Hello, My very first post:
Our family owns the mineral rights of nearly 600 acres in Williams County. The current lease expires in May 2014 - no well drilling to this point.
We want to learn as much as possible about current prices being offered/agreed to per acre; negotiating the royalty percentage; well drilling in or near our location: sections 3 & 4 at T 159 N, R 102 W; and many other pertinent pieces of data.
Thank You Laurene
The Newfield wells near you to north and southwest have produced between 50k and 73k barrels oil in between a little over two years to two and a half years. Worth having but not the kind of numbers that really excite an oil company. I don't see any new activity close at the present time. Good luck with negotiations.
Thank You.
Thank You
Encouraging!!!
We are leased with Newfield, also. This year we are attempting to become knowledgeable lessors.
Let's keep in touch with regards to interested companies for 2014.
Thanks for your response.
Laurene
Vincent Laqua said:
Hi Laurene, We live about 4 miles south of your acres. We have mineral acres in Sec. 34 159-102, We were leased to Newfield. Lease expired Jan. 18 and got notification from Newfield that they have no plans to drill in 2014 and that they have divested all interest's in this area! We have been in contact with a few companies but not a lot of interest yet. Would you mind telling me who are you leased with? I know Hunt and North Plains are drilling close to your acres.
Vince
Dear EPL,
Thank you so much for sharing the above database/table.
What is the distance of "one section south" in miles? I am gathering as much info as I can then sharing it with nine others of the family.
Do I have this right: mineral rights owned by J Haugen; drilling Co. is HRC Operating LLC; and well completed June 2012 and tested August 2012. It looks as though the monthly production in barrels has diminished during 2013...
If Haugen is the name of the original owners, my uncle may even remember the family.
Again, thank you. Laurene
What is a "Top Lease"?
Thank You ...
EPL said:
If there is still 6 months to go on the current lease, you can bet that there is a better than average chance that there will be a rig drilling there prior to the expiration of that lease next May 2014. The Oil company's are making a concerted effort not to have to pay for a lease twice. If the lease actually gets to within 30 days of expiration and no drill permits issued I would then seriously consider a Top Lease for 30 days and then a regular lease after that. This way you kind of double down and win both ways. If there are drill permits issued, I would venture to say that a drill pad is probably being built or will be soon.
Laurene, you can search toplease on this site at top right corner of any page. Topleasing is usually a bad deal for the mineral owner. In the best possible toplease scenario, you sign a lease contingent on your present lease expiring with no drilling, you get a fraction of the bonus up front and the rest when the top lease goes into effect. When you toplease you are not in the best bargaining position and probably have not received multiple offers. Frequently the toplease is a something for nothing scam and they want to pay nothing until your present lease expires anyway but want to tie up your rights. You may never get paid for the toplease as they will probably have a clause in it that they can release all or part of the lease at any time with no consequences.
They may want your commitment so they can assign your lease to someone else for cash and an overriding royalty, which could have been yours because it's the difference between what you leased to them for and the deal they worked with someone else, and the toplessee never had any money involved besides postage and printing. If you toplease you need to demand a significant fraction of the bonus at time of signing or you have gained nothing and arguably lost much for making a deal when not a totally free agent as you would be after your present lease expires.
A section is a square and each side is 1 mile. So probably about 1 mile.
Dear RW Kennedy,
Thanks for the candid piece of input: "Toplease" = No.
About 1 mile away: Not so bad ?
I will get more familiar with the resources/information available at this site: promise. Just recently was asked to participate. . . . lots to learn.
Thanks,
Laurene, it takes time to learn to navigate each site, that's why I gave you the, I guess you might call it low lights of topleasing.
One mile from commercially viable production is not a bad thing, especially in the Bakken.
Actually it depends on what criteria one used to measure the distance. The top hole, surface location is of little importance to me as it could be remote from the perforations where the oil enters the wellbore. Laurene, your section 4 is just across the section line, South from the bottom hole location of the Solheim, so you are actually in my opinion on the doorstep of 50,038 barrels of production between 9-2011 and 11-2013. Your section 4 spacing is no more than 3/4 mile away from the wellbore of the Christenson with 73,004 from 6-2011 to 11-2013. You are really quite close to the perforations in the pipe that lets the oil in, a mile closer and you would be collecting royalty because you would be in the producing spacings.
Adrian Thoeny; Son of Henry and Goldie Thoeny of Grenora area.
Laurene
Vincent Laqua said:
Laurene,
Actually the Haugen well is about 8 miles south of your acres. Newfield has 2 wells about 5 miles NW of you. Current Well Name: SOLHEIM 160-102-28-33-1HA Current Well Name: PASS 160-102-21-16-1H
Who would your uncle be? Maybe I know him!
