You can just tell by reading through this you’re not easy to deal with so why pay someone 500/day to deal with you when they can simply force pool you. Learn to be nicer to people & you’ll get better results on here & it sounds like maybe your phone will ring as well bud
It is my understanding, being “force pooled” in Oklahoma is often an advantageous thing. You’re going to get the best royalty offer with the best signing bonus the operator has signed in the last year prior to the “forced” pooling order; with protection from deductions many leases still have in them when people sign early. Saves people from getting taken advantage of and having to pay attorney fees to get there. You may even get a higher bonus than if you had negotiated and signed early.
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Your statement “The price increase is only temporary” shows you must be unaware of the history of American gasoline prices.
Please check out the prices increases in this historical graph (below), taken from the linked article Paying at the Pump: A Timeline of US Gas Prices. The only way the price of oil per barrel only goes down is if historical prices are recalculated to today’s dollar value. When you don’t manipulate the terms, the price increases brought on by OPEC (1971, 1974 Oil went from $0.10/gallon to $0.40/gallon - a 300% increase) then Iran (1979 Oil went from $0.40/gallon to $1.35 - a 230% increase) have been permanent.
That’s been the historical trend. It will be ‘interesting’ if this cycle does not repeat.
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Who are you to insult people on this forum? I have watched the volatility of oil prices over decades. It goes up and it goes down. Even this article points out that volatility “The price of oil hit a record high of $145 a barrel in July 2008, up from a low of $20 a barrel at the end of 2001, when the U.S. economy was in recession.” “The high gas prices of 2012 to 2014 were followed by markedly lower prices in 2015 and 2016, largely driven by the U.S. shale oil boom. With an influx of American oil, global oil prices fell by 70 percent from mid-2014 through 2016, one of the steepest price decreases on record.” “The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 proved just how low oil prices can go when supply greatly outpaces demand. For a brief window in April 2020, a barrel of oil on some markets was trading at less than zero dollars.” So let’s recap - Oil hit $145 in 2008 and gyrated up and down and actually hit zero in 2020. Hmmm… It would have been very stupid to rely on $145 oil price in 2008 over the next 20 years. Gasoline price is driven by oil price and goes up and down, as pointed out by this article. In fact, the point of the article is in its byline - “The highest prices at the pump through the decades have been tied to tensions in the Middle East.” And what that chart shows - except for failing to reduce the price by state and federal gas taxes which rose from combined average of $0.10 in 1960 to $0.52 in 2025.
For reference, Continental’s activity in 8N-8W and 9N-9W is for deep natural gas (Woodford Shale) with very minimal natural gas liquids. Thus today’s oil prices (or gasoline prices) have no bearing on this activity. One needs to look at the natural gas prices (and natural gas futures) in Oklahoma, and for March they were the lowest since Dec. 2024. The US (for that matter Oklahoma) natural gas prices do not play on a world market, unlike oil prices. There is an emerging oil play for the Deese in this area (more westerly at present), being played by other operators (Coterra, Mewbourne,etal), but for now that situation does not come into play concerning any force pooling applications by Continental.
Too bad you did not note this information earlier for the original poster to have a better understanding of the minerals and that it is a gas play in his area. My familiarity is primarily in Texas. Dry gas prices in Permian have been negative for most of this year. So without oil, no one would be drilling. My original posts here were intended to explain that landmen with offers come and go over time. If you cannot make a deal right now, you will have another opportunity in the future. Oil companies limit the landman’s authority to negotiate and often provide him with restricted information. If he cannot make a deal within set parameters, then the leasing moves away for the present. Those of us who have been around for a long time have learned how this business works, and try to provide some guidance to newer owners. OK owners are lucky to get specialized information from Martha Barnes on companies leasing and force pooling in the area.
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Exactly, the man was just trying to get a good deal for himself! Some people think your mineral rights belong to the company the landmen are working for! Thanks for your comment!
You’ve got to consider the source. It’s the mineral owners right to ask questions and for advice for them to consider! Good Luck
TennisDaze, I usually limit my engagement comments on this forum to technical information, but added my comments so others in this discussion can further understand the situation and the impact due to industry activity and valuation. Overall, I concur with your comments as they are thoughtful and reasonable. Beiing a retired energy company executive and now a roylaty owner, and a past corporate peer with Ms. Barnes in my career, you are absolutely correct about Martha’s knowledge and industry expertise. We are very thankful to her in sharing her expertise in this forum.
One other comment as to Oklahoma well proposals, poolings, and leasing. One should be careful about leasing all right title and interest. Since horizontal poolings are formation specific, the Operator only receives the zones that are pooled, which is the common source of supply. Thus in this play area, the Miss/Woodford is a different common source of supply than the Deese (which is the other active emerging play in the area). So if one does lease, limit the interest specific to the objective to be targeted with the horizontal well being proposed. In this geographical area, the mineral owner has the ability to potentially recieve separate leasing payments for the different objectives. This will not be the case if one leases by all right title and interest.
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Hi D! Good to hear from you.
In OK, it can be very advantageous to go to poolings by reservoir instead of leasing with an operator that won’t budge on important clauses. I will try to lease with a third party who will give fair causes or if none are available, will be glad to go to pooling. In some cases, I have been pooled on several zones over multiple years that have added up to more than the original lease was offering. Several bonuses instead of just one. Important to know the plays and the players and have a strategy in place.