I got a document yesterday from a Landman in Tyler, Texas. It states that my dad I guess either had 10 acres or Mineral Rights according to the records of La Salle County. My dad died in 1975 and mom in 2010. This is the first I’ve heard of this. When mom died I went through all of mom’s stuff and there weren’t any type of records with 10 acres or mineral rights. If there was I would have remembered and would have checked it out. I do remember when I was maybe 8 or 10 we went to Texas to visit my dad’s brother and his family. I think we were there a week or two. I don’t remember my parents talking about any of this. I don’t know if mom signed this or just dad. I have 45 days to sign and send this document back. I don’t want to sign if this is a big scam. If I sign I get a bonus of $100 and a term of 3 years and 20% or sell for $300 and that’s it. So are they buying the 10 acres for $300? If so, that’s not a very fair price for 10 acres. Are they forcing me to sell the 10 acres? Can I get in touch with another Landman and maybe get a better offer? I would be an heir to all this but I don’t have anything in writing saying it’s mine. I was shocked to say the least to get these documents yesterday. It’s just another puzzle piece to my family that I have no answer to. I’m so shocked and CONFUSED. Please send me your advice. THANK YOU 
I would go to the courthouse and research it and go from there.
Hello Brenda,
On the document the Tyler, Texas Landman sent to you, is the Abstract #, Section #, or Block # included? If it is, all you need to do is call the LaSalle County Clerk’s office and possibly they can assist you.
Also, is this landman with a company called Eiche-Mapes Co? If it is, they are a very reputable leasing agent for oil companies.
This link is to the LaSalle County Clerk office:
Clint Liles
Brenda,
I can’t say if what you are being offered is fair or not until we find out what part of LaSalle County your minerals are located in. If there is production and activity with good wells in the area of your minerals that will make your minerals worth more. And there are some fantastic wells in LaSalle County. The Independent Landman you are referring to that is leasing for EOG I know personally. Good person and will not scam you. See what you can find out from the County Clerk office.
Clint Liles
No taxes on minerals in Texas until there is production.
You do need to research the records, including the wills / probate / distribution of your parents estate. Do you have any siblings? If so, have they been contacted?
There is not enough money up front on 10 acres to have it done, but you will be able to do it yourself.
Do not sell your mineral interest, $300 is pocket change and if there is production in the future the 20% royalty is where your money is. [BTW ask for 25%]
Hi Brenda!
As you can see, you can get a lot of excellent help here on The Forum.
My first response is to advise you to NOT sell any mineral interests in LaSalle County, Texas, especially not for anything like $300.00!
The Eagle Ford Shale and other formations are producing tremendous amounts of oil and gas in that area of Texas. The Eagleville Field, where the Eagle Ford Formation is being drilled, was just announced as having become the largest and most productive Oil Field in the Country, beating out Prudhoe Bay in Alaska.
No matter how small your interest is, it could be worth thousands upon thousands upon thousands of dollars. Either from royalties being paid to you over the next 40 years+ or from a sale of them, or part of them, if you decide to go that route.
The $100.00 to lease your interest sounds incredibly low, as well.
If you will provide me with your legal description, I will be happy to look up what sort of Well Drilling is going on in your area and what the potential is for your lands and interests. You should also request a map of the lands your interest is in from the Landman.
You can post it here or accept my invitation to become a Friend on The Forum and send it privately that way. I will be sending you an invitation in a few minutes.
Harry is right, ask for a 25% Royalty in your Lease. There are several additional Provisions I would advise you to include as well - especially one requiring the company to provide you with any Title Run Sheets and Title Opinions covering your interests.
A Title Run Sheet is the history of your Interests from Patent or Land Grant (Sovereignty) to the present. Title Opinions are prepared by Attorneys for the Oil Company setting out who owns what. Both are very expensive to prepare, but with that provision you will be getting them for free.
I can send you the Provisions to add to your lease.
Hope this helps -
Charles Emery Tooke III Certified Professional Landman Fort Worth, Texas
Do you own 100% of the 10 acres or is it split with others? Are they asking you to lease the property or sell it?
