Inherited Mineral rights

I've recently been made an offer for 1.142 NMA . I have inherited it but it was for my father who died in 1995 and just found out about it now. The name of the well on the property is *name* Estate. Should I assume there are royalties in an escrow account somewhere. There is a log of the well producing continuously since 1999. If so, who would know? The Operatior?

Also, while not looking to ring every last penny out of this, I would like to feel I am receiving a fair price and not being low balled. T6N -R65W - Sec 19. If anyone can share a value or make an offer I would appreciate it. Cheers.

John: I don't know anything about value of the rights. I do know that everyone tells me "don't sell unless you have to and need to money." Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission web site has all production numbers.

Good Luck

Hi John,

If you haven't been receiving royalties since then, it is likely that unclaimed royalties to your father have been escheated (turned over) to the State of Colorado. Assuming your father lived in Colorado, you can search for any funds owed to him on the Colorado Treasurer's website. The states hold unclaimed property until the person or their heirs make a claim. This website lists the documentation you'll need in order to make a claim.

In terms of valuation, without doing a detailed evaluation, I have seen companies asking between $4-8k/NMA for minerals just south of your minerals (T4N R65W). To appropriately place value on it you need to make sure you're getting paid for current production as well as any "Proved Undeveloped" (PUD) reserves. Since there are no horizontal wells in your section, there is still room for infill drilling to develop these reserves. Also, if there are any escheated funds, this will also need to be factored in to the total amount of the offer (if you don't claim them before selling).

All that said, it might be worth holding on to the minerals if you don't need the money right away.

Best regards,

Matt Sands

Thanks all for the info.