Several years ago we heard from a company that wanted to lease our mineral/oil rights on a parcel in Tulare county. We got some payments for a few years. Then the company involved sold the lease to Kestrel Energy. We got some payments but then, after 2003, we never heard from them again. Their lease expired in 2013. It appears that Kestrel is now out of business. We don't know what to do to find out if anyone else is drilling or using the rights. We don't even know how to register our current address. Can anyone give us any advice? Many thanks, Ann
Ann, There is a good website for the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources that you can review to see if others are producing your property. (http://www.conservation.ca.gov/dog) The likelihood is that they are not. Hopefully, Kestrel Energy plugged and abandoned the wells and cleaned up the property.
There is a form called a Notice of Intent to Preserve Interest which you can fill in and record in Tulare County with the County Recorder's Office that will preserve your mineral interests (I assume that you do not own the surface) and will give anyone looking to find you your contact information. Forms can be found on various websites. Make sure you use a form that complies with California Civil Code ยง 880.340 & 880.350. And, if you do not have the property description, you can simply state all property in the County. It is best to use a property description and the generic language.
Hope this helps.
thank you so much - very helpful! I will file that form. Ann