It sounds as if your minerals were leased at an earlier date. If this is correct, I would think it would be very important for you to establish that the letter you received is correct regarding lack of production and availability. What happens if you lease minerals which are still held by an old lease in the opinion of the earlier lessee? Perhaps an earlier lease had a depth clause and you can lease below 10,000’ without any issues. I will defer to others here, but I would want an oil and gas attorney to advise me in a situation like this. You should be shooting for a 25% royalty which in actual application–not just in lip service–has zero post production deductions. Do not warrant title, especially given the questions raised in your first sentence. An oil and gas attorney can help you with the lease language and may be able to give guidance on what bonus $/acre is reasonable to expect.
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