Hello All,
I am new to this forum and am looking for information regarding leasing to an oil company. my property is in st. augustine county and I have been approached by a company wanting to lease my land to drill for gas. The company is in the process of doing a title opinion because there is discrepancy with ownership of mineral acreage. They want me to sign lease b4 the title opinion is complete. I need to know what to ask for as far as upfront bonus and royalty percentage. The terms that are in the lease are very dense but in reading between the lines, it seems as if the oil company is asking for everything except the kitchen sink. For instance, "breach of lessee of any obligation arising hereunder shall not work a forfeiture or termination of this lease nor cause a termination or reversion of the estate created hereby nor be grounds for cancellation hereof in whole or in part".
There are many things in this lease that don't seem above board. Any help would be appreciated.
Annette:
There is an ongoing forum involving individuals with interests in the San Augustine area. In regards to the terms of the lease, you might want to contact an individual oil and gas consultant and provide a copy of this lease in it's entirety, in order to get an opinion as to the contents. When these companies lease minerals, a period is set aside for a title search before any payments are made regarding the lease.
The language in the typical oil and gas lease is dense but that does not mean that it is suspect. Just be sure to ask and research as much as possible.
Hello James,
I am wondering do you also work with large oil companies in Texas? I assume if you were to review a lease for a mineral owner, would you normally disclose whether or not you have represented that particular oil company in the past?
James O'Sullivan said:
The language in the typical oil and gas lease is dense but that does not mean that it is suspect. Just be sure to ask and research as much as possible. I am an oil and gas attorney currently working on some property in San Augustine County, Texas. Feel free to message me privately to discuss this further, I work with many small interest owners.