Does anyone know what recourse we have and how we should proceed with oil and gas company.
Dear Ms Bristo,
If you can prove that you hold title to that acreage, furnish your proof to the oil company.
Proof would consist of an Abstract of Title, along with a title opinion rendered by a competent oil and gas attorney.
If you have no proof, but a suspicion, ask the oil companies' division order department how they arrived at the number to which you are credited.
Dear Mr. Cotton,
Thank you for your reply. We sent a certified copy of the mineral deed filed at our county courthouse. As you say, this probably is not enough proof. The oil company seems to be reluctant to move on this. We will follow your advice. Thank you again.
Buddy Cotten said:
Dear Ms Bristo,
If you can prove that you hold title to that acreage, furnish your proof to the oil company.
Proof would consist of an Abstract of Title, along with a title opinion rendered by a competent oil and gas attorney.
If you have no proof, but a suspicion, ask the oil companies' division order department how they arrived at the number to which you are credited.
Best
er
I did get the title opinion yesterday from the oil company. I had 5 tracts, but they did not add up to the 230 acres I have a mineral deed for. I am still .875 acres short. There were no requirements or comments in the title opinion. I did use the above formula but on the total acres. Wouldn't that be right? My next step would be to follow Buddy's advice and get a title abstract and oil and gas attorney. Thanks for you help.
I agree with Mr. Cotten but I would also say that Division Orders are sometimes confusing. Some of the oil and gas companies I do work for have some very confusing Division Order paperwork. I would try to isolate and identify a couple different numbers.
(Forgive me if I'm telling you info you already know and have calculated.) If you have .875 acres you should divide your acreage interest by the total number of acres in the unit. Then, if you have leased, your interest is further reduced by multiplying times the royalty rate.
An example: .875 acres in a 400 acre unit=.0021875 is the percentage of unit ownership. Now your revenue interest is arrived at by multiplying (if you have a lease) by the royalty amount in your lease. That should be the fractional number you see in the Division of Interest (Division Order) paperwork.
Anybody feel free correct me on my calculations if I have forgotten anything. I'm not sure why I'm trying to do this at 7:30 on a Saturday...
Cliff Williams
With the additional information that you are providing, ask the oil company if a survey was done. I will bet a hot dog that they did and you ended up with 7/8ths of an acre short. Just because the mineral deed says XXX acres, it generally goes on to say, "more or less" to account for lots of things - fences off a bit, increased accuracy of surveying instruments, slight shift of magnetic north, and it goes on and on.
Mr. Cotten and Mr Williams,
I thought you might like to know the latest on this post. This week, the Division Order Analyst got a letter from another mineral owner stating that she and her relatives had received .875 acre too much in their division orders. So, he said they were crediting us with that.875 and we would receive revised division orders.
Buddy Cotten said:
With the additional information that you are providing, ask the oil company if a survey was done. I will bet a hot dog that they did and you ended up with 7/8ths of an acre short. Just because the mineral deed says XXX acres, it generally goes on to say, "more or less" to account for lots of things - fences off a bit, increased accuracy of surveying instruments, slight shift of magnetic north, and it goes on and on.
Best,
Buddy Cotten
Mineral Manager