Rick5…Yep! Exactly the same as any other easement or ROW agreement. Get a lawyer and negotiate the best terms you can get. Depends on how critical to their operation the ROW across your property is…determining how much they will be willing to pay per rod.
Would this require most of the owners to negotiate as one or can each minority interest negotiate their own deal?
You are free to make whatever deal you want with the company wanting a ROW agreement to cross your land…independent of the other land/mineral owners.
What Lawrence said can be good news or bad news.
With undivided interest ownership it means an easement signed by the owner of any one of those undivided interests in the surface is all that’s needed by the company wanting to acquire an easement. In other words, one small minority interest can bind the full tract to an easement. The one owner who signs would owe all the other undivided interest owners in the tract their prorate share of any payment they received but all the owners would be bound by the terms that one owner agreed to.
If there is a way to do it can be important with undivided interests for everyone to agree for one person, owner or attorney, to handle negotiations before anyone signs something involving the tract.
An owner of an undivided surface interest can commit his interest to an ROW without the other owners. If the ROW is on the surface, such as an electric line or road, then the grantee can install without the consent of the other undivided surface owners. Be sure to specify that the payment is only for the undivided share and not for 100% so that the grantee must still pay the other surface owners. However, the law differs on buried pipelines which require all owners to consent, although they can consent separately at different rates. It is best for all surface owners to work together in order to get the best total payment and written terms such as access only on the pipeline or road and not randomly driving across all the surface. If this pipeline is for a well located on the related surface, the surface owner cannot stop the line. Similarly if it is an eminent domain situation. If the pipeline is unrelated to the tract and not eminent domain, the surface owner has more control.
Then what constitutes “a divided interest?” In my inheritance, I was designated a 1/7th owner of mineral rights. That 1/7th did not specify WHICH tract was mine
Look at the language on the deed. If you were deeded 1/7 minerals in 70 acres, then you own a 1/7th interest in all 70 acres. 1/7 X 70 = 10 net mineral acres. You have an undivided interest because you own less than 100% and share it with other owners. Think of it this way, if a rancher owns 700 acres and leaves it to his 7 children, then each child has a 1/7 interest in all 700 acres. Each child has an undivided interest in the entire ranch and 1/7 of 700 acres is 100 net acres. If instead the rancher left parcel A of 100 acres to child #1, and parcel B of 100 acres to child #2, etc., then each child would still own 100 acres, but the ownership would be 100% of Parcel A or Parcel B etc. In a sense this would be seven “divided interests”, although that is not really a term used.
I have noticed on the RRC website that BHP hasn’t reported any July production in the area. What is the usual lag between production and reporting? I am also curious if BHP has pipeline or transportation capacity in place for this well.
Production reports generally come one month later, give or a take a few days. So July production should be reported by the end of August or so.
Received a Division Order today from BHP on the State Annex well. Still haven’t found any test or completion info. Hope it’s a gusher!
Check the math. My brother’s was off by 2 decimal places.
I think it all depends on how the math is computed…by decimal or multiplication percent math. I got approx .0104 which is entirely accurate. It means I own a little more than 1%. It’s a decimal interest not a percentage interest…but are either way one and the same once the math is computed.
Yes, I was using a factor of 100 when it is really 1. Hence the 2 decimal place difference.
Received the first check from BHP for August production… 49.83 per barrel oil for 16,984.37 barrels produced for August. Also approx 350K in plant products and 58K gas produced. Nice check just not happy with price per barrel.
ZCompletions report from the Texas RRC on this well:
Can anyone please tell me if any other well has been permitted for Section 38 t2 block 57 A6029. The state annex well was completed late last summer. The current lease on this property expires in September.
BHP Billiton is now BPX. BPX has applied and spud a 2nd well in section 28. The state annex W206H well. The question I have is this: Does the new 206H well fall into the same acreage as the older W101H does or is it another property? The mineral property description is section 28 block 57 T2 T&P RR CO / SIMERLEY, W T.
Thanks.
Here’s a link to the plat of the W206H well showing that BPX permitted it in the same 160 acre unit where the W101H was completed.
Thank you Dusty for posting that information. 