Springfield Oil Company

General Mineral Rights Discussion
1

About a year ago, my husband received a letter from Springfield Oil Company advising him he had inherited mineral rights in Plainview, Hale County Texas from his father. It was a total surprise since his father NEVER mentioned this to ANYONE. My husband and I decided to take a trip from Dallas to Plainview to do some "research." The county clerk was very helpful in telling us we were not qualified to do the chain of title ourselves. But there was a Springfield researcher actually sitting in the county clerk's office. He was a very nice young man, and said he would pass this info on the the proper person who would get in touch with us. This second person did give us the information on where the mineral rights ownership turnover happened (1944). My father in law was a country Baptist preacher, and was often paid with anything but money. This could have been the case. Before we got back to Dallas, the agent from Springfield had called 3 r 4 times to ask a few more questions relating to family dynamics. He gave me some interesting, if not useful info about the ownership, but before he will give us the full info, we have to sign a lease for the mineral rights. The surface land is 100% owned by an individual in Plainview.

Now the question is whether we should consider signing the lease, take the bonus, and wait for good news. The property is near the Heard #4. No other company has contacted my husband. Anyone else dealing with Springfield Oil?

2

Let them know you will consider the lease offer, but only after you see the title work. The entire process could be very positive, but the fact remains you cannot be "held hostage" to your own title work on your property with a lease. If Springfield wants the lease, then other companies do as well. Just politely decline to execute the lease until you have your title abstract in hand so you know exactly what you are leasing.

3

I would have to agree. The way they are trying to deal with you is unprofessional. It's like what are they trying to hide, or what is the ulterior motive? Don't lease to them if that is the way that they do business. Wanting to know how you acquired something is a fair question to anyone reputable. They sound a little on the shady side.

Bertram Sippy said:

Let them know you will consider the lease offer, but only after you see the title work. The entire process could be very positive, but the fact remains you cannot be "held hostage" to your own title work on your property with a lease. If Springfield wants the lease, then other companies do as well. Just politely decline to execute the lease until you have your title abstract in hand so you know exactly what you are leasing.

4

Mrs. Stacfy,

The so-called "Landman" that called you acted very unprofessionally. His method of trying to get to lease is not how the majority of Landman do business.

Springfield Oil Company appears to be a Broker working for an oil company. This is very common in this business. Most companies hire broker to do the leasing and research on properties they are interested in.

There is a professional organization of Landmen called "American Association of Professional Landmen" (AAPL). Many belong to this and many do not. There are good Landmen who belong and good ones who do not, just as there are bad ones on both sides.

The President of Springfield, John P. Hollman, is a member of the AAPL. Membership of the AAPL subscribe to a Core of Ethics on how business is done. In case the "Landman" you take to did not tell you, Springfield Oil Company is located Hot Springs, South Dakota.

I would advise you to contact him and talk to him about the "held hostage" approach being used on your husband. If this does not help, contact the AAPL in Fort Worth and file and ethics violation against him and his company.

Charles Cunningham

5

I worked for Sun Oil Company some years ago, and ARCO for 14 years, and have a pretty good idea how landmen work. But the whole process can be frustrating because of the hush hush attitude regarding anything going on almost anywhere in the oil business. The letterhead on the correspondence made it very clear where their home office is located. What difference does that make? BP is in England. Sorry to sound put off by your warning, but it did take me by surprise. The Hale County, County Clerk in Plainview assured us that Springfield was a legitimate company. All this aside, my main concern is to not rush into anything. I do have an attorney at BP that is willing to look at the package Springfield sent us. I have had people tell me I can't trust attorneys, landmen, oil company presidents. You can see where I am in a quandry. Who can you trust?

Charles Cunningham said:

Mrs. Stacfy,

The so-called "Landman" that called you acted very unprofessionally. His method of trying to get to lease is not how the majority of Landman do business.

Springfield Oil Company appears to be a Broker working for an oil company. This is very common in this business. Most broker to do the leasing and research on properties they are interested in.

