I recently quite by accident discovered that myself and 2 siblings via my grandmother had several acres in Howard County. She had two boys, one is my deceased uncle who had 4 children (3 of which are deceased) leaving my one cousin the sole heir of non-participating royalty interest owner. There was a large producing well in the Cline Shale formation dated back to December 1, 2015. They received a substantial back pay check and are now receiving money from 2 wells. My understanding is they plan to drill a total of 4 wells.
My cousin’s wife unknowingly mentioned that info to me assuming I was aware. I have been in touch with Oxy, Inc. since October 2017.
We signed the ratification papers immediately, returned them to Oxy and then never have any communication from then at all. After several calls to Oxy, their rep finally admitted that (the landman assumed that my cousin was the sole heir. Not so, my grandmother had 2 sons, the other happened to be my deceased father who has 3 living children. I don’t believe my cousin was at fault in any way. So I’ve been told that I would receive royalty payments back to day 1, plus continuing payments in about 4 months.
My question is has anyone else known of a situation of a production company not researched a full line of heirs for payment. Had I not accidentally found out, I’m certain I never would have known.
I also feel terrible that my cousin was receiving all of four shared interests for at least a couple of years, all along only entitled to 1/4 of the payments. As of this day I still have no knowledge of any details about these wells, how much they’re producing, at what depth and whether or not other wells are currently drilled. I’m totally ignorant to how to find out details.
I’m sorry for the depth of my discussion, but I am in the dark and feel so vulnerable. Could anyone help me with any info on my position?
I’m thrilled to have been accepted into this group, and I hope I don’t ask ignorant questions, or say anything not allowed to, I beg for guidance.
Thank you.