Leasing Mineral Rights for Dummies

I am new to the discussion and hoping to find some guidance on this site. Since my mother has been diagnosed with dementia and I have now assumed Durable Power of Attorney, I find her mineral lease in Reeves County expires this month. If Anadarko Petroleum has sent her anything, she has thrown it away. Family that own minerals adjacent to ours have been offered an extended lease, but I can't get answers. If we have not leased the minerals before the lease expires what happens? What should be my next move?. Also, what is a fair market value for minerals in Reeves County, section 17?

Melissa,

Unless the original lease says otherwise, the lessee (in this case Anadarko) is not usually required to seek permission from the lessor (the mineral owner) to exercise the option to extend the lease (assuming the lease allows for an extension). If your mother has thrown anything away it could have been a check that Anadarko sent in response to exercising the option. I would be happy to review the lease for you and give you my thoughts. Feel free to email it to me at david@hilltoproyalties.com

Ideally the original lease did not have an automatic extension in it, and once the lease expires you can negotiate a new lease with Anadarko or a third party.

David

Melissa, so sorry to hear about your mother. Before I forget, there’s a great site, caregivers.com in case you need some support in that regard. There are many Section 17 in Reeves County. Do you have a Block (BLK) number or an abstract number, usually (A-number). Also, the survey name is important. That will help a lot. Others will chime in here shortly, and I look forward to visiting with you in the future. You don’t have to rush into anything just because lease is expiring. Take your time, learn about it all, then make an educated decision. Good job getting Durable POA, can tell you’re doing your homework. Best of luck. Linton

Melissa -- to really help we need to know the exact location as Linton describes. The lease should contain the information needed. Does your mother own the surface and the minerals or just the minerals? You're fortunate to know the family on the adjacent minerals. Looking forward to helping you. Later -- Buzz



Buzz Van Meter said:

Melissa -- to really help we need to know the exact location as Linton describes. The lease should contain the information needed. Does your mother own the surface and the minerals or just the minerals? You're fortunate to know the family on the adjacent minerals. Looking forward to helping you. Later -- Buzz



Melissa D Jaques said: SECTION 17, BLOCK 5, H&GN SURVEY. DOES THAT HELP?



Buzz Van Meter said:

Melissa -- to really help we need to know the exact location as Linton describes. The lease should contain the information needed. Does your mother own the surface and the minerals or just the minerals? You're fortunate to know the family on the adjacent minerals. Looking forward to helping you. Later -- Buzz

Perfect, Melissa! Linton

Melissa -- H&GN BLK 5 SEC 17, A-429 is located SW of and very near Pecos next to the airport. Right now the RRC map site seems to be on the blink... so this is sketchy. These is drilling activity around you. Anadarko is drilling/permitting 15+ miles N & NW of Pecos. I will be away from the office a few days. Good luck. Later -- Buzz

Is there a site where I can post these minerals eligible for lease as of 6/21/14 and accept bids? Or should I contact the oil companies directly? Our lease does not include an extension or first rights. The company that leased our family's minerals will match their offer (1st and only offer they received), but pretty much told me I could take or leave it. Also, on one site I visited, this company (Anadarko) was not drilling in Reeves County, but BPH and 2 Chevron companies were lead producers? I've been reading about how difficult BPH can be and don't know if this novice is up for that challenge. Any advice?

Mellisa, you can post them for lease free if you go to the market place at the top of this page.

I can't seem to find a map showing the section and well sites. Maybe I'm not asking the right question or am not on the correct site. Any suggestions. Your advice in not rushing was welcomed news. I feared I needed to have her minerals leased before the current lease expires 6/21.

Melissa, they are working on revamping the RRC site, so it can be difficult to navigate right now. Go to the blog section (top of this page) and look for Wade Caldwell’s blog on “Internet resources for mineral owners”, that will help you. Also his other blogs will be good reading for you. I’ll send you a picture of where your property is shortly on my map, won’t help you much, but at least you’ll know where it is! Linton

Melissa, your property is the red marker relatively in the center of the pictures. This is a 1945 map! 1806-IMAG1007.jpg (209 KB) 1807-IMAG1008.jpg (244 KB) 1808-IMAG1009.jpg (264 KB)

Thank you. Very helpful.

Melissa, I echo Linton Tomlin's comments about not rushing into anything because the lease may expire. Take your time and learn about the respective track records of the various oil companies in Reeves using this site, the RRC site when it's back-up, and perhaps consider finding a lawyer who represents mineral interest owners exclusively and therefore has no fundamental conflicts of interest because they rely on the oil companies for their bread and butter. Such a lawyer can be invaluable in making sure your lease provisions are fair to you. Cheers!

Contact Anadarko Owner Relations : http://www.anadarko.com/About/Pages/OwnerRelations.aspx

Your property is RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A VERY HOT AREA. Many wells are being drilled in and around Pecos.

Melissa - i agree with others here in that you should take your time. I know that BHP is right in that area as well as others. being that close to the river could bring you quite a bit per acre. Start at 4000/acre and see what happens. How many net acres do you have in section 17? do you have an exact description or do you have the entire section?

I WISH we had several acres, but that is not the case. Just a few since all were distributed to several additional family members over the years. My cousins own the minerals just adjacent to ours (again, not a large amount) and they signed the 1st deal they were offered - just like they did 3 years ago. However, we held out a little while prior to the last signing and doubled what they received. They signed with Anadarko Petroleum (again) and when I tried to negotiate a better price with Anadarko, this time the lady I spoke with suggested I accept a higher offer if one had been proposed by another company because she wasn't giving me one penny more than she did my cousins even though the minerals are titled separately. She was very dry and stoic. I posted the minerals for lease on this market place and contacted three different oil companies directly. There was no activity after a few weeks so we signed an agreement letter with Anadarko for the same price our cousins accepted. We were instructed to have the letter notarized and returned to them by 6/21. They sent an email message saying they received the letter by 6/21, but did not have time to renew the contract so someone should be contacting us shortly. That was 2 weeks ago and now Rosetta Oil has offered more $$, but I don't know if the agreement letter is binding or since a contract has not been signed, we can still negotiate a better deal with someone else. Anadarko Petroleum has not contacted us again. Any advice?

If Rosetta brings cash to the table and puts it into your hand before Anadarko, that cash will spend just as well out of your hands as any one else's.

Sounds good. So.....even though we have signed a notarized an letter of agreement with Anadarko Pet. we are not legally bound since a contract has not been signed and it has been a while since we were told we would be sent a new contract. Correct?