Yes, production reports show they are.
If the State or County won’t enforce the liens, what can be done?
Send copies of the Liens and all correspondence by email in addition to mailing same by certified mail with return receipt and follow up with phone calls. Record the phone calls if you can and keep all emails. It appears to me that Contango and Crescent are operating as different legal entities, so make sure which company owns and operates the well(s) your minerals are associated with. You may need to file Liens for both companies even though one claims to be the owner. Something just isn’t right here folks. I have reviewed the financials for Crescent, and it is not going out of business any time soon. Not sure about Contango.
Email: ownerrelations@contango.com
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Operator Number: 24432 CONTANGO RESOURCES LLC Alison Denner 600 Travis St Ste 7330 Houston, TX 77002-3023 Office phone: (713) 236-7400 Emergency phone: Not on file. Email: ADENNER@CONTANGO.COM
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The liens are sent to the company that buys the crude oil, in this case it’s Phillips 66, and they hold the amount of the lien until it is satisfied.
Thanks, Martha! I’m glad you looked at Crescent’s financials. I tried, but I just don’t know what to look for. One thing I did notice though, I was looking at Crescent’s reported debt, and it shows slightly over 2 billion, but recent filings in Dewey County indicate Wells Fargo Mortgage was adjusted to 4 billion. Not sure this even has a bearing.
Crescent claims that Contango Resources is one of their subsidiaries. Therefore, Crescent may be liable for any legal violations Contango commits, so it is possible Crescent could face legal actions due to the fact that Crescent owns the controlling interest in Contango. I was once able to sidestep the operator and have Phillips 66 pay my monthly royalty interest payments directly to me instead of the operator. That was a long time ago and not sure if it is still possible.
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Other contributors to this thread discovered Contango is the wholly owned subsidiary of Crescent Energy. Crescent Energy and Contango are managed by KKR Energy Real Assets, and KKR & Co has controlling interest in Crescent Energy. Unfortunately, KKR has been here before, having bought Samson Resources in 2011 for $7 billion with private equity money, bonds, and loans. By 2015, Samson was bankrupt. Billions of dollars lost, hundreds of jobs gone, but luckily KKR escaped unscathed.
Samson was small compared to the $48 billion Texas electric company KKR bankrupted in 2014. By the way, the $48 billion was all borrowed money, so KKR again did not suffer monetary losses. Running up debt, then walking away leaving stockholders, banks, investors, and creditors holding the bag is a business model that has served KKR well. They’ve burned billions in other people’s dollars, so of course the millions of dollars in unpaid revenue that belongs to Oklahoma royalty owners is of little to no concern to a company like KKR, and will no doubt remain unpaid unless we can address it through liens, litigation, or both.
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That’s often the case with private equity companies like KKR. However, Crescent would be liable for any lease violations committed by Contango due to the fact that Contango is a subsidiary of Crescent. I’m still looking into the manner and timing of the Contango/Independence merger that created Crescent. Contango was a private company doing business as an LLC, then became a corporation for a matter of hours before the merger, then became a subsidiary of Crescent once the merger became a legal reality. This type of corporate manipulation is not new, but it is disturbing. Phillips 66 and the OCC should be informed of the Crescent/Contango/Independence business structure and the withholding of royalty interest revenue payments.
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I have looped Phillips66 on my last few emails that discussed the KKR nightmare. I will protest anything Contango files at OCC, last few filings, they just dropped after I protested, but eventually there will be something they have to get an order for.
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Contango/Crescent merger was completed in 2021. They purchased assets from Bankruptcy Court which gave them much more production than they ever had. They were understaffed and because of COVID had trouble getting staff, according to Jason Thomas. They farmed out the accounting to a firm called EAG in Houston. Some Contango employees were also sent to EAG. They were then about 4 months behind on royalty payments. They have never been current. In 2023 they took back the accounting in house. At that time the merger initiated by KKR was considered complete. It’s my understanding that they have production in Texas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, and other states. They told me they have no production in Louisiana, which I asked specifically about since I was being charged Louisiana taxes and fees every month against my Texas production. They apparently have been careful to pay the State of Texas GLO the proper royalties, but the numbers do not add up. I have spent numerous hours trying to untangle the web of lies and errors. When I bill clients on an hourly rate, I get $600.00 per hour. All I want is my royalties with the interest as required by Texas law. I have talked to people at NARO and TIPRO. All are appalled at the operations of Contango. I’m at my wits end. Again, any and all suggestions will be appreciated.
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