INTERNET RESOURCES FOR MINERAL OWNERS

Internet resources available to mineral owners can equip you with information you need. Every day on these forums, people exchange helpful Internet links to articles and information resources.  This article attempts to accumulate these resources into one place, so someone unfamiliar with them, or unwilling to spend the time poring through these forums, can find them.

Listed below are some of the free Internet resources available for mineral owners.  Please use the comment box below if you see any that are missing or have broken links, or have other categories that should be added, and I will update this from time to time. As you can see, some are missing and need to be filled in, especially for online newspaper resources.

 

General Mineral Owner Resources

 

A.        General Help

            1.         Corporate Presentations

Many publicly-traded companies do special presentations on their drilling activity to market their companies.  For example, see the recent presentation by Eagle Oil & Gas on the Southern Delaware Basin.

In addition, quarterly earnings reports and conference call transcripts of public companies are a good way to follow drilling activity and results.  Some examples are shown here Cimarex Energy

Rather than list all of these companies, the best way is to set up a Google alert, as shown below, to follow development in a particular formation or for a particular company.

            2.         Drilling and Regulatory Reports

Baker Hughes has an excellent interactive drilling map that shows the location of drilling rigs worldwide.  The map can be accessed here, and can be downloaded on an iPad in the App Store.  Drilling Info, Inc.also has a subscription service that is helpful, as does Texas Drilling Observer, and Well Database.com.

            3.         Google Alerts

      Sign up for a Google alert to get e-mails sent to your desktop every time a news article is released on your topic.  The best way to follow activity in a particular area is to set up a Google alert for a particular oil and gas play, such as “Bakken” or “Delaware Basin”.  If you are leased to a particular company, set up a Google alert for that company.

            4.         Lease Rates and Commodity Prices 

One of the best sources of information for lease rates are the forums on this website.  A detailed listing of oil and gas prices can be found here through Plains All American.

            5.         Legal Help And Maps

      MineralWeb.com has substantial resources on mineral rights and legal materials. Google Earth is found here.  Pocket Surveyor is an Android app that may be helpful.

            6.         Marketing Minerals

If you want to market your minerals for sale or lease, posting them under the “listings” section of this website is a good place to start, as there are many landmen who are members of this site.  EnergyNet.com is an online auction that also markets minerals. You can find a swath of mineral buyers by just doing a few google searches.

            7.         Royalty Owner Software

Although I have not tried any of these, I have run across royalty owner software published by Avatar Systems and Agelio Networks.

            8.         Specific Formation Forums

This website has excellent discussion groups on all of the major formations. Others include EaglefordForum.com, and GoHaynesville.Com.

            9. Tax Issues.

These forums address severance taxes and deductions:

Mineral Rights Forum - Severance Tax Deductions

Greenstein, Rogoff, Olson & Co., LLP, CPA's

R. King & Co.

B.        State-Specific Resources

      Part of what this article is about has already been accumulated.  The Texas Railroad Commission has a resource page that lists Internet resources for each state. In addition, there is a thread that accumulates internet resources related to the Utica and Marcellus Shale. Finally, there is a record retrievel site for multiple states here.

  1.         Alabama

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports - Production and drilling reports for Alabama can be found HERE.

                   b.         Land Maps - ALS has a GIS-type map that is good for locating lands and wells HERE. 

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

  2.         Arkansas

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

Arkansas drilling and production information is here.

                   b.         Land Maps

Arkansas’ version of the GIS land map is here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

  3.         California

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

California’s online production and well records search forms are located here.  See the button on the left side.

                   b.         Land Maps

California’s GIS map is located here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

  

  4.         Colorado

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

Colorado permits and production information are here.

                   b.         Land Maps

     Colorado’s GIS map (see button on the left side) is here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

  

  5.         Idaho 

                   a.         Drilling Permits

Idaho’s permits and other information are located here.

                   b.         Land Maps

Idaho oil and gas maps can be found here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

                   d.         Production Reports

Idaho’s historical production reports are located here.

