My father passed away in 2016 and left me (and 2 siblings) 79 acres of mineral rights at Section 25 Township 10 North Range 22 West. I have no idea what to research, where to start, what my rights are, how to know if someone is drilling on that land, what the laws are, etc…could anyone PLEASE help me to get started on what to do legally and any information about my responsibilities and rights. The only paperwork I have is an Oil Lease between my father and a company from 2011 that was only good for three years. Sincerely, Jaeka
Welcome to the forum. If you would like to look up if anyone is drilling you can enter the Section-Township-Range and see activity here Oklahoma Corporation Commission - Electronic Well Data. It looks like there was a well in the past, but it has been plugged. It doesn’t look like there is any current activity.
As for what to do next, you may need to have your father’s estate probated. That will legally transfer the mineral rights through his Will if he had one or if he did not have a Will by Oklahoma law to his heirs. You can also do research through the Beckham County county clerk records to help determine what he owned. Most court houses are currently closed to the public, but there is a subscription based website okcountyrecords.com where you can look up past leases or deeds.
My condolences. Welcome to the forum. The first thing to do is find out “HOW” your father passed the acreage to you. Was the estate probated, was it filed in the Beckham county courthouse, was it deeded to you, etc? Here is a map of Beckham county so you can locate yourself. Beckham County Map.pdf (409.6 KB) As Rachel said, you need to get a copy of that title document so that you can prove that you have the minerals. You also need to know what percentage each of you has. The lease that you have may say 79 acres, but that may be the gross parcel, not the net acres that your father had. You have to do some research to find out how much he really had, who he got it from, etc. You can get started with knowledge by reading the Mineral Help tab above, read everything in the Beckham County threads on the forum. Learn how to use the Oklahoma Corporation Commission website as it is free! http://www.occeweb.com
Test Well site that Rachel mentioned
Gross Production Oklahoma Tax site.
http://www.occeweb.com/OG/PubAsst/RoyaltyOwnersBooklet_012020.pdf- Excellent booklet to get you started!
Ask tons of questions.
Sorry for your loss. Here is a link showing all of the filings that occurred in Section 25, T 10 N, R 22W since 2016. I don’t see any probate or distributions from a trust. Click Here
Oil and gas leases are weird, the three years is probably the primary term. This basically means that the company has 3 years to drill. If they do so and produce minerals then the lease can last for decades.
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