Noob Needing Help with Mineral Rights in Converse County

Wyoming Mineral Rights Converse County, WY
1

Hello everyone :slight_smile: I am new to learning about mineral rights and the oil industry, and this forum has been a fantastic resource, so thank you in advance.

Background: My father was a state-certified geologist in Wyoming and was very active in the industry. He passed away about 20 years ago, and I inherited his holdings. Unfortunately, he never taught or told me about his business other than right before he passed he said I would receive royalty checks and occasionally have to pay working interest on projects. Since he passed, I have always paid the working interest. Over the years, the checks I received have slowly gone down and currently are significantly less than when I started receiving them.

I have always received an occasional call from someone looking to buy certain deeds/rights, and I have never been interested in selling. In the last two months, I received a couple inquiries into buying the mineral rights (ORRI) in Converse County (API 49-009-20951, 35 North 69 West, ~30 net mineral acres), and the price offered was $5k per acre, which I declined. When my son heard this, he said we have to learn what the hell is going on with the holdings, so here we are.

After reading through the Converse County portion of the forum, I get the impression I should have been receiving a check from the well Operator, which I looked up and show to be Matrix Production Company. I have not received checks from this Operator before, so my question is should I have? If I should have, what actions do I need to take to figure out why I did not receive the checks? I imagine calling the Operator is a good first step?

The last appraisal was done 20 years ago by Allen & Crouch Petroleum Engineers; does anyone know if they are considered reputable (as I may reach back out to them)?

Any advice or pointers about my situation would be much appreciated.

Kind regards, Erin

2

The WOGCC website is a good place to start. The well you reference is an old vertical well in the large Well Draw field and produces from the Teapot Sandstone at around 7000’ deep. The well was drilled in 1975 and is just about played out. The well is only producing about 3 bbls/day currently.

In many cases, the Operator will only cut checks when the amount due is over a certain amount, say $100. In some cases that might only be once a year. The Division Order department should be able to answer your question, but don’t be surprised if you can’t get anywhere with a phone call. It always amuses me when people get so upset when someone doesn’t just drop whatever they are doing to look up some information while waiting on the phone. A letter will often be the better approach.

As for what else is going on in the area, there are quite a few permits in your area for horizontal wells in the Niobrara Shale at around 9500’, but no indication that anybody is in a hurry to drill them. There is still a lot of uncertainty as to whether or not the Niobrara will be an economic play. At $50 oil, there is a lot less enthusiasm to try and figure it out.

Something you should keep in mind: An ORRI is not a mineral right. It is a contractual right, created out of a specific lease. When that lease expires, so does your ORRI. If the only production holding your lease is from this one well, you might be in danger of losing it. You really need a competent consultant to help you sort this out.

As far as I know Allen and Crouch is still in business, although I think the original founders might be gone by now.

Good luck.

3 Likes
3

Thank you Steve.

Do you have a recommendation for a competent consultant? My plan was to reach out to Allen & Crouch since I had a previous relationship with them.

4

I know of no reason why you shouldn’t use them.

1 Like