There is a professional organization of Landmen called "American Association of Professional Landmen" (AAPL). Many belong to this and many do not. There are good Landmen who belong and good ones who do not, just as there are bad ones on both sides.

The President of Springfield, John P. Hollman, is a member of the AAPL. Membership of the AAPL subscribe to a Core of Ethics on is done. In case the "Landman" you take to did not tell you, Springfield Oil Company is located Hot Springs, South Dakota.

I would advise you to contact him and talk to him about the "held hostage" approach being used on your husband. If this does not help, contact the AAPL in Fort Worth and file and ethics violation against him and his company.

Charles Cunningham

6

Sometimes the people in the home office have no idea of what the field people are doing. That is my point. Life is to short to resort to arm twisting or lies to obtain a lease.

Carolyn Stacfy said:

I worked for Sun Oil Company some years ago, and ARCO for 14 years, and have a pretty good idea how landmen work. But the whole process can be frustrating because of the hush hush attitude regarding anything going on almost anywhere in the oil business. The letterhead on the correspondence made it very clear where their home office is located. What difference does that make? BP is in England. Sorry to sound put off by your warning, but it did take me by surprise. The Hale County, County Clerk in Plainview assured us that Springfield was a legitimate company. All this aside, my main concern is to not rush into anything. I do have an attorney at BP that is willing to look at the package Springfield sent us. I have had people tell me I can't trust attorneys, landmen, oil company presidents. You can see where I am in a quandry. Who can you trust?

Charles Cunningham said:

Mrs. Stacfy,

The so-called "Landman" that called you acted very unprofessionally. His method of trying to get to lease is not how the majority of Landman do business.

Springfield Oil Company appears to be a Broker working for an oil company. This is very common in this business. Most broker to do the leasing and research on properties they are interested in.

There is a professional organization of Landmen called "American Association of Professional Landmen" (AAPL). Many belong to this and many do not. There are good Landmen who belong and good ones who do not, just as there are bad ones on both sides.

The President of Springfield, John P. Hollman, is a member of the AAPL. Membership of the AAPL subscribe to a Core of Ethics on is done. In case the "Landman" you take to did not tell you, Springfield Oil Company is located Hot Springs, South Dakota.

I would advise you to contact him and talk to him about the "held hostage" approach being used on your husband. If this does not help, contact the AAPL in Fort Worth and file and ethics violation against him and his company.

Charles Cunningham

7

Please accept my apology. You and the other replies are surely correct. Maybe I know just enough to get into trouble. I have the time and hope to follow up on these suggestions. My husband is not up to doing any of the leg work. The rest of the family doesn't care how this goes down. It is really fun though to dig through all the information. Still don't know where to go from here. Thanks.

Charles Cunningham said:

Sometimes the people in the home office have no idea of what the field people are doing. That is my point. Life is to short to resort to arm twisting or lies to obtain a lease.

Carolyn Stacfy said:

I worked for Sun Oil Company some years ago, and ARCO for 14 years, and have a pretty good idea how landmen work. But the whole process can be frustrating because of the hush hush attitude regarding anything going on almost anywhere in the oil business. The letterhead on the correspondence made it very clear where their home office is located. What difference does that make? BP is in England. Sorry to sound put off by your warning, but it did take me by surprise. The Hale County, County Clerk in Plainview assured us that Springfield was a legitimate company. All this aside, my main concern is to not rush into anything. I do have an attorney at BP that is willing to look at the package Springfield sent us. I have had people tell me I can't trust attorneys, landmen, oil company presidents. You can see where I am in a quandry. Who can you trust?

Charles Cunningham said:

Mrs. Stacfy,

The so-called "Landman" that called you acted very unprofessionally. His method of trying to get to lease is not how the majority of Landman do business.

Springfield Oil Company appears to be a Broker working for an oil company. This is very common in this business. Most broker to do the leasing and research on properties they are interested in.

There is a professional organization of Landmen called "American Association of Professional Landmen" (AAPL). Many belong to this and many do not. There are good Landmen who belong and good ones who do not, just as there are bad ones on both sides.

