Small companies can be strong too. Look at their debt load. No debt is best. However, properties of companies that are failing will be acquired by stronger companies. Going forward, that's a good thing for all.
You need to check your lease agreement. There may be a clause wherein they can withhold payment of royalties until they reach a certain dollar amount. If there isn't language in there allowing them to do that, then you may need to call them, or worse, call an attorney.
Lisa Willmon said:
agreed. Having worked within the industry, this is a given. However operators should not be allowed to withhold payments to royalty owners because they were leveraging with mineral owners money. Not our problem. ...... or is it? hmmmph lesson learned, don't lease to small company.
Martha McMorries said:
This is nothing unusual folks. The oil and gas industry always goes up and down. I’ve been working in it since 1982 and, for as long as I can remember, oil and gas has never changed it’s movements.
I’m very new to the royalty I received upon my mothers death. Mine are in Panola County and Anadarko is who I get my checked from. I want to learn about everything. Can someone direct me to a site or books that I can learn and understand about my royalties? I think we have 30 wells running.
Here's a link to a simplistic take on mineral rights:
Donna, Google Haynesville-Bossier shale play.
Know the lease backward and forwards, there is no such cluase, I have contacted attorney. unfortunately
Allen Lassiter said:
You need to check your lease agreement. There may be a clause wherein they can withhold payment of royalties until they reach a certain dollar amount. If there isn't language in there allowing them to do that, then you may need to call them, or worse, call an attorney.
Lisa Willmon said:agreed. Having worked within the industry, this is a given. However operators should not be allowed to withhold payments to royalty owners because they were leveraging with mineral owners money. Not our problem. ...... or is it? hmmmph lesson learned, don't lease to small company.
Martha McMorries said:This is nothing unusual folks. The oil and gas industry always goes up and down. I've been working in it since 1982 and, for as long as I can remember, oil and gas has never changed it's movements.
We are just now getting fracked. Glad we are coming into this now than a year ago. Starting from the bottom up. Going with a big player sure did pay off. I have heard of lots of small time companies going under, cutting back or flipping leases.
Landmen have had to take part time jobs or consider short term projects, joining professional networks and websites like www.FindALandman.com have been a tremendous asset.
we have wells is Dawson County Texas, our checks are still coming, they have cut back on production and with the cost of oil being so low our checks have reduced 70%, people need to understand, oil price has been doing this since the start of the oil boom, 100 years ago, nothing is new, as long as we love SUVs and F150s the oil prices will go up and down, people want to hire lawyers and call their congressman, it is very simple, supply and demand, 2 years from now oil will be 98 a brl, 4 years from now it will be 43 again, or something like that, people if you are on here chances are you have lease or better yet a producing well, when the lady drops your check off every month, remember, 99.99999% of the world will NEVER ever get a oil check, smile thank her and go buy your wife or Husband lunch, but never complain!!!
I saw on this forum about a year ago, a woman was getting 200K dollar checks a month and was on here just complaining up a storm that they had dropped off to 30K a month and she did not know what she was going to do!!!
Well said, Willard. My wife and I believe in the mantra, "Being grateful for what you have insures you always of having enough." The revenue from leases isn't something that we can count on; there are too many factors in the mix and in the end, it ain't about us. So we think it's best to consider it as dessert, instead of as the main serving. One can live without dessert.
Willard rogers said:
we have wells is Dawson County Texas, our checks are still coming, they have cut back on production and with the cost of oil being so low our checks have reduced 70%, people need to understand, oil price has been doing this since the start of the oil boom, 100 years ago, nothing is new, as long as we love SUVs and F150s the oil prices will go up and down, people want to hire lawyers and call their congressman, it is very simple, supply and demand, 2 years from now oil will be 98 a brl, 4 years from now it will be 43 again, or something like that, people if you are on here chances are you have lease or better yet a producing well, when the lady drops your check off every month, remember, 99.99999% of the world will NEVER ever get a oil check, smile thank her and go buy your wife or Husband lunch, but never complain!!!
I saw on this forum about a year ago, a woman was getting 200K dollar checks a month and was on here just complaining up a storm that they had dropped off to 30K a month and she did not know what she was going to do!!!
