My great grandfather purchased mineral rights in Borden County, Texas decades ago. Over the years, the inheritance has been passed down and there are MANY family members who now own the rights (some have sold their shares). In 2012 several of us signed leases with Apache, then in 2020 several signed with Copperhead which was a three-year lease, with the option for two more years. The land is 160 acres in the SW/4 of Section 7, Blk 27.
Back in April of 2023, we each received paperwork from Surge Energy with Division Orders for a well, Yeti Unit A-10-06. This is shown as being in Section 10, Blk. 27. I put my paperwork aside because there are some title requirements that I didn’t have the information for and I didn’t read the paperwork close enough to see there was money involved! This paperwork shows a Designation of Pooled Unit (DPU) Recording Information for parts of two other sections (Parts of the W/2 of Sec. 10, Blk 27 and the W/2 of Sec 6, Blk 27) along with the rights we own on SW/4 of Section 7, Blk. 27. This totals 939.973 acres. I am not aware that our family owns the mineral rights in these other two sections. Can someone explain to me why this acreage is pooled as I don’t think we own rights for these other sections. I’m starting to dig into this and see if I can figure out what we need to do to prove the title requirements. This will take some time, if it’s even possible.
I recently received a Notice of Appraised Value from Borden County for Blk. 27, Section 10. I guess because of the Pooled Unit, I owe taxes on the projected production?
I apologize for all the question and I appreciate any help that anyone can provide to help me understand how this process works.
@Kathy S, it looks like you should contact Surge Energy to see what you need to get into pay status. You don’t have to own in all the other sections to be included in the unit. Having ownership in one of the included sections is usually sufficient to be included in payments.
It looks like some royalties have been paid in your name since you
received a Notice of Appraised Value from Borden County. Those
payments may just be held in suspense waiting for your information or division order. Hope this helps to get you started.
Thank you for your reply, PeteR. That helps me to understand the pooled unit. There have been no royalties received to date as we have a title requirement for recorded probate proceedings plus an Affidavit of Identity for a great uncle, who I believe owned the physical land at one time and apparently conveyed (sold?) it to Southwest Petroleum Company. There is also an heirship requirement for information regarding my great grandfather and all of his heirs…he had 13 children so that is taking a while to identify ALL of the heirs. Again, thank you for your help.
Suggest locate your well permit on the Texas RRC website GIS map (be sure to click “identify wells”), click drilling permits. Download Plat surveyor map showing how the horizontal wellbore will span three sections, including your property. We had 13 inheritors, hired a lawyer and shared the legal fee pro rata.
Roy, Thank you for the information you provided. Do you have an attorney in Texas that you would recommend? Did you pay an attorney based on hours worked or on a total for the case? I just don’t want to get in over my head on attorney fees when my share of these rights are a few thousand/year. Thanks again.
You can observe qualified professionals (often with localized expertise) who provide services to mineral owners right here on The Mineral Rights Forum. You will notice them in 3 different places on the site:
Kathy, regarding attorneys in TX, I attempted unsuccessfully to send you a “personal message” following website’s FAQ instructions but received error message “cannot send a personal message to that user”.
I think site administrator prefers such discussions be offline not the public message board. I’ll be glad to respond, maybe you can email me a “personal message” since my PM reply to you failed to transmit.
Again, thank you for your help.