We’ve had an active lease for years w/Ominex as operator. Two years ago (and 1-2 years after we received a shut-in notice)they disappeared & all emails bounced back, all Google researched phones were disconnected, and Certified letter returned stamped Moved No Forwarding Address. Everything on Google was stale information and all contacts phone numbers, emails, and addresses were no good. We gave up on it assuming they went bankrupt. We just received a form letter from Omimex from a previously unpublished address. This letter refers to the fact that “oil & gas prices are down 20 to 25% and wells like ours are facing rapid production declines”. They aré soliciting us to sell them our Royalty interest. The letter states “We are committed to a fair transparent valuation based on current market data and your well’s performance”. My first inclination is to tell them to go you know where after leaving us in the dark like this. Could someone else post their interpretation of this letter as to why they would want to buy an end of life well Royalty anyway, especially when they’ve already produced from it for years. Is this just a ploy to renegotiate on the cheap? Thanks in advance!
Given their track record, I would be very hesitant to deal with them again. Most companies that offer to buy know that drilling is pending and tend to offer lowball letters just to see who will bite. The forum can help with activity in your area if you post in the County where your minerals are located. Some buyers collect and flip and some buyers keep. You need to find out what is going in you area before making any decision.
The well is in Oceana County, Michigan. Thank you so much for the input!
Not much activity in Oceana now. Most of the leasing in the last 36 months has been in the northern part of the state. There are scattered permits across the state, but none in Oceana right now. If you give the name of the well, I can look up its production profile to see its status.
Last production is listed as of 10/1/23. The well made 221,599 mcf of gas and 138,870 bbls oil. Was completed in 2004, so pretty long life for an oil well. Looks like the well was barely producing anything from 2020 on. No gas, so lost its natural drive. Don’t see any new permits close by.
Omimex Resources sold its Michigan assets (under Omimex Energy) to a Michigan-based oil and gas company back at the end of 2022.
The new operator may offer buybacks on working or royalty interests, but those offers aren’t necessarily tied to new drilling. More often, they’re part of internal accounting cleanup, especially when WI owners haven’t paid their share of LOE or JIB. This isn’t uncommon after a transition like this, particularly when the previous operator had downsized to a skeleton crew and cleanup of ownership records, billing, and non-pay situations wasn’t being consistently managed.
Assuming every buyback is tied to upcoming activity is a stretch. Sometimes, it’s just about reducing the administrative burden of fragmented ownership on aging wells.
I completely understand the frustration. To clarify, it wasn’t an asset sale, but a stock sale, so Omimex Energy Inc. remains the operating entity. The only fundamental changes were the owner’s name and office location, which should’ve been reflected on royalty statements or JIB invoices. Unfortunately, that wasn’t communicated separately.
I called the number on my royalty statement and was eventually connected with the Vice President. She was very helpful and knowledgeable, even though she didn’t create the mess left behind.
If you’re still trying to reach someone, I’d recommend using the contact info from your latest statement or any buyout correspondence; they should be able to point you in the right direction.
Hope that helps.
I found a list of Hound Resources’ wells and leases 2020-2024 but they did not appear to have bought as it is not listed there. Either someone else maybe bought it or it was just abandoned. Additionally, I can’t find a good phone number nor a good email address (except the one offering to renegotiate which I responded to albeit in a negative way, but they didn’t answer me).Would you be willing to share the contact name and phone number that you have? The phone numbers on all of our years of correspondence have been disconnected. All email addresses also bounce back & mail to physical address in Fort Worth was returned as Moved - no forwarding address. Thanks.