You are a God send! I know those names. But not related. My grandfather was C S Watson. Maybe you can help me with something. I attaching pic of deed from my grandfather on the sale of land in 1960 to the Dearmans. There is a statement in there that confuses me. If you could please explain what exactly the word “Forever” is intended to mean. Does this mean I can or cannot sell, etc.
Ok. Unable to send photo. But it states, he especially reserves into himself and his heirs FOREVER one half interest in and to all oil gas etc UPON and under said land conveyed in this deed" And does the word upon mean surface rites also?
I am the only living heir but as far as I know there was no will when my father passed away.
BearCreekBill When I was at the clerks office last week I was only able to locate the one paid up lease from Little River back in 1952. I will be contacting them Tuesday morning, as tomorrow is a holiday. Again Thank you for ALL your help. This is a navigational nightmare at times but you have made it much easier. I look forward to your insight on the wording in the one deed I posted about yesterday.
Pam, appears Clarence lived in Caddo Parish upon death, records should be there. Looks like he also sold 24 acres in L. Ward Survey A-1084 and kept 1/2 of minerals.
Bear with me Pam, I have two other large posts since yesterday that are still waiting approval.
You can do most of your Cass county searches here without having to go in-person: https://cc.co.cass.tx.us/
Thanks BearCreekBill. Will do.
Pam, I’ve seen the norm for bonus from Rose City Resources (RCR) ~$250-$300 per net mineral acre you own, with a 3 year term and 1/5 royalty. RCR does some weird leasing and don’t always give everyone the same deal. Expect them to low ball you around $200 per acre first, and they may even want to pay a percentage of bonus to give them an option to extend beyond 3 years. Most operators like to add a 2-year extension. I myself want no longer than 3 years and all money up front. In general, the more acres you own, the more negotiating power you have. This is all another discussion down the road and you’ll find plenty of people on here to help you and give advice.
Now on another note, I have no idea how many acres you have and it’s irrelevant to me so no need to share, but you did mention you have a 51% interest in a 397 acre tract, which in my mind you possibly have 200 acres. The troubling comment you made is that you were offered a purchase of a small portion of those minerals. Usually if someone is offering a purchase, especially in a field like this, they are wanting to purchase the entire mineral interest you own, not a small portion. I recently knew of someone that had ~30 acres that was already leased to operator “A” and was made an offer to purchase 1 acre from operator “B”. Not to cloud the issue, but especially on horizontal wells, land can be leased to more than one operator, but the actual wellbore must keep certain distances away from lease lines within the tracts that make up a production unit. These are strategy games that operators play with each other, without any regard to the mineral owner. Again, my opinion is to keep all your minerals whole. It’s definitely a good idea to consult with an O&G attorney before making decisions you don’t fully understand. I’m just an ole country boy that don’t know much.
I you have undivided interest with other people, like family, I would start talking to them so you are all on the same page. I wish you luck on getting leased.
Pam I sent a message 7 hours ago but still waiting approval. So you’ll get more information that keeps coming.
I found the deed Clarence S Watson to Caroline McCasland, Dudley and Jo Dearman. I don’t have authority on reading deeds, but i’ll give it a shot.
CS Watson sold his 1/4 interest in the surface, but retained 1/2 of the minerals. This means he only owned 99.25 acres to begin with and kept 49.625 mineral acres.
By looking at the plat, tract 1 (100 acres) seems to be the part of the 397 acres included in the new Diamond AW lease. Your part would be 100/4/2 = 12.5 acres. This lease is under Rose City Resources. I would give them a call. The operators have a team of landmen that should have this same information and then lawyers go through a title curative process to make sure they have it right. They may not know how to find you.
Their main number is (903) 480-9500. Ask for Chad Holliday or Cliff Grace
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BearCreekBill thank you so much. I will give them a call. And for an ole country boy, I think you do pretty dang good!!! Thanks again.
I hope some of your minerals are in there i think they are. If im right, out of the 100 acres in the lease, they likely have kease agreements from other owners, and couldn’t find you. Hopefully you can get a good deal. Fingers crossed.
BearCreekBill I hope so too. I am also obtaining O&G Attorney next week. I think that is my best bet. Thanks for all your help.
Attorney Chase Palmer in Marshall, TX may be worth a call. I’ve never needed to use him and don’t know him, but he’s been working with some people in this new Cass County oil field area. Certainly not promoting him, but I’ve heard his name several times during oil conversations.
Pam, would like to hear back from you on how this all works out. Hopefully will be as easy as signing a fair lease agreement and getting mailbox money soon once the well is completed.
BearCreekBill, first I want to thank you and everyone for all the help. Second, happy to say I got a lease. I got a very good offer from Rose City and I excepted. They spoke favorably on the subject of royalties. So keeping my fingers crossed. Thanks again for great advice.
Great to hear Pam, hope you get a good paying well soon.
Thanks BearCreekBill. Me to. How long does it usually take for completion? They spoke very favorable as to a positive outcome. But no time line.
That depends on many factors, but the best I can say is that most of these horizontals I’ve seen take 3-5 weeks to drill, can be longer if they have problems. Once the drilling is complete, it will take another 1-2 weeks for them to perforate and frac the wellbore. From that point, they bring in a flowback crew to remove all the drilling mud, frac water, sand, etc. this will usually take several weeks, but at this point it’s producing. All said once they start, I would say about 6-8 weeks. At some point you will receive a division order in the mail with a decimal number that represents your interest in the well. You will sign that as well as a W-4. Shortly after you sign those, you should start to see some mailbox money.
Thanks Bill. I had no idea it moved along that fast. You have been an unbelievable help. Can’t thank you and everyone enough for the help and guidance. Looking like 2024 will be a good year. Hope all is well with you this year also.