Wood County, TX oil & gas discussion group. Share your experience regarding lease bonus, royalty rates, drilling activity, and oil & gas news.
Has anyone had any dealings with Energy Production Corporation? I have a client with a request to perform seismic testing in Wood County. Just thought I would reach out.
Mr. Sullivan,
There is a plethora of companies purporting acquire the right to conduct 3-D shoots and tie up the lands for 18 months with an option for lease at the end.
Cheapest option you can buy. Have a penalty for not shooting the seismic and set liquidated damages at $500 per acre.. That should separate the men from the boys.
Clint, What about Wood county? Is it actively leasing? I’m curious about the areas near Hawkins. Our property is actually right near the county line on the upshur side. But all those wells above the college East of Hawkins are very near that county line. What are the formations being drilled there?Cotton Valley sands? Are there any deeper formations that might mean horizontal drilling in the future? I’ve been researching Grady county and the scoop. But don’t know much of anything about this area. There isn’t much discussion here which may mean all those active wells are just status quo and have been since my Grandfather Todd crawled around on those Hawkins tanks measuring levels each day.
Holly,
All the wells in and around the Hawkins area are considered to be in the Hawkins Field Unit. These wells are solely operated by Exxon-Mobile and if you drive around the area, there are no pumping units. This is a gas injected field and Exxon's plant is just North of town. Each well is produced by gas injection and Exxon somewhat chases the oil around the area. You will see Exxon plugging wells in one are and drilling a new in another. If you go further North, out of the Hawkins Field Unit, Exxon operates a huge salt water disposal area (also a smaller one South). These two areas are comprised of salt water injection wells for the disposal of salt water generated by these other numerous wells. There are wells further North in the Pine Mills field and these have pumping units but the field is old and not much new drilling occurs in this area. There are some newer gas wells near the county line to the East which is near Upshur County. Not sure who drills this area but there has been several gas wells drilled over the past 5 years but since the price of gas deflated, the drilling slowed on this development. If and when the price of gas begins to increase, you might see more gas wells being drilled near this county line area. The other oil field from Hawkins is located to the NW in the Haynesville area. This is referred to as the Neuhoff Field unit and all wells in this area is operated by Energy Production. I don't think a horizontal oil well has been drilled in this area. You can go to the RRC website and possibly learn the various formations for these areas. Hope this info helps.
Thanks Charles. Very informative. We found it very odd that a land an contacted my brother about a year ago wanting to buy both his mineral rights in pusher texas and Grady Oklahoma. How in the world the same landman connected my brother to thos areas we have no idea. They were not ever outlined in the same legal document. So since Grady became active this year I thought I better start digging around for the upshur status. My dad worked for Gulf/Chevron his whole career and he told me it was thought there was gas in that area. This was very helpful. I found an interesting paper with maps here: http://www.agl.uh.edu/pdf/theses/2011-mondelli.pdf
Holly:
Now Upshur County has seen numerous gas wells drilled over the past years, especially around the Gilmer area. Lots of those gas wells were very good producers but when the price of gas begin to fall, the area became less attractive to the oil companies as they directed their attention to the shale plays for oil. Many of the gas wells in Upshur county are H2S or "sour" gas which adds additional problems for the oil company. Good luck.
Charles,
Thanks for helping Holly with her questions. Holly, Wood and Upshur County was a part of Charles area when he was with the RR Commission. He knows Wood and Upshur Counties like the back of his hand. Good luck with your minerals Holly.
Again, thanks Charles.
Clint Liles
Clint:
As you know, it's been about 6 years since I worked in that area but I still remember the Hawkins Field Unit fairly well. The formation being produced is the Woodbine and the HFU has it's own rules set forth by the RRC. Lot's of oilfield activity takes place daily in the Hawkins area.
Charles, Being familiar with the area I’m wondering if this description means anything to you. I’ve been thinking we need to have it drawn or something while people still know what it means. Wish Texas had sections like Oklahoma!