Usually if you get an offer that low, it is because you have a very small part of the 10 acres or you are dealing with extreme bottom fishermen.
Don’t sell your mineral rights. And, pay attention to what all these good people are saying. They will help you.
Good luck.
LaSalle County is one of the highest producing counties in Texas. Do not sell your minerals. How about asking the landman for a “favored nations” clause for both the bonus and the royalty? I wonder if any of the big oil companies would sell LaSalle County minerals for less than $10,000 per acre?
Okay Brenda,
You need to read your mineral rights lease agreement very carefully. In most Oil & Gas leases there is a clause where they are asking to use the oil, gas, water to run their equipment they pull out of the ground with no royalties being paid. Also, they will have a clause that covers the first part of the years of the contract, then they can come after the original years are up and pay no royalties. What this means is that after you sign the lease they can go in on the first day, put a pin in the ground and leave, and come after the contract time has expired and then come in and drill and give you nothing. So basically you’re giving them a ten-year lock on your mineral rights. The present owner only has surface rights down to 4 feet; they have no mineral rights. If your family died and someone else buys the property, they are paying the taxes on the surface land, not the mineral rights. Those mineral rights are yours, not the landowners. And yes, $100 is a low amount. The only way that you will be getting that low of a percentage is if there are other heirs listed in your father’s will. The first thing you need to do is get the will of your father and mother. Through the will of your father you will be able to locate in the County seat records books how he was able to get his mineral rights through inheritance. If he only lists you then the percentage should be higher. The contract lease you have is a standard lease agreement but only benefits the oil & gas company.
Your lease is actually through a third party that works for the company. It is their job to do research first then get the lowest payout possible. Take your lease to an attorney and have them go over it. There are too many legal loopholes in the lease that benefit the oil & gas company.
Consider listening to this interview www.capleroyalty.com/capleroyaltyinterview.mp3
(I have no financial interest in Caple Royalty)
Dear Brenda,
Can you scan the lease and put it up here on the board where the button says “upload files?”
LaSalle is a good County and I will bet money that the acreage is in one of the subdivisions – Bermuda Colony or one of the others. Leases were going for $2000 per acre not long ago. Today, I do not know. But not what you were offered.
If we can see the lease, we can help.
Best, Buddy Cotten
10 producing acres in this County could be worth much more money than you may be thinking. Page 1 and 2 seem to be saying that if you really own 40 NMA you will only be getting paid for 10.16 acres. Would that be fair?
If EOG is not planning on mining uranium, potash, or whatever, why not just make it an oil and gas with NO other minerals lease?
In short, you need professional help if you want to protect your asset. Or let the landman make you feel real good for signing his lease. You did not acknowledge my earlier posts. Good luck.
She has a standard Oil & Gas lease that is used. And yes it does have loopholes to benefit the Oil & Gas company. As I stated in my post those loopholes are mentioned in your lease. I agree with AJ you need to take the lease to an Oil & Gas Attorney who works in this field.
10 producing acres in this County could be worth much more money than you may be thinking. Page 1 and 2 seem to be saying that if you really own 40 NMA you will only be getting paid for 10.16 acres. Would that be fair?
If EOG is not planning on mining uranium, potash, or whatever, why not just make it an oil and gas with NO other minerals lease?
In short, you need professional help if you want to protect your asset. Or let the landman make you feel real good for signing his lease. You did not acknowledge my earlier posts. Good luck.
I have family who work for Oil & Gas industry in Texas onshore and offshore and in their corporate offices. Right now 3/4 of Drilling rigs are being shut down in Texas and it will affect your lease agreement and the amount of royalties. The shut down is due to the Government’s agreement with OPEC which is now affecting the Oil & Gas production throughout the United States.
Dear Brenda,
Can you scan the lease and put it up here on the board where the button says “upload files?”
LaSalle is a good County and I will bet money that the acreage is in one of the subdivisions – Bermuda Colony or one of the others. Leases were going for $2000 per acre not long ago. Today, I do not know. But not what you were offered.