Vince
All Right.
More to digest. I am going to compile these answers into a document and re-read again and again.
Laurene
r w kennedy said:
Actually it depends on what criteria one used to measure the distance. The top hole, surface location is of little importance to me as it could be remote from the perforations where the oil enters the wellbore. Laurene, your section 4 is just across the section line, South from the bottom hole location of the Solheim, so you are actually in my opinion on the doorstep of 50,038 barrels of production between 9-2011 and 11-2013. Your section 4 spacing is no more than 3/4 mile away from the wellbore of the Christenson with 73,004 from 6-2011 to 11-2013. You are really quite close to the perforations in the pipe that lets the oil in, a mile closer and you would be collecting royalty because you would be in the producing spacings.
Adrian's brothers are/were: Philip, Artthur, Marke and Mike.. I am also tied to Grenora, N.D. through my Dad's side: Milo Ness and his mother, Laura (Amlie) Abrahamson.
Lots of relatives.
Vincent Laqua said:
Laurene Ness Braden said:Nope, don't believe I know that name. My dad may have known that family.
Vince
Adrian Thoeny; Son of Henry and Goldie Thoeny of Grenora area.Laurene
Vincent Laqua said:Laurene,
Actually the Haugen well is about 8 miles south of your acres. Newfield has 2 wells about 5 miles NW of you. Current Well Name: SOLHEIM 160-102-28-33-1HA Current Well Name: PASS 160-102-21-16-1H
Who would your uncle be? Maybe I know him!
Vince
This data/These facts might explain the offers to "purchase" the mineral rights that we are receiving this year?
Laurene Ness Braden said:
All Right.
More to digest. I am going to compile these answers into a document and re-read again and again.
Laurene
r w kennedy said:Actually it depends on what criteria one used to measure the distance. The top hole, surface location is of little importance to me as it could be remote from the perforations where the oil enters the wellbore. Laurene, your section 4 is just across the section line, South from the bottom hole location of the Solheim, so you are actually in my opinion on the doorstep of 50,038 barrels of production between 9-2011 and 11-2013. Your section 4 spacing is no more than 3/4 mile away from the wellbore of the Christenson with 73,004 from 6-2011 to 11-2013. You are really quite close to the perforations in the pipe that lets the oil in, a mile closer and you would be collecting royalty because you would be in the producing spacings.
Laurene, the buy offers are probably in large part because your lease will soon expire, they know you have oil under you and they can, if they have the money to participate hold the operators feet to the fire as to price to lease or buy. If you were to sign a toplease or lease again after your present lease expired, I believe you would not get as many offers to buy and they would be substantially less per acre because they would much rather buy 100% of the oil in place than your royalty interest in the oil of 18.75% or 20%. Lease then sell is in my opinion poor strategy because you are conveying 80% or more of what you have to sell for less than 1% - 3% of what it is worth.
Yes, I understand.
Now I am going to find the definition for "producing spacing".
Thx
Adrian tells me he knew the Laqua family; says they lived closer to Hanks . . .
Laurene Ness Braden said:
Adrian's brothers are/were: Philip, Artthur, Marke and Mike.. I am also tied to Grenora, N.D. through my Dad's side: Milo Ness and his mother, Laura (Amlie) Abrahamson.Lots of relatives.
Vincent Laqua said:
Laurene Ness Braden said:Nope, don't believe I know that name. My dad may have known that family.
Vince
Adrian Thoeny; Son of Henry and Goldie Thoeny of Grenora area.Laurene
Vincent Laqua said:Laurene,
Actually the Haugen well is about 8 miles south of your acres. Newfield has 2 wells about 5 miles NW of you. Current Well Name: SOLHEIM 160-102-28-33-1HA Current Well Name: PASS 160-102-21-16-1H
Who would your uncle be? Maybe I know him!
Vince
Hi Laurene,
I'm a grandson of Dave Hought out of Hanks. He left his family mineral rights and we've been receiving a trickle of royalties for a couple of years. We are in areas north and south of Hanks. I just signed for three more years on two leases at $400/acre. The area isn't one of the hot spots, that's for sure. I guess I'll just have to be patient and hope for the best. I still hum the theme from The Beverly Hillbillies though. :-)
Laurene - We have acres very near yours - sections 10, 14 & 15, and 24. We have an offer from North Plains for $550 per acre, 4 years, 3/16 royalties. A friend with acres in the same area (Dennis Kohlman) says he's inclined to wait and see if things get better. In any case, we would not sign a four lease, and want 4/16. So we're going to wait awhile.
My mother was Vivian Johnson, daughter of Charles and Bertha Johnson of Hanks. I think I remember her talking about the Ness family. Was there someone named Arne?