Ownership is all of sections 3, 6-11, 13-15 in block 40 T3S of Midland County. I have been doing an inventory review of Operators, wells and leases. Leases known before the review were:
Parks Field Unit 2
Parks, Charlotte 6
Parks, Charlotte 7
Parks, Charlotte 14
Timmerman 7
Coyote Corps 15
After my review, I found some additional leases that were not being paid:
I asked COG about the discrepancy and they said I had no ownership there. I’m not as knowledgeable as they are but I was surprised to hear that news since it looked like those were in sections owned. To my surprise, royalties started being paid on Benge Arch C1, Benge Arch C2 and Timmerman 14 within 6 months of my query. There was no DO issued.
I’m hoping someone in the forum has some experience here and can help me with my remaining questions:
If I was write about the Benge Arch C1/C2 and the Timmerman 14 leases, was I right about the Benge, Arch lease? That is not being paid and I don’t know why.
How would I go about finding information about back payment for royalties on the Benge Arch C1/2 and Timmerman 14 leases that started paying only after I asked?
This is a harder question but did I miss any leases in those sections? The royalty statement is 71 pages long and it is easy for a novice like me to overlook something. I sourced all my information from the original vesting instrument, then to the RRC database and only then did I compare against the statements from the Operators. Easy to miss something in all that.
Go on the RRC website and pull down all the fillings for the original permits for these wells, including the plats, to see the included acreage. Also get the completion information for the wells. Make a separate file for each well. When you say “leases”, I am assuming that you mean the oil wells or units and the RRC lease identification number. Do you own minerals and have you or your predecessor in title signed one or more oil and gas leases? You need to match the wells to the proper lease. Do you own an NPRI and so not able to sign a lease, but would be included in wells? Do you own an override on existing leases? If you own minerals and they are unleased, then you would start participating in the well(s) after pay-out and not from the start of production. How do you know whether your royalty decimal or net revenue interest (if unleashed) is correct? Has COG sent unclaimed funds to Texas Comptroller for earlier period or are those funds still in suspense. You may want to put all your questions into a detailed letter and send it by email to COG landman or royalty owner relations and also by certified mail to get a response. Ask about the other wells too. You mention a 71 page detail. Is this a normal length of check stub or something new with the first or second payment of royalties? Have you double-checked all the lines for the production months for each well to see if the check includes most or all of the back months? That may take a spreadsheet, with a separate page for each well, with columns listing the production month, gross volume, gross sales, gross severance tax, costs and then your net share of volume, sales, severance tax, etc. Be sure to have separate lines for oil, gas, liquid products and condensate for each month. Then you can compare the gross volumes and sales to RRC and Comptroller data. And there may be adjustments for one or more production months, so you will need to insert those in the proper place in the spreadsheet.
Thank you. That gives me a thing or two to work on. I have much of what you ask but for others, I don’t. There is no NPRI and leases were signed 25 years ago for most of the sections. That is the most recent signed lease. I have matched well and permit detail with the land record which is what started my questions. The check stubs have always been this long but are a little longer now with the new wells being paid. I don’t think anything is going on here other than a complicated record that hasn’t been examined closely in a long time. During that time, a lot has happened in Midland County so I want to make sure I have an accurate record. I am in communication with the COG Landman but this certainly helps me know a little better what I’m talking about. Thank you.
Well, here I go again. COG is telling me they are only paying on specific formations but couldn’t tell me why. They’re sending me to XTO to see if they have a record of why. The only lease I have covers about a third of what is owned and has no depth severance on it. Any advice on what I should ask XTO for? I’ve already asked for the leases they have on record and why there is a depth clause on it. I haven’t gotten a response on either question. I’m wondering if an attorney would have better luck.