I have been communicating with Brenda via messaging on here. I just wanted to comment on here to help clear things up because some of the advice on here is misguided because the advisers are missing some facts (that being said, I know she appreciates all of your help).
Brenda wrote on the La Salle County Forum yesterday:
“Several days ago I got a lease document from a Landman concerning LaSalle County A-717. My great great grandpa had 10 acres. I guess I’m a heir as well as my cousins and several other family members. This is their proposal to me. 2,000/net acre x 0.00661367=13.23 (100.00 bonus) 20% Royalty OR they buy my mineral interest for 300.00 and we part ways. Someone spelled my name wrong so the Landman is sending me another one. I haven’t gotten it yet.”
So, those are the facts. Brenda owns .00661367 Net Mineral Acres. I haven’t checked EOG’s math on the NMA calculation because it would likely take months to do so - so I’m going to take their word for it. But I can personally attest to the fact that it appears these 10 acres are split 100’s of ways. EOG offered her the minimum of $100 bonus, which actually works out to $15,120 per acre bonus. Probably the highest bonus per acre anyone has ever seen in La Salle. Then, to likely save themselves the headache, administrative costs and paperwork in the future, they’ve offered her $300 to purchase the interest which works out to $45,360 per acre. I seriously doubt you will ever get a better offer to lease or sell. If you would like to hold on to the minerals for the novelty of it, do it, but my advice to you would be to sell for the $300 and not spend any more time on it.
Good luck!
Landmen are the public facing (business) side of the oil, gas and mineral exploration and production team. They interact and negotiate directly with landowners to acquire oil and gas drilling leases on behalf of oil and gas companies. There are three different types of landmen:
Company Landmen Negotiate deals and trades with other companies and individuals, draft contracts (and administer their compliance), acquire leases, clear title, prepare land for drilling and ensure compliance with governmental regulation.
Independent Field Landmen Serve clients on a contract basis and are generally the industry’s contact with the public as they research courthouse records to determine ownership and prepare necessary reports and locate mineral and land owners. They negotiate oil and gas leases and various other agreements, obtain necessary curative documents and conduct surface inspections before drilling.
Independent Land Consultants Serve clients on a contract basis to perform the functions listed above. Much effort is directed to due diligence examinations required in the purchase and sale of companies and properties.
I have been communicating with Brenda via messaging on here. I just wanted to comment on here to help clear things up because some of the advice on here is misguided because the advisers are missing some facts (that being said, I know she appreciates all of your help).
Brenda wrote on the La Salle County Forum yesterday:
“Several days ago I got a lease document from a Landman concerning LaSalle County A-717. My great great grandpa had 10 acres. I guess I’m a heir as well as my cousins and several other family members. This is their proposal to me. 2,000/net acre x 0.00661367=13.23 (100.00 bonus) 20% Royalty OR they buy my mineral interest for 300.00 and we part ways. Someone spelled my name wrong so the Landman is sending me another one. I haven’t gotten it yet.”
So, those are the facts. Brenda owns .00661367 Net Mineral Acres. I haven’t checked EOG’s math on the NMA calculation because it would likely take months to do so - so I’m going to take their word for it. But I can personally attest to the fact that it appears these 10 acres are split 100’s of ways. EOG offered her the minimum of $100 bonus, which actually works out to $15,120 per acre bonus. Probably the highest bonus per acre anyone has ever seen in La Salle. Then, to likely save themselves the headache, administrative costs and paperwork in the future, they’ve offered her $300 to purchase the interest which works out to $45,360 per acre. I seriously doubt you will ever get a better offer to lease or sell. If you would like to hold on to the minerals for the novelty of it, do it, but my advice to you would be to sell for the $300 and not spend any more time on it.
Good luck!
Your suggestion to her is fine and good but if she keeps the mineral rights she will be collecting more on royalties instead of selling her heritage that was left to her. But that has always been the catch question with mineral rights: “Do I lease and hold onto my heritage and collect the royalties for the full term of drilling or do I sell my family heritage and take a straight buyout?” Only the person who has the lease will make that overall decision.
