hasn’t come up with the lease money yet and now i told him it will cost you $10,000 per year. If the money isn’t paid I will lock him out. (And now he is 2 years behind behind on payment.) He said he would file a suit against us if we don’t let him in. Can he do this even tho he doesn’t have a contact? I told him in october I was making him a deal on the 4,000 and what others are getting. And if he doesn’t pay up i want 10,000. He only has one well in this field in production and its not one of the wells on this road. I have had him locked out since the contact expired. I have also done a lot of work on the road over the years myself when the companies normally do it. The joy of dealing with one individual that bought this old die field.
I would say that you are right and he is “bluffing”! This is the old “Alabama Ferry Field”. I figure all these people are trying to do is figure out how to HBP this acreage under old expired leases and bluff their way into holding the acreage in order for future Deep Bossier and possible Haynesville Shale wells in the future. If they can legally hold the acreage they or someone else won’t have to acquire new leases and pay the mineral and royalty owners. The State of Texas is not plugging these old abandon wells as they should or supposed to do. Mineral and Royalty owners need to get Release’s filed on their interest and mineral acres before it’s too late. You people are going to have to “FORCE” the issue. These companies probably have no intention to try to produce this field in paying quantities in these old wells and acreage. I think it’s a scam.
I trying to file a Good faith claim report with the RRC to get my minerals released. But now i was told it would take several others to go in with me to do it. I talked to other owners about doing this and even offer to do the research to get all the stuff done for them. They just don’t want to do anything about it and said the RRC can’t get us out its just a waste of time. I said we can at least try. I pretty much gave up on the other owners. I have all my stuff done but since everyone else want do anything i am stuck. I do have 300+ acres that not in the field that i can lease. So hopefully a company will take it. All the equipment to produce anything on these wells are gone. Pump jacks, tanks, and everything else. Only thing is the well head. Its hard to believe one dang well producing can hold over 14,000 acres and it producing very dang little. So no one have even gotten a royal check from it since everyone in this unit BS. By him not trying to get other wells online should show he’s not going to do anything. I really feel he is just holding it to sell it when other companies come looking. I may still try myself in getting my stuff release. I have interest in 9 wells around this field some on my property and some not. I own anything from 1/4 to all interest in these wells. So i am not sure how the RRC can get me out with other owners in these wells. But at least I will try, then if they will get me out then maybe others will follow.
I would say to talk with a couple of different oil and gas attorney’s that specialize in Oil and Gas litigation in Texas. Try to see if it is possible to get releases on your mineral rights because of the non performance in the field agreements. I would not even tell the people who would not agree to work with you on this. I can’t believe that most of the bigger mineral owners ever signed the agreement. Everyone I know that has mineral rights in this deal regrets EVER being a part of it.
If your agreement to received annual payments for the use or roads from a previous operator has expired I don’t see that you have a leg to stand on. Surface rights are considered to be subservient to the mineral estate. Under Texas property law, the mineral estate is superior to the surface estate, which is subservient because unless a mineral owner can utilize the surface to access the minerals they are worthless. It has been common practice in the oil and gas industry to pay surface damages and have surface use agreements but mineral owners and oil and gas operators have no legal obligation to compensate surface owners for the use of locations, roads, etc. My advice would be to review the terms of the lease to determine if the lease(s) are still valid. If the well(s) are not producing in paying quantities they are likely no longer valid leases. You need to look for clauses relating to cessation and delayed rentals to determine if the lease is still valid. An oil and gas attorney or landman can help you make this determination.
This field was unitize back in the 1980’s. I heard he has one well in houston county producing. But I haven’t been able to verify that. But I do know none of us in the unit hasn’t gotten anything from it. The road lease i have my parents done and they have in the road lease if road isn’t maintained bi-monthly or when needed, if payment is 6 months behind, or no production from wells on this road. None of this has been done in 5 to 6 years if not more.
But to tell you the truth i would rather have him out and all our minerals back.
I found out today that if i file this good faith claim I would be taking over the wells i have interest in. Then I would be the one having to plug them. As a rancher we don’t have the money to do this. So we are suck with these old leases. I heard it cost the state $20,000 to plug a well and that’s their price. I bet ours would be a lot more. I have now learn to never join a unit in a water flood field.
Below is the link to the Procedures for Taking Over an Orphan Well. This webpage has some helpful information regarding Good Faith Claims and Contacts.
Grady, I still think that this group that currently has the old “Alabama Ferry Field” water flood lease group is going to attempt to hold these leases with the intent to “peddle” them to Companies like Comstock for the deep horizontal gas plays. The old leases on this, mostly, were not very good. This deal needs to be broke up. There are several Oil and Gas attorneys in the Austin Texas area or Houston that might be considered to be consulted with that are on Mineral Rights Forum. Good Luck
Are you talking about Grady Wakefield? His brother and i finished high school together (zac). I am Alvin Kmiec. I would love to talk to a attorney but with three kids in college with one going for aerospace engineering school I don’t have free money for one right now. It really sucks companies do crap like this. The old OSR field is the same way. Its been going since the 50’s and has couple of wells holding it all. Companies shouldn’t be able to hold minerals like that and no royalty coming in.
It should not cost much to at least try to contact one or two and get an approximate price to review the lease or leases if they are each different! The Comstock Wells in the Marquez area are averaging about 36,000 to 40,000 MCF per day. Comstock just permitted 4 new wells in the Marquez area since Jan. 1, 2024. I suspect that the same formations in your area will be leased within this year. Bossier and Haynesville Shale. Remember back 40 year’s ago when the Alabama Ferry Field was producing there were no horizontal drilling there and the other technology we have today are much different.
I represent a small operator in Milam County, they had a very similar situation. After researching the property and the history, the company felt like they didn’t need to pay the surface owner, but thought it would be a good business practice to have a surface agreement in place. They are in their second year of the agreement and both parties are now happy.
You don’t need to take over the wells. Just try to get releases on the leases and the water flood agreement on your personal interest. You need to get copies of the original leases and the Agreements for the water flood that was signed in order for an attorney, landman or someone else to determine if you can get your leases released legally.
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