Hi all, I am very new to the mineral world and am trying to deal with rights that have been neglected. I have all the deeds, but they are metes and bounds. So I am struggling to find the best way to reliably map everything. I have talked with mineralware and a couple of like companies that would map them for a cost. However being that I’m new, I am going the QGIS route.. and it is painful. Does anyone have any recommendations that they wish someone would have told them staring out?
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How many different properties are you working with? What State are they in? Metes and Bounds descriptions appear like another language but they are not too terribly impossible to figure out. Depending on what you have for your legal descriptions (M&B), the base map you use (if any), or a GIS dataset in a coordinate system you have to work, with or old assessor maps, online maps, current surface ownership maps or other state specific maps can be quite helpful. If you know the County, you can start there.
What is it you are looking to do? Lets assume all your metes and bounds are drawn, location and acreage is established. Then what is the plan?
Recommendations: without having a bit more information from you, recommendations will not be that helpful I believe. Trying setup QGIS or arcview/ArcGIS etc, may be more cumbersome and time consuming than necessary depending on your needs.
There are many many reasons for wanting see or calculate where and how large a tract is and there are many ways to plot the tracts in a custom GIS, an online GIS, deedplotter, (or some other new program) or by hand over a printout of the lands, or by hiring a surveyor, etc.
If you have more to share we might get you better recommendations. Hope this sparks a lil more interaction with your question.
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Hey, thanks for the response.
The properties are in Texas and there are about 200 tracts of land. As for what I am looking to do, I am looking to gain better understanding of where all of these tracts physically fall. For some context, a majority of them were purchased in the early 1900s, and since then some tracts were sold. However what the most current deeds are telling me vs what operators tell me is not matching up. So I am trying to either get to a point where I match them, or find out where they went wrong. In short, just trying to graphically map out everything that was purchased and then map out what was sold to get clarity. The plan after that is manage what is there, and sleep well knowing everything is adding up (whether good or bad).
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There is a software developer/landman that i met thru Linkedin who claims that his AI software can properly inventory an individual’s non-producing mineral interests and be able to identify the other owners in each tract. He’s trying to prove its legitimacy and offered free title runs @ one point to prove it’s worth.
Hi Cat. As I said, I found him on LinkedIn. I’ve had some conversation via messenger with him concerning the software and its capabilities, but that’s it. I do not know him beyond that. You can find him on LinkedIn. Kendal Kirkpatrick is his name and TitleMind AI is his software company. He’s in the DFW area. Good luck w it.
Make the oil company give you whatever they have. Easily emailed upon request if interest holder
Hi,
Thanks for providing that and sorry for the late response. I was out of town and didn’t have service. I also reached out to him. Thanks again.
I have been getting some information that way, but unfortunately I don’t think I have enough information on some of the locations for them to take any request seriously. I am working on the title of abstract for a minority of them now, so I would think after that is done then I can start talks.
You’re welcome. I see where you’ve been a drilling consultant? I was in the wellhead business for 25 plus. I loved the field work. Welcome to the forum and good luck w Kendal!
That’s a fact. As landowner or mineral owner you might get a peek but that info costs a lot of time and effort to get and they don’t want it getting out so don’t take it personally. Also really it’s either making oil or it isn’t