Landmen are the public facing (business) side of the oil, gas and mineral exploration and production team. They interact and negotiate directly with landowners to acquire oil and gas drilling leases on behalf of oil and gas companies. There are three different types of landmen:
Company Landmen Negotiate deals and trades with other companies and individuals, draft contracts (and administer their compliance), acquire leases, clear title, prepare land for drilling and ensure compliance with governmental regulation.
Independent Field Landmen Serve clients on a contract basis and are generally the industry’s contact with the public as they research courthouse records to determine ownership and prepare necessary reports and locate mineral and land owners. They negotiate oil and gas leases and various other agreements, obtain necessary curative documents and conduct surface inspections before drilling.
Independent Land Consultants Serve clients on a contract basis to perform the functions listed above. Much effort is directed to due diligence examinations required in the purchase and sale of companies and properties.
I have been communicating with Brenda via messaging on here. I just wanted to comment on here to help clear things up because some of the advice on here is misguided because the advisers are missing some facts (that being said, I know she appreciates all of your help).
Brenda wrote on the La Salle County Forum yesterday:
“Several days ago I got a lease document from a Landman concerning LaSalle County A-717. My great great grandpa had 10 acres. I guess I’m a heir as well as my cousins and several other family members. This is their proposal to me. 2,000/net acre x 0.00661367=13.23 (100.00 bonus) 20% Royalty OR they buy my mineral interest for 300.00 and we part ways. Someone spelled my name wrong so the Landman is sending me another one. I haven’t gotten it yet.”
So, those are the facts. Brenda owns .00661367 Net Mineral Acres. I haven’t checked EOG’s math on the NMA calculation because it would likely take months to do so - so I’m going to take their word for it. But I can personally attest to the fact that it appears these 10 acres are split 100’s of ways. EOG offered her the minimum of $100 bonus, which actually works out to $15,120 per acre bonus. Probably the highest bonus per acre anyone has ever seen in La Salle. Then, to likely save themselves the headache, administrative costs and paperwork in the future, they’ve offered her $300 to purchase the interest which works out to $45,360 per acre. I seriously doubt you will ever get a better offer to lease or sell. If you would like to hold on to the minerals for the novelty of it, do it, but my advice to you would be to sell for the $300 and not spend any more time on it.
Good luck!
I approach mineral rights as an investment, because that is what they are to me. I don’t have any sentimental attachment to them just as I wouldn’t have any sentimental attachment to stock in AT&T that I might have inherited. I just look at the numbers and do what the numbers dictate. Here’s what the numbers say.
EOG has a well permitted in the 10 acres Brenda owns a portion on. The unit is 545.83 acres. Her interest in the well would be:
.00661367/545.83= .000012116721323 x 20% royalty = .000002423344265. If that well produced 300,000 BOE at a price of $80/BBL she would make: .000002423344265 x 300,000 = .7270032795 x $80/BBL = $58.16. So, if they drilled 3 additional wells, she would make a total of $232.64 over the 4 wells lifetimes, thus making $32 over breaking even before taxes over the next 15+ years. Personally, I would take the upfront $300, but that’s just me.
I approach minerals rights as an investment, because that is what they are to me. I don't have any sentimental attachment to them just as I wouldn't have any sentimental attachment to stock in AT&T that I might have inherited. I just look at the numbers and do what the numbers dictate. Here's what the numbers say.
EOG has a well permitted in the 10 acres Brenda owns a portion on. The unit is 545.83 acres. Her interest in the well would be:
.00661367/545.83= .000012116721323 x 20% royalty = .000002423344265. If that well produced 300,000 BOE at a price of $80/ BBL she would make: .000002423344265 x 300,000 = .7270032795 x $80/BBL = $58.16. So, if they drilled 3 additional wells, she would make a total of $232.64 over the 4 wells lifetimes, thus making $32 over breaking even before taxes over the next 15+ years. Personally, I would take the upfront $300, but that's just me.