Courses, Conferences and Formal Education

Hello everyone. This is my first post on this forum, so I'll take the opportunity to introduce myself to you all. I am a Special Assets Analyst at a large bank in the Chicago area. My role has me acting as liaison to our Oil and Gas Agent who formally manages our Oil and Gas interests that we hold in Trust Accounts. I came into the role with no Mineral Interest education whatsoever, so everything I know, I've learned from our account files, from my boss and from our Agent. We have full confidence in our Agent's ability to provide excellent guidance in handling our interests, but we would like to gain a higher level of understanding of Oil and Gas principles in order to properly represent our clients fiduciary interests, while fully understanding our Agent's recommendations.

So I'm out here on the web looking for any formal education I can find, short of a degree in Geology or a Public Landman certification. Would any of you know of any resources for Mineral interest education that I can follow? If you know of any formal courses offered (at a general level), any conferences (preferably in the Midwest), or anything else of the sort, I would be greatly appreciative.

This is a very interesting market, and its real property aspect makes it interesting not only in regards to potential earnings, but in a historical perspective. Thanks again for any assistance. It's nice to be a part of this online community.

Dear Mr. Gardiner,

In addition to gathering as much of a talent base around you as possible in the form of independent consultants that are highly trained and specific to a problem or region of the country, I can highly recommend Lewis Mosburg’s courses, the seminars put on by the University of Texas, Ernest E. Smith Mineral Law Seminars and the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation.

If you are still a bit green, I would buy the little handbook, Oil and Gas in a nutshell for some basics, then graduate to the Mosburg classes. Your graduate level courses would be the Smith and RMMLF.

Thanks so much Mr. Cotten! I appreciate the helpful direction. I’m in the process of compiling my list of potential resources, and I’ll add your note to the top.

Buddy Cotten said:

Dear Mr. Gardiner,

In addition to gathering as much of a talent base around you as possible in the form of independent consultants that are highly trained and specific to a problem or region of the country, I can highly recommend Lewis Mosburg’s courses, the seminars put on by the University of Texas, Ernest E. Smith Mineral Law Seminars and the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation.

If you are still a bit green, I would buy the little handbook, Oil and Gas in a nutshell for some basics, then graduate to the Mosburg classes. Your graduate level courses would be the Smith and RMMLF.

Best,

Buddy Cotten
www.cottenoilproperties.com