New here. I inherited mineral rights in Spring 2024. I’ve been in the Royalty Owner process with Chevron for some time, haven’t received a payment at this point. I’ve been receiving various (I think impressive) offers to purchase on 20 acres of the 640 total. Property description on Quit Claim is T9N R58W SEC 13, well name Castor Fed LD 13-78HN Ni. On the offers to purchase they reference the same information except they note Section 24 not 13. I am out of state, should I be contacting a local professional for advice/help? And who? Or just wait and see what happens? Thanks,
The original Castor Federal LD 13-78HN NI was drilled in 2013 and listed last production was in 2022. Section 13 has quite a few more horizontal wells by Bison . They are fairly young so worth a good bit, so you want your royalties from them before considering any offers. Quite a few permits have been filed to drill additional infill horizontal wells into the nearby sections including 24. Bison may be planning to drill more wells on your acreage. If you have no need to sell, then just sit back and see what happens. Most offers to buy are for a certain amount of payoff within 2-5 years. They plan to make a profit off of the remaining years of production!
Welcome to the forum! Section 13 looks to be fully developed. The initial well that you mention, the Castor is indeed operated by Chevron and drilled in 2013. The other 8 horizontal wells that were drilled through that section in 2022 are operated by Bison Operating and they are called the Tatanka Federal wells. I would be trying to contact Bison to get into pay status on those other 8 wells also. I suspect that who ever is trying to buy your minerals has reason to believe you may own in section 24 as well. That section has some producing wells, as well as new wells in progress that should be producing I would guess early next year. Here is a map image of your section outlined in Red, with the Castor well highlighted in yellow. You can see the additional wells I am referring to on the map as well. As far as who to reach out to, there is a directory of mineral service providers on this forum, so you could reach out to a Mineral Manager on there. Or also look up the NARO Rocky Mountain chapter and email them and they can help guide you as well with whatever information you may need. As far as selling, I would definitely talk with a professional before deciding to sign the dotted line. Hope this helps!
Ask the agent that is contacting you about how many net acres they have for you in 24. . Sometimes folks are not aware of everything that they inherited and sometimes, the agents can be in a hurry and send the wrong letter to the wrong person. Or the operator may be planning to drill additional longer wells into a different zone that would include both 13 and 24.
Next time they call I will certainly ask. I’ve been contacted by two different companies both after the same thing. One of which has sent me probably 15 offers. Really appreciate the information and guidance.
The more offers you get, the more “somebody knows something”. Ask them directly why they want to buy and what wells are about to be drilled. See what they say, but take it with a grain of salt. The more offers we get, the less likely we are to sell.
In the meantime, contact Bison and get your royalties from them into your hands.
I did reach out to Bison and to my surpise they responded right away. I sent the applicable documents they asked for and they said they’d review. By week 4 with getting no no other communication from them I sent a follow up email, to which they haven’t responded. Its now been 5 weeks with nothing other than the very first communication with Bison. Would your suggestion be to continue needling them via phone/email or just give them time? Really appreciate your guidance in this very grey area. Leigh
It can take up to three months to get replies. I would wait until 8 weeks and then send a certified mail return receipt and send a copy of all of your other communication and ask what else they need. Ask for interest and that usually gets their attention and moves you up in the queue.
Hi Martha, Me again. Bison got the certified mail on Friday. Today I had a voicemail and email from Bison. The voicemail stated they do not show me owning anything in those sections. The email on the other hand claims the person I inherited the minerals from also did not own anything, and they referenced this:
The person I inherited from had been receiving royalties from Chevron on the Castor Fed well, up until I suppose the last production. If you have any further advice for me, I’d really appreciate it.
You cannot grant (or receive) what you don’t own (or they didn’t actually own). If the previous ancestor made a will that included acreage, but did not have the information that they actually did not own it, then they did not own it and cannot pass it on even though they tried. You may need a landman to clear this up by going farther back or you can trust Bison and it is a bummer, but true.
I have not reviewed this property. If you feel the rights have value and you have confidence in the previous ownership, then hire a landman for a review. Weld County is online, so much of the work can be completed remotely. If the title opinion directly addresses your interest, then make sure to supply a copy to the landman.
I got online in Weld Co and poured over records and think I have a fairly solid chain of title. I meet with my attorneys Monday and they will review my research (however, they aren’t oil and gas lawyers) and make best of what I was able to find. Here’s to hope and faith and online scouring
I just want to say I appreciate everyone’s input on this. I feel I’ve learned a lot in the last few months and it wouldn’t have happened without these tips and leads. What an interesting business and asset to inherit
Sorry for the delayed response, I posted a week ago and my comment is still pending approval…possibly because it had the following deed as an attachment? John received his interest in a PRMD @4100566 (assuming Ann Maksyn owned an interest). I’m not sure why they think he is a stranger to title, possibly because his name did not get indexed on this document, only Shirley Kub’s name was indexed. Nonetheless, he owns is both sections 13 and 24. Tell them to recheck their title. You do not need to pay an attorney for this.
Appreciate the response. I provided chain of title documents of the family line of probate and a couple other documents to Bison, and they are now under review. The only thing that is discouraging is when I was added as joint tenant back in 2016, John only deeded section 13 nothing on 24 (I think it was the blind leading the blind with his attorney and at that time only 13 had activity) and so I would have to assume without probate at this point I only have rights to 13. If you have other opinions on Section 24 or potential options please share. Thanks, Leigh
Not sure what you mean by family line of probate. If the JT only granted section 13, then section 24 will be either subject to probate proceedings or intestate succession.
Family line, I just meant from grandpa to grandma to mother etc. And yes, JT was done on just section 13 because there wasn’t a lot of knowledge on this stuff at the time, especially living in a non-oil producing area of the country. It is what it is at this point.
