Hi, I found an OLD deed from a decreased family member to mineral rights in Pecos. Looks small - North 1/2 of Southwest 1/4 of the Northwest 1/4 of the Northeast 1/4, Section 9 - Block 106. Am I dealing with an old, kind of cool document or something more meaningful? Any idea where I can start? Thank you! -Ed
If I did the math right that description would cover 5 acres, and if you don’t know anything beyond the old mineral deed you have, odds are those mineral rights were conveyed by a later deed. But if you would be an heir to that interest, assuming it was never conveyed, and want to find out what happened to it you can start by researching the Pecos County deed records.
If you can’t go to Fort Stockton try searching online at TexasFile.com which appears to have the Pecos records going back to 1911. Searching their Grantor indexes is free but there is a charge if you want to view or print documents you find. Run grantor searches using your deceased family member’s name and see if you find later conveyances of that interest. If not, maybe it was never transferred.
Below is the current Railroad Commission map of that area with Sec. 9, Blk 106 outlined in red. As you’ll see, it is at the edge of an area with a lot of prior production. The thing that’s interesting about Sec. 9 is the well near the north end of the section that’s marked with a red symbol and #10922. It designates a producing gas well, called the Butz, that was drilled in 1964 by Pan American (became Amoco) to over 20,000’ and is still producing. It’s now operated by a company called Mongoose Energy, and the unit for the well appears to cover the whole 640 acre Section 9. That original well was drilled to the Ellenburger formation, but Mongoose apparently drilled a shallower Wolfcamp well a couple of years ago in the adjoining section to the east that wasn’t very successful.
If you don’t find any transfer of the rights covered by that old deed recorded in the Pecos County deed records, and no one in your family has been receiving royalties from that Butz well, you can try contacting Mongoose Energy or the Texas Unclaimed asset site to find out if they are holding royalties for that interest.
Good luck.
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Dusty, thank you so very much. Hugely informative and helpful. May you have a wonderful day.
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