We received a letter stating that due to updated Title Opinions which has affected the ownership…our royalty percentages have decreased. They stated the Unit size has increased in acres. They stated that if we have been overpaid, they will attempt to recoup from the owners. If I am calculating correctly, if does not affect us harshly…pennies on the dollar.
My question is how can they increase the size of the acres without any notification and also who updates the Title Opinions?
Is there a recorded DPU for a pooled unit or is this an allocation or sharing well? Is the increased acreage due to an amended DPU which added acreage or due to a revised survey of the acreage? Is the acreage change due to the addition of a previously excluded tract or some other reason? Sometimes a unit DOI is paid on the deemed 640 acre sections and other times the acreage is surveyed to determine the exact acreage in each tract within the unit and paid on the surveyed acreage. It sounds as if the acreage is being amended back to the date of first production, but again you need to find out the details. There can be a lot of variables. Also, has the title opinion decreased your net mineral acreage due to ownership history? If you post the unit and well names and the operator, you may get a response from someone familiar with this situation.