In ND, you can get paid on wells that you have no lease on! It is tied to the mineral deed net mineral acres and your percentage of the spacing unit. If you are not leased, then the state has set a mandatory percentage rate for the royalty-usually close to 16%. There are also some penalty risk payments which come out of the working interest portion (until the well is paid out) but not the mineral interest royalties . If you know your net mineral acres, then you can usually back out the correct Division Order payment. Sometimes, it is actually better to not be leased than leased in an exceptionally sweet area.
The expenses are another issue. The Taxes are legitimate. The post-production expenses are usually the contentious item. If you had an older lease, then you probably do not have a no-deductions clause. If you are not leased, then there is no clause at all. If you have a newer lease, you were lucky to get a no-deductions clause.
Thanks Williston. I’m not sure that will help me any. I have researched the ND State records on line and there are only extension of leases filed for this property. The actually lease is not available. Also, how would I know which lease I am bound to, if any. There could be multiple leases for any well. No one in my family signed anything so it’s not just as simple as finding a lease. I need to know to, if they are actually paying me the proper percentages as per my deed. I guess I may have to take their word for it.
Wow Williston - we lived in S. St. Paul at one time. I’ll try calling but I am certain we are not leased.
Thank you M Barnes. I can figure the net mineral acres. I’m in no hurry to sign a lease, but XTO has never played it straight with me so I am leery of anything they have to say.
I have the EXACT same problem… never signed, etc… Give Helen a call if the lease is not in here office then you don’t have one. The info goes first to the recorder who THEN enters info on the web page. BTW Hello from South St. Paul… just down the road from you 52.
Larry, there is quite a bit going on there, one fair horizontal well producing the 28-33 spacing. In 29 there is a horizontal Madison well with only fair production. In the overlapping 32-29 spacing there is a great horizontal well 237,667 barrels in about 26 months and there are 2 new wells that are already drilled from section 5 in 153-99 but they will produce the 32-29 spacing in 154-99, it’s called offsite drilling and it doesn’t matter where the wellhead is, the 32-29 spacing will be paid the royalty. I hope this helps, or at least helps you formulate more questions.
Thank you for your rely. We are finishing up our probate and was wondering if it was worth what we had to pay the lawyer.He had no idea how much was produced.We have a very small intertest .Larry
Larry, there is small and then there is small. A landman on these forums once said that 80 net acres was small. I have 9.55 acres that has been paying me $25k to $30k a year for the last 3 years and I expect it to do better in the future. If I were not leased, I would not sign a lease for the 29-32 spacing, I believe that spacing would pay much better as a non-consent then later as an owner providing you have each 5 net acres or more to make it worth the hassle.
Good advice from RW Kennedy. Don’t worry about the lawyer fees for an opportunity to make a lot of money in the future. As RW states, a small amount of minerals located in a “hot” area, is worth very much money and possibly more in the future. If you decide to go the non-consent route, individuals such as RW, who have experience in this, will be able to answer any questions. Good luck.
Hi all! My family has mineral rights for about 400 acres in williams county near Alamo. Township 159 N Range 99 west, 5th p.m. Section 9: S2, NW 4. It has been leased for the past 6 years. The most current lease ended in March. My dad received a call yesterday with some interest to lease our mineral rights. The man said he thought he could get them to agree to $600 per acre and it would be a 4 year lease. Does anyone know what the current rates are in that area? I believe the previous lease we had was $1,200 per acre. Thanks! Tara
Tara…We have minerals in 159-99…Our last lease we signed was for 3 years…20%…and $1500 per acre… We signed that lease last year…Contiental just drilled a well and completed it several months ago in 159-99-34 and in june it pumped 10996 barrels of oil…If it were me I would hold out for more money the 20% and nothing more then three years…There are a lot of land men out there giving a lot better terms then your being offered…You know you can shop your mineral acres around and get the best price…John
Looking at the map, Baytex Energy USA LTD has a well in the section just to the north of you. Looks like it was drilled several years ago. I don’t subscribe to the NDIC publication that shows the production figures. I am not familiar with this particular area as our minerals are located in T157;R103W area but I would consider this $600/acre a very low bonus and would not consider any lease longer than 3 years with no extension clauses. Hopefully, someone with minerals near your area can advise the current bonus rates and provide info about the production figures on the well next to your mineral area.
We have mineral acres in the same township and range and leased to Continental last year. $2k per acre, 20%, 3 year lease. Continental recently bought the Sampson well next to where the Ellisville school used to be.
Thanks for all the replies! The call we got was from great northern. The man my dad spoke to said they would try get us $600 per acre for a four year lease 3/16 royalty. But he wasn’t sure he could even do $600. This is the first inquiry we’ve had since our last lease expired back in March. My cousin said he has contacted several companies and that seems to be the going rate for our area. Do you think we have any room to negotiate with them or should we try to hold out for another offer? Thanks.
I would hold out if possible as the bonus is too low in my opinion. Great Northern is a company in ND and I have dealt with them in the past. They want to lease your minerals and then flip it in the near future for a big profit. Again, I would wait this out and see what occurs over the next 6 - 8 mos.
Agreed, hold out. You have no leverage if only one landman is talking with you. I have properties 18 miles to the East of you at 159,96. 3 years ago before I knew about this site we (our families) signed a lease at $250/acre; 16%.
The lease expired - thankfully. A landman contacted me offering $1,200/acre and I didn’t return the call. A month and a half later I received a call from another landman, this time at $2k/acre, 3 weeks later another called and I negotiated $3k/acre; 20%, 3-year.
If an operator wants to invest in the area. multiple landman services will start calling. I by no means understand this business well but I do understand leverage and negotiation.