Looking at the possibility of selling our mineral interests. No final decision has been made. The acreage is about 150 acres in Lavaca County, TX, about 8 to 10 miles N – NW from Hallettsville, Tx Before hiring an experienced oil & gas attorney to manage the sale, ownership transfer, and collection of the “agreed to” purchase price, I have some questions:
1 - I have been told the best way to evaluate competing purchase offers is to measure them based on purchase price per net mineral acre. Is this true?
2 – There are a lot of rumors circulating about the current market values (per net mineral acre). Does anyone have an idea of what the current low/high values range for net mineral acre is selling for in Lavaca Co.?
3 – Our current lease agreement does not end until 2027. If we sell before then, are we responsible for returning any portion of the lease bonus we initially received at the start?
4 – It is my understanding that current legal expenses will range between $250 to $400 per hr. Is this a reasonable estimate for legal services?
5 – After supplying the lawyer with all the required information (no research involved), approximately how many hours should it take a lawyer to complete the entire transaction?
6 – Can anyone recommend a knowledgeable oil & gas attorney familiar with Eagle Ford Shale and Lavaca Co. who could provide the legal services I am looking for?
I’ll comment on 1 or 2 of these…
Yes, but that is assuming there is not a lease that is in effect. If a lease is in effect, you’ll want to compare any offers on a net royalty acre basis, since the lease royalty percentage has direct bearing on future cash flows for any new owner. The letter writing squad often uses these terms willy nilly.
No, unless you have contractually promised such - and I’ve never seen that in my 40 yrs. in the business - and moreover, never heard of that, period. I doubt seriously that you would have entered into a lease contract with that kind of language.
Thank you for your responses. I don’t think my situation is any different from most, yet you are the only person who responded. Frankly, I was a bit disappointed after 81 views. I was hoping for more feedback.
It does not matter whether the comparison is net mineral acres (NMA) or net royalty acres, as long as all offers are measured on the same basis to get to the final sales price. Important for you to know exactly how many NMA you own in 150 gross acres. 100% is 150 acres vs 10% is 15 NMA vs 1% is 1.5 NMA. Attorney fees vary widely and you can use any good Texas oil and gas attorney. Familiarity with specific location would mainly matter if the attorney is advising you on pricing. # hours of legal time depends on complexity of contract and how much back and forth there is about contract terms between buyer and seller. You have to consider how you intend to market the minerals to get multiple offers. You are not getting desired detailed responses because your questions are too general. There is a lot of discussions about mineral sales on other posts here which can give you ideas.
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