I agree, Willard and John. I would love to see what we were experiencing a few months ago come back, but it’s not like we’re entitled to it, we were fortunate! We all need to be thankful for what we have in this country, not just by way of the oil/gas fields where we have been so lucky, but also to live in this country where we are free and have so much to be thankful for.
Can we please leave politics out of these discussions?
That restriction has now been removed, with approval of both Congress and Administration. I wouldn't hold my breath about that making an immediate or significant difference, however.
Like everybody else I've seen my royalty checks dwindle. My understanding has been that OPEC, primarily the Saudis, deliberately pushed the price down to the point that new fracking projects in the U.S. would be uneconomical. And we who benefited from the temporary "boom" that fracking created as a "new" technology are now paying the price. And from what I've heard (from geologists), I'm not holding my breath. Cheap fracking may never come back. Now that Oklahoma's having more earthquakes than anywhere else on earth, even states where the big oil companies own the politicians may be forced to introduce more responsible (and more expensive!) practices. Which means the whole fracking thing may have proved to be a bubble. At the very least, it may mean that it'll be some time before the bonanza promised actually comes to fruition- improvements in technology and practices which will make fracking safe and economical. Remember Alan Greenspan's expression, "irrational exuberance?" That may be part of what was behind the runup in prices that we all enjoyed for a while. And that's been the story of the oil business since it began- boom and bust. In that sense, it IS business as usual.
Robert, Recently, GE bought Lufkin pumps and Dresser and is currently in talks with Haliburton for their drilling bit division and possibly all of Haliburton's asset and is right now entertaining buying National Oilwell Varco and/or Weatherford. Also, GE spent 110 million for a shale fracking lab in OK and has been in business 124 years. GE is a worth 175 billion and is considering acquiring walking rig companies. In short, GE doesn't believe the "whole fracking thing" is a bubble. In, fact GE claims their new Jenbacher's drill engines reduce emissions 25% and drilling costs 60%. So, fracking is getting far more economical and OPEC is no longer a swing producer and most recent EIA reports show that US shale is now a swing producer. Meaning, the US shale development can control oil pricing by increasing and decreasing production and OPEC will no longer jerk the world around by increasing and deceasing production causing huge boom and bust situations to occur. So, there is no fracking bubble because there is a fracking plan. That plan is US energy independence and we are almost there. Massive US shale drilling and development can not be stopped. This downturn is a giant opportunity for big savvy companies like GE to become extremely powerful and profitable. It's also an opportunity for investors to use fear to convince mineral owners to sell or lease their minerals for fraction of their value.
Good response. Also see Bible: Luke 12: v. 16-21.
Rev Bill
Well....crude dropped again yesterday to under $32 and Morgan Stanley is predicting a floor of $20.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/6ef2b614-b85c-11e5-b151-8e15c9a029fb.html#axzz3x1zBdozr
First I need to say "I don't know nuttin". We are a mineral owning family in East Texas. We went through the crash in the 80's and I think we are seeing the crash of the mid 2010's. A landman who is a family friend used to always say "you can spend it, but you can't count on it" when talking about royalties. Our checks have dropped and a few companies are using questionable accounting practices with the additional charges.
In East Texas we are seeing a lot of different groups impacted by the declining commodity prices. Surveyors, service companies, RV parks, etc. A large convenience type store was built south of us on Hwy 59 and it was booming everyday for several years with all types of different vehicles related in one way or another to the oil and gas business. Now it looks like a ghost town.
When and if things will turn around, who knows. I read one article that said the last oil boom is over and within a few years the US will be using alternative energies. I find that hard to believe, because at $20 oil, why would people convert to other types of energy sources? Kathy.
Elizabeth, Saudis can produce at $10, so Morgan Stanley is probably right. The thing is, Saudis can't continue produce at $10 or even $40 and keep their country fed. Their young population is mostly unemployed and living off state owned oil revenues. They are going to sell cheap oil to China in order to industrialize their country and employ their citizens. Citigroup reports that by 2030 Saudi will have to start importing oil. In the meantime, Exxon and other big oil companies that are flush with cash will capitalize on some bankrupt shale producers.
Maybe some should have stashed a few dollars of that $100.00/bbl. The price goes up, the price goes down.