My parents sold their land in Karnes County years ago. There is a Memorandum signed - but they would like a copy of the actual lease. I looked on the RRC site - there is a permit pulled and this land is included in the pooling. No production yet and when I called the Operator (Hilcorp) they stated that they can't give my parents a copy. They will have to wait till a division order (if so) is sent to them - at that time - can they request a copy of the actual O&G lease?? They have 1/2 interest in the royalty.
Hello Ms. Haas. First off it needs to be said that the lessor needs to keep a copy of the lease they signed. With that out of the way, the oil co could give your parents a copy of the lease but they don’t feel like it. In your place I would start calling twice a day morning and afternoon requesting a copy of the lease. Call every number for the co that you can find and have them transfer you after they listen to your problem of not having a copy of the lease. I once was trying to get some information from Conoco and kept getting blown off until I talked to a nice lady in unclaimed property, using the method I described and I don’t know who she talked to, but I got a call back from the person blowing me off. He was now ready to help. I think it’s like dealing with the government, everyone can say no, and it’s the safe response. You need the person who can say yes to hear repeatedly of your need for a copy of the lease. I don’t know if you could hire a lawyer to compel them to give you a copy, I certainly wouldn’t go that route without production. To keep calling is the only thing I can think of for you to do. Good luck whatever you do.
Did your parents sign the lease in question, or are they a non-participating royalty owner? If they are just a royalty owner and not a mineral owner, then they probably will not be able to get a copy of a lease signed by another party.
We had the same problem 2 years ago. We were due bonus money to start with. It was a substantial amount. Once the oil co admitted to not paying us in a timely manner, they did include the copy of the lease (signed by the executor) and sent a check one year late. In this case, let's assume the parents do get division orders and get paid royalties later. Without the lease, how would they know how much they are supposed to be paid and whether or not the amount is correct? I would go see a judge through the legal system. Let him / her decide. Please update us on how this was resolved.
I don't have any NPRI but I hear that often NPRI interests will be asked to ratify the lease and I think the ratification of the lease may have mostly to do with pooling.
I do not believe that the current owner of the Lease has ANY obligation to show a third party a copy of a legal document executed between them and the second party, at any stage of the production process.
Yes, the only reason I can think of for an NPRI owner to ratify an OGL is to grant the current owner of the Lease an ability to "pool" the royalty owner's interest with others contiguous to his. If the proration unit includes only tract(s) of land under which the NPRI owner has an interest, there is no need for the Ratification, because there is no pooling necessary, at least not with respect to the NPRI owner's interest.
We wrote the land owner and explained that my mother was doing estate planning and really needed at copy of the lease for the estate attorney. Sent an enveloped addressed and pre stamped . The next week we received the lease!! We sent a thankyou note to them. The oil company would have sent a copy of the lease only after the division order was sent out but this would have been a delay. This way we knew what % my mother was due.