More and more operators are sending notices that they are shutting off sending statements and forcing users to download them. They are much larger when downloaded and printed, and they put a heavy burden on us, who process hundreds of monthly royalty payments. We do not prefer to deal with electronic statements and do not appreciate the operators just deciding to change the rules during the game. Is there any way to stop this?
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Depends upon the state and what their requirements are allowing for statements. Digital is the sign of the times and it is not going backward. In OK, you can refuse the digital and demand for mail. Let me know if you need a template for responding to the operators for OK.
Save the trees … if Oklahoma has any!
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Hi Mrs. Barnes. So far every notice I have received for Paperless Statements has a clause in tiny print near the end saying that we have a right to refuse. (All our mineral acres are in OK. But there will be a production company that tries this. If agreeable to you, I would sure appreicate a co;y of the form letter that you would have us use to halt this practice. How do we sign up or do the requst? Thank you so much.
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I can understand your frustration. In almost all cases you will have the right to require paper copies be mailed to you. It is also easier and less expensive for the purchasers to provide ACH deposits and digital copies, so get ready for some push back.
Our operation is just the opposite. I prefer ACH deposits and digital statements. Both are easier for me to reconcile, ingest into our system, provide audit details, compile tax and historical information.
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Poor fella. If you want to transfer 10 or 12 of them over to me, that might make things easier for ya.
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LOL! I wish I had that ‘problem’! If I had, I’d spend a few bucks and hire a college kid to process all of them for a part time job.
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Yes please send the template. Thank you
Here is what I posted awhile back with the language for your letter/email.
Do you know if Texas has the same rules?
Texas isn’t a clean match for Oklahoma here. It has its own royalty-statement law, Natural Resources Code 91.501 to 91.504, added in 2017, but it’s built differently from the PSRA.
Closest parallel: if you’re paid by paper check, Texas says the required statement detail has to come with the payment unless you gave written consent to receive it another way (91.501). So an operator can’t quietly strip your paper statement without your consent. What Texas does not spell out is Oklahoma’s clean “paper check and statement without charge on demand,” so I wouldn’t send the OK letter to a Texas payor. Cite the Texas sections instead.
Under 91.504 you can also request specific detail on deductions, heating value, or lease ID in writing, and they have to respond.
Same caveat Ms. Barnes gave, this isn’t legal advice. What’s your operator actually doing, dropping the paper statement or charging for the paper check? That decides which section applies.
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Again, send requests by certified mail to start the clock in TX.
Our operator is charging us $10.00 per month to receive a paper check for TX royalties. ACH is not practical for us.
Any parallel details for Arkansas or Louisiana that can be used to continue to get paper statements and checks? Thanks.
I do not work in those states, but the Statutes of those states regarding oil and gas payments may give insight. Maybe someone on the forum can point right to them.
Neither state has Oklahoma’s paper guarantee, as far as I can find. Louisiana’s rule is Mineral Code 31:212.31, from 1983. Every payment has to show the lease ID, sales month, volumes, price, taxes, and your decimal, on the check stub or an attachment to the form of payment. Arkansas is 15-74-707, which makes the purchaser furnish a statement by the twelfth of each month. Both govern content. Neither says paper, and neither bars a fee for a paper check. Not legal advice, same as before.
This topic is confusing to me. In general ACH payments are deposited on the check issue date or sooner, so funds are in the account 4 to 8 days earlier with no threat of mailbox theft. Check details delivered via email, EnergyLink or MineralAnswers are already digital and easy to file without the need of a scanner.
If you do not have a computer, then I can understand why digital delivery might be an issue. Doing all of this with a cellphone is cumbersome. With that said, this is the direction of the industry so people may want to consider adapting and adopting rather than resisting.
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