3 acres (undivided) out of 10 acres of land off the east side of a certain tract or parcel of land lying and being situated on the John Carson HRS in Upshur County Texas as follows:
Beginning on the south side of the Big Sandy and Hawkins graded road at the place where the SBL of said road crossed the EBL of the DW Glenn land and the west boundary line of the JD White land purchased from DW Glenn:
Thence south with … And it goes on to describe a red oak marked with a double x, the Lowerys land, a black Jack marked with an x. It is 19 acres minus some land donated to the “negro cemetary”. Which we think is that Vernon cemetary.
Seeing as the tree might not even be there I worry about people interpreting things like this as the years pass!
You gotta wonder when you get a random phone call out of the blue if someone knows something you don’t know. Maybe they have done 3d seismic s of the area.
Thanks for the info. My dad and later his mom moved away from the Hawkins/Big Sandy area after my grandfather passed away…she went back to their roots near Grady county where there is Shale but again we are on the edge of the hot spot.
Holly:
This description means nothing to me but I'm not a landman. Doubt that seismic work has been done recently around this area due to the high cost of seismic and the declining gas prices. I'm speaking of course about the Upshur County area near the Wood County line. Your best bet is to call the RRC district office in Kilgore, give them the info you currently have in regards to property description, and they can tell you what they have in the way of records. Phone # is (903) 984-3026. Might be beneficial to contact them.
Thanks again Charles!
I have inherited some land in Hawkins about a mile west of town on hwy 80. Is there activity in that area? I see the permits being applied for that Clint has posted here so there seems to be some activity. How could I find information on a lease? What's typical as far as amount paid to lease the land?
Gregory:
Not sure exactly the area you are referring to but sounds like it would be very close to the Hawkins Field Unit which is operated by Exxon Mobile.
Yeah I seem to have found out one of my family members gets a check but it's still in my grandmothers name. I'm wondering if it's even worth the time to dig into this. I know oil lease checks are small. Right? Oh yeah I found out it's in the Hawkins Filed Unit. Do you know a ballpark of what kind of money this involves?
Gregory:
Sorry, but can't help you in the money end of this. The way Exxon operates this HFU, they somewhat chase the oil around the area as drilling will be taking place as well as plugging of older wells. They do not use pumping units on these wells as they are produced via gas injection.
I understand. I was just trying see if it's worth the effort to start digging into. Thanks for the info.
Gregory:
Wish I could shed more light on your situation but that's about all I know regarding the area. I do know that some leasing is occurring to the South of your area which is actually in Smith County. I just leased some minerals located just East of Lindale. Again, not familiar with the current status of your mineral area but it might be worthwhile checking into the matter just to satisfy your mind.
I inherited fractional interests in mineral (and surface) rights in Texas from both my aunt (recently) & father (years ago). My sister and I each received half interests of our aunt's portion, brother was left out. My sister, brother and I inherited a 1/3 interest each from our father. All the same surveys/land.
My sister and I receive royalties from our aunts portion. The 3 of us do not currently receive royalties from our father's interests, as his 4th wife was left a Life Estate ( to the royalties only).
My sister and I would like to gift a 1/3 share from each of our Aunt's minerals/surface to our brother, so that all each of us would own two thirds of them (and more importantly to us, share in the royalties, as well as the income tax, equally).
What is the best way to do that? A gift deed from each of the sisters has been suggested, but how should that be worded to describe a 1/3 share of royalties AND the minerals (there are multiple surveys, some of which are non-producing)? And be clear that we are excluding our father's portion, which is already divided into thirds?
Or would a quit claim deed be easier? Or?
How might that be taxed in regards to the gift exclusion? The dollar amount of the royalties per year (each sister is separate), or the value placed on the producing minerals by the county property tax people? Or both? Do not want to set a huge Tax Event in motion for either side. How would those be deeded separately, if those amounts were more than the $14,000 yearly exclusion?
Alternatively, is there a way to assign a fraction of the royalties with the oil company ( so that he could pay the income tax on his portion) and not worry about deeding?
Anybody have any experience in gifting a portion of their minerals? My sister and I would appreciate all your insights….
- Sincerely, Newbie Owners
My family has a small interest in the Hawkins Field Unit. We have been getting many offers to purchase our interest recently. One offer from American Land and Minerals was surprising as it was 5 times what everyone else had been offering. Is there something new going on in Wood County? Are there deep prospects?