Hey Gary- GOOD NEWS, I think! Do not discard your deed.
I had just written the part at the end of this reply, when I decided to look at your post from Dec. 2012, hoping to see the exact language in your deed. Did not find it. However, I think the answer may be your words in an excerpt from that post.
"Reply by Gary Corder on December 9, 2012 at 8:36pm
I received a note back from the County Clerks office who informed me that since my Mineral Deed was a non-Participating Mineral Deed, I cannot lease, but if they start drilling I would receive monies."
The underline and bold emphasis is mine. Unfortunately, the heirs of your great-uncle most probably cannot be found to lease these mineral interests, probably don't even know they have the rights.
If you look on the Pooling Application list of names, you will most likely find John Wesley Hart. Eventually the bonus consideration for the 1/8 pooling option (clarify with Devon that the option is not yours to choose) will be deposited in the Mineral Owners Escrow Account (MOEA) as required in Oklahoma, and if it not claimed in 5 or 6 years, it will be transferred to the state treasurer’s Unclaimed Property account. Call the contact person at Devon whose name is listed in the documents they have sent. They usually have a reference (name of well or prospect) you should give to whoever answers the phone.
I am not an attorney or qualified to give advice. I am a mineral owner trying to learn about this business, and share only my opinions, therefore may be completely wrong.
I am leaving the following, just to illustrate that mistakes do happen, otherwise it does not appear to apply in any way to your situation.
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Gary, Rick gives you good advice.
Late last year, a friend received a Division Order requirement of a stipulation with a grantor (or his heirs) in the chain of title regarding an NPRI reservation. The friend was not aware of this NPRI.
Forty-six years ago, his father had bought two adjacent quarter sections of ranch land from the same grantor. Each quarter had a NON-PARTICIPATING ROYALTY CONVEYANCE dated and filed that same day. One of the NPR Conveyances reserved a 1/4 royalty interest for 20 years if no production, the other reserved 13/32 of 1/8 permanently. The brother inherited one quarter, his sister the other.
It was not convenient for my friend to go to the courthouse, so my wife and I went to get a copy for him. Using the DO Requirement document, we located the book and page of the NPRC. Examining the document, we discovered the legal description was not his quarter, but his sisters. Turning the page we found the NPRC for his quarter. Both the landman and the DO attorney had missed the small but important distinction, SW/4 vs SE/4.
Not saying, but same company and same county.