Inheirted minerals . Several questions

Love this website and especially the forum. It's been very helpful so far!

Several years ago I "discovered" but wasn't surprised that I was one of several cousins who had inherited undivided interests in minerals in San Jacinto County Tx. Like many of you I found out after I was simply contacted by a Landman who wanted to lease. I think some of the cousins knew but we lost touch many years before and I had slowly started reconnecting with a few after an exhausting genealogy research on the family. However none of them mentioned this. I guess they thought I knew. Again, it wasn't really a surprised as we have had to sign off on family land sales over the years.

And -mind you I wasn't a "missing" heir. I was easily found having moved only 3 times in the last 30+ years and at that when I moved from my homestead I still kept my homestead but only moved to the city for work. My address of record was available thru CAD. And I had been in brief contact with 2 of the cousins who knew where I was currently living. Brief yes. 2 emails from one in the late 90's and a series of snail mails from another in the late 90's. And I still have the same email address I did then.

Over the years we have signed several leases on different pieces. Thus far or as far as I can tell there hasn't been any drilling and the leases have simply expired. I think.

Our current Landman is vague when I pose q's to him and yes I totally understand his interest is with the oil/gas company he is working for....and not necessarily us. And I'd rather not tip my hat anyway.....

I have not brought up the following -

The first time I was contacted to sign a lease was in 2000. Today I was doing a search thru TexasFile and much to my surprise discovered a lease had been signed in 1998 by all of the heirs ...but myself... with Famcor. I also searched the rr commission and it doesn't seem there was a drill on the property. I am more ticked I wasn't contacted to sign a lease +bonus money. Again easily found and fell like it was just a lazy landman...And at this point I don't think there is any recourse. Is there?

I am curious tho if there was indeed a drill. Here's why.

The lease we signed January 2013 is for the same survey (Rumayor) but for 393.58 acres.

The lease that was signed in 1998 (without me being included) is for the same parcel but 493.58 acres. We're missing 100 acres in the current lease.

Is that because the 493.58 acres was leased but Famcor released the other 393.58 acres back to us and drilled / used the 100 acres in 1998? Or the current lease simply specifies they want to lease the 393.58 and not the full parcel? That's just odd to me.

Also the current landman says the current lease company intends to drill this site but "we're still a way's off" .... He is trying to I believe firm up title as he recently asked me to sign an affidavit of heirship (Dad and brother are both deceased) but I asked him to pull probate records from Dads county of record as it will prove heirship for both dad and brother.

He mentioned this information is going to an attorney so I am "assuming" they are currently doing a drill title opinion. Am I on the right tract? Could he be blowing smoke to cover his "run sheet" deficiencies? Can I assume if they are spending the money to move forward on a title opinion that at some point they are drilling? And how quickly does all of that take place?

I am sure I'll have other q's shortly.

Thanks to whoever jumps in...

Jan, Drilling schedules are very hard to find out. They could start up until the last day of the lease, assuming it has a continuos operations clause. Getting a drilling opinion could explain it, but there may be other reasons, such as a mixed up title.