  

  6.         Illinois

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

Instructions on how to access Illinois oil and gas resources data are located here.

                   b.         Land Maps

Illinois’ GIS map is located here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

  7.         Kansas

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

Kansas’ drilling and production information is found here.

                   b.         Land Maps

Kansas online maps are found here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

  8.         Kentucky

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

Kentucky’s oil and gas records database is here.

                   b.         Land Maps

     Kentucky’s online publications and maps catalog is here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

 9.         Louisiana

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

     Louisiana’s drilling permits and production reports can be found here.

                   b.         Land Maps

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

 10.       Mississippi

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

Permits and Well data are at the top of this page.

                   b.         Land Maps

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

 11.       Montana

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

Here is the portal for Montana's oil and gas records.                  

                   b.         Land Maps

Montana’s GIS maps are here.

                   c.         Other

 The Montana Board of Oil and Gas has a wealth of information online here.

 12.       Nebraska

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

Nebraska’s drilling and production information can be found here.

                   b.         Land Maps

Nebraska’s GIS maps may be found here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

 13.       New Mexico

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports - New Mexico’s drilling permit and production information can be found here.

                   b.         Land Maps - New Mexico’s GIS Maps are found here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

 14.       New York

                   a.         Permits and Production - New York permitting and production information is located here.

                   b.         Land Maps

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

 15.       North Dakota

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

North Dakota’s drilling permit and production report data can be found here and here.

                   b.         Land Maps

North Dakota’s land maps are located here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

 16.       Ohio

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

      Ohio’s drilling permit and production reports may be found here.

                   b.         Land Maps

Ohio’s GIS maps are located here. The USDA's National Resources Conservation Service has GIS maps which can be accessed for Oklahoma (and other states) here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 17.       Oklahoma

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

Information about Oklahoma’s drilling permits and production reports may be found here.

                   b.         Land Maps

 County and section line maps for the State of Oklahoma may be viewed here. Search land maps by county here. Oklahoma's geological survey information is also available online.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 Drilling reports are available from The Oklahoman. They are also available via the Tulsa World.

                   d.         Oil and Gas Lease Auctions

 Information about oil and gas lease auctions in Oklahoma is available online here. Lease offer information about the Haynesville Shale can be viewed by clicking the "More" tab at this site.

                   e.         Miscellaneous Oklahoma Resources

Oklahoma's Unclaimed Property Index is a good resource. Many states will let you research corporate organization and ownership via their Secretary of State records. Oklahoma's online corporation records are here. Search Oklahoma land records by county starting here

 18.       Pennsylvania

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

Pennsylvania drilling and production information is here.

                   b.         Land Maps

Pennsylvania land maps are located here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

 19.       South Dakota

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

South Dakota drilling and production information is located here.

                   b.         Land Maps

South Dakota’s land maps are here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

 20.       Texas

                   a.         Appraisal Districts

Appraisal District searches can be done here.

                   b.         Drilling Permits

Drilling permits are found on the Texas Railroad Commission website.  There is a video tutorialon the home page of this website that explains how to navigate the clumsy RRC website.  You may learn more about Texas Mineral Right Values here.

                   c.         Land Maps

The Texas General Land Office has an excellent, interactive GLO map that is good for locating the block and section on land, as well as providing a general idea where land is located. Geology of the Permian Basin, with maps, is described in this paper.

                   d.         Newspaper Reports

The Abilene Reporter News, Odessa American, and Midland newspapers publish reports once a week on oil and gas activity.

                    e.         Production Reports

The Railroad Commission website also allows you to track production on specific wells. Review the video tutorialby Kreg Harrison on the home page of this website first before attempting to navigate this clumsy website. Information about the Delaware and Midland Basins can be found here.

                    f.          Public Records

Texas File.com has free registration, cheap records, and good county coverage.  Not all counties are covered, however.

 

 22.       Utah

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Reports

Utah drilling permit and production reports are here.

                   b.         Land Maps

Utah’s land maps may be found here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

  23.       West Virginia

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Data

West Virginia’s drilling and production data are located here.

                   b.         Land Maps

West Virginia’s land maps are located here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

 24.       Wyoming

                   a.         Drilling Permits and Production Data

Wyoming’s drilling reports and production data are located here.

                   b.         Land Maps

Wyoming’s land maps are located here.

                   c.         Newspaper Reports

 

G. Wade Caldwell 

A managing member of Barton, East & Caldwell, P.L.L.C., a San Antonio-based firm which represents mineral owners and provides a wide variety of legal services.