RANT…….
While being somewhat new to having Gas royalties, I have concluded that the owner relations department at MANY gas drilling companies take their SWEET TIME in getting back to you.
They wont answer ALL questions asked from my sent emails, and when you reply, you have to wait another (( ? )) crazy amount of time to get a response.
Dont bother calling the Owner realations number because its a recording and they will get back to you WNEN they feel like it.
With these gas drilling companies having SO much to do, you would assume they have office personel that can answer calls and return emails.
I WILL SAY that Sharon at TGNR DOES answer the phones and return messages,
but she is the ONLY one and I have 7 companies to deal with. Its very frustrating.
Now that Adamas has taken over Aethon Energy’s production work, I have an email into them as well and Im currently waiting for a response back from them too. The waiting game is almost unbearable.
And as well as me being extremely grateful for what my ancestors did back in the late 1800’s and while its basically considered mailbox money that I did nothing to earn it except having a last name, I still think that the gas companies have a responsibility to get people the information they/we ask for and in a timely manner. We all know they certainly can afford to hire a few more people for an office setting or they can certainly diversify the people that they already have to do different things.
I even deal with a HUGE company here in Texas that still Snail mails a check and does NOT plan on getting a direct deposit option.
Compaining to the TRRC doesnt speed up the Gas Company replies. They can “inquire only” but cant make Gas Companies respond to emailed questions about our individual royalty interest owners accounts
Does anyone else feel some of this pain ?
RANT OVER : (
I’m in the same boat right now.
I inherited some mineral interests and have been dealing with several owner relations departments while trying to get accounts set up, updates processed, and basic information clarified. The response times can be incredibly slow, and sometimes the replies only address part of the questions, which just starts the waiting cycle all over again.
Phone numbers usually lead to recordings and emails can sit for days or weeks before you hear anything back. When you’re dealing with multiple companies at once it really adds up.
Like you said, I’m grateful for the opportunity and for what previous generations put in place, but it does seem reasonable to expect clearer communication and more timely responses from companies of this size.
So yes, you’re definitely not alone in feeling the frustration.
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Thank you 
I’m glad I’m not alone with these frustrations
I’ve been in this same boat for a year now with a chunk of money spent on attorney fees with limited monetary results - so far. My Affidavits of Death and Heirship have been recorded in TX and a will is slowly working its way through the court system, but the 19 operators (with 2 exceptions) have been less than helpful, either not responding or responding that they have nothing in any of the family names I’ve been searching where I believe there should be royalties in suspense waiting to be claimed. It’s very frustrating to say the least because I don’t know what I should be doing at this point. “Wait longer” is so unproductive and fruitless. One of my attorneys cautioned me that, in his experience, repeated contacts with nonresponsive operators will most likely just get me put at the very bottom of their ever-expanding to-do lists - the squeaky wheel doesn’t always get greased.
I think my next step is going to have to be a TX landman, once the will is finally through probate and I’m established as the only living heir to my family’s as yet undiscovered mineral rights. I just don’t understand how 2 operators did have suspended funds in my family surname but none of the other 19, had anything in any of the deceased relatives’ last names, nor showed anything escheated to the state. I know there are more unpaid royalties out there somewhere, I just don’t know how to find them without the legal descriptions of properties, or tax records, or something identifiable. So, you’re certainly not alone – there are many of us out here, stumbling around trying to figure this all out.
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Speaking of Adamas - Got a call from my bank today. They have stopped payment on the royalty check for last month. So far at least 20 others that Adamas has done the same thing. Not sure if they paid out of the wrong account, but talk about a horrible first impression to owners from a buyout.
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There may be privacy issues connected with your inquiries. You note undiscovered mineral rights. If you do not have the deed history from sovereignty into your ancestor, the recorded leases and related legal descriptions (as per the deeds and leases) to send to the operator, then the operator has no way to verify your mineral ownership claims are true. I would expect that the operator would need to be careful about discussing any suspense funds or ongoing royalties which are in third party names. If the operator has changed for any of the wells, the prior operator may have simply transferred suspended funds in the name of “unknown mineral owner”, especially if there are no signed leases or they know the owner had died and did not know the heirs.
I understand that you are frustrated. The RRC has no legal power or discretion to intercede between royalty owners and oil companies. The lease is a private contractual agreement between the mineral owner and the lessee. The RRC is responsible for making sure that the oil company complies with state law and regulations as to the wells and facilities and reporting production volumes, etc. Most oil companies do their best to address inquiries about royalty payments, royalty decimals, well status, and other matters from mineral owners. Like most businesses these days, oil companies have limited number of employees and limited funds for hiring. Moreover, these days it can be difficult to hire people with the right skills and then it takes a long time to train new employees to be productive. A lot of smaller companies use third-parties to handle division orders, royalty payments and other matters and I would expect that creates a bigger knowledge gap. It is a problem for other industries as well.