How can I keep track of drilling activity, production, etc.? I recently leased some property in Township 5 North, Range 6 West but I live out of state.
Welcome to the group Tom. Tom, I think if you will go and read the comment wall and the discussions in this group you will learn quite a bit, plus join the Can Woodford group and read their group forum also. If you feel right in doing so you might list the Section you are in, who you leased to and amount of bonus received. It will help other owners in your area. There are several of us in the group who are retired, home bodies etc. that keep the groups supplied with spacing, pooling and drilling applications in our counties. The area you are located in is becoming a hot area and drilling is increasing every month. If you are not afraid of asking questions most every member of this group is very helpful and I think you will know by just reading this forum when your Section will be drilled on before it is done.
Tom, One way is to get familiar with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission website. You can track your Section through the judicial process which issues various orders for things like well spacing, pooling and location exceptions. All of these things must be completed before an operator can get a permit and start drilling. Click the link below to go to the OCC main page. It can be a little hard to navigate so holler if you need help. In the meantime if you want to give me your Section number in Township 5 North, Range 6 West I can check to see if the process has started yet. The hardest thing to find out is production information, most of the operators are very slow in providing this information. To get information on my well I have had to call the company and ask.
I just leased my 5 acres in Grady for $800 an acre in Section 2-7N-5W. Has anyone heard of any drilling activity in this area?
My section is 6, in 5N/6W. I leased it a few months ago for $450/acre. I have to give Brian Stamps lots of credit for helping me through the leasing process. Now I’m waiting to see what happens next. Thanks in advance to all those who share information.
Danny, Continental Resources is drilling or has completed wells in Section 32 and 21, Township 7N, Range 5W. If you get familiar with the OCC website, link posted above, you can get a lot of information by searching their databases.
Tom, I noticed several vertical or directional wells drilling or completed in Township 5N, Range 6W. There is a lot of activity in much of Grady County and it looks like it will continue for a while as long as oil prices stay up. Keep following the Grady and Cana Woodford forums to see what’s going on.
Danny, Continental has filed applications for Spacing 34-7N/5W, Pooling and Location Exception 31-7N/5W.
OK Michael, just exactly what is “spacing”?
You can probably get a more specific description by searching the term on the OCC site. Basically when an operator is planning to drill a certain site they have to apply for an order to “Establish New Drilling and Spacing Units.” This will define the location, size (usually 640 acres), formations that may be drilled and their depths. For this purpose they usually spot the proposed well in the dead center of the Section. More often than not that location will be changed. There are certain setbacks from Section lines that the commission requires which are subject to change by the operator applying for a “Location Exception.” This is happening a lot now, with horizontal drilling they like to leave room for the possibility of adding more wells in the future. That plus sometimes a well is just better placed outside of the guidelines. Once these things are done the operator has most likely begun plans to drill. Usually there are still some parties who have not yet leased, cannot be found etc. The operator will then apply for a “Pooling Order” which amounts to an effort to round up everyone who is not yet on board, also called “Forced Pooling.” After the final pooling order is issued the operator has 180 days to start drilling but this is subject to be extended if requested.
The time frame of this process is unpredictable. Sometimes they rush it through and in others nothing happens for months at a time. Just depends on the operator’s priorities.
I didn’t really set out to write a book here but I’m sure these are terms you will want to be familiar with. Please bear in mind I am just a fellow mineral owner and the above is written from that perspective and far from an expert opinion and I’m sure I left some details out.
I think your general overview of what “spacing” is makes a lot of sense, and gives me just the right perspective. Thanks.
Michael Hutchison said:
You can probably get a more specific description by searching the term on the OCC site. Basically when an operator is planning to drill a certain site they have to apply for an order to “Establish New Drilling and Spacing Units.” This will define the location, size (usually 640 acres), formations that may be drilled and their depths. For this purpose they usually spot the proposed well in the dead center of the Section. More often than not that location will be changed. There are certain setbacks from Section lines that the commission requires which are subject to change by the operator applying for a “Location Exception.” This is happening a lot now, with horizontal drilling they like to leave room for the possibility of adding more wells in the future. That plus sometimes a well is just better placed outside of the guidelines. Once these things are done the operator has most likely begun plans to drill. Usually there are still some parties who have not yet leased, cannot be found etc. The operator will then apply for a “Pooling Order” which amounts to an effort to round up everyone who is not yet on board, also called “Forced Pooling.” After the final pooling order is issued the operator has 180 days to start drilling but this is subject to be extended if requested.
The time frame of this process is unpredictable. Sometimes they rush it through and in others nothing happens for months at a time. Just depends on the operator’s priorities.
I didn’t really set out to write a book here but I’m sure these are terms you will want to be familiar with. Please bear in mind I am just a fellow mineral owner and the above is written from that perspective and far from an expert opinion and I’m sure I left some details out.