The President of Springfield, John P. Hollman, is a member of the AAPL. Membership of the AAPL subscribe to a Core of Ethics on is done. In case the "Landman" you take to did not tell you, Springfield Oil Company is located Hot Springs, South Dakota.

I would advise you to contact him and talk to him about the "held hostage" approach being used on your husband. If this does not help, contact the AAPL in Fort Worth and file and ethics violation against him and his company.

Charles Cunningham

8

It sounds like you still need to determine the scope and size of your mineral rights. The clerk's office didn't provide you with the documents you were looking for, without more specifics. You mentioned the landman gave you records showing where your father-in-law received ownership of the minerals in 1944. What exactly did he provide to you? A deed? Probate? Did the father-in-law have a will or probate?

9

No, he did not give me records, just told me that the exchange of title took place in Caddo Parish Louisiana in 1944. Don't know why it happened there, nor how the landman obtained the info. My biggest question was how in the world did he know my husband inherited anything from his father. My father-in-law had a will, but it has not been probated. Landman asked for the will, and death certificate, and he would have it probated in Hale County at their expense. This sounded a little strange to me, and that really made take a step back. Springfield says it is 228 acres, along with a description of the property.

Kitchen said:

It sounds like you still need to determine the scope and size of your mineral rights. The clerk's office didn't provide you with the documents you were looking for, without more specifics. You mentioned the landman gave you records showing where your father-in-law received ownership of the minerals in 1944. What exactly did he provide to you? A deed? Probate? Did the father-in-law have a will or probate?

10

Carolyn -

I am a Certified Professional Landman and a member of the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL) with more than 36 years of experience as a Landman "In The Field", which means I have spent my years researching County Records and negotiating Leases with Land and Mineral Owners rather than in an office.

I am a Field Landman.

I have reviewed recent Oil and Gas Leasing and Drilling and Production activity in the Plainview, Hale County, Texas, area and, more greatly, in the surrounding Counties.

It appears that there is not now, nor has there ever been, any substantial oil and gas production anywhere near Plainview, Texas. Only two wells have been drilled any deeper than a few hundred feet and they were Dry Holes.

Although there have been a relatively small number of Oil and Gas Leases recently taken by Springfield and a very small handful of other companies in the Plainview area - mostly to the South and Southeast of the City/Town, those leases appear to have all been taken under 5 year Primary Terms with Options to Extend the Primary Terms for an additional 3 Years. That's a total of 8 years, which indicates to me that no drilling activity is scheduled or anticipated for quite some time.

Everything I can see indicates to me that most of Hale County and, in particular, the area around Plainview, which is in the Northeast part of the County, appears to be presently considered to be somewhat beyond the outer reaches of the major areas of interest to the Oil and Gas Companies interested in that part of West Texas.

I advise that you take whatever Bonus Monies for an Oil and Gas Lease that Springfield offers, but try and limit it to a single, 5 Year Primary Term. The odds of it being drilled in that amount of time are astronomical, so you can just about consider it free Money.

If they want to negotiate for an Option to Extend for the additional 3 year term, then negotiate that the Extension Payment be for 3 times the initial Bonus Payment.

Settle for no less than a 1/5 or 20% Royalty for the original Primary Term, to be converted to 25% Royalty for any extended Term.

I am certain that Bertram Sippy, Dave Quincy and Charles Cunningham are all very fine Gentlemen, but I must disagree with them as to their comments as to Springfield's Landmen and their efforts to address your questions.

They have very willingly provided you with all the information they appear to have at present. And nothing requires them to do so.

If you want to know more, everything you need is in the County Clerk's Office, which is open to the public.

If you want a free copy of their Title Run Sheet, which will be an entire history of the lands your interests are in that they will eventually prepare for an Attorney to review, you can add a provision to that effect in your Lease. Right now, however, they would only have some brief Title Notes, used to quickly and relatively inexpensively determine who owns the minerals.

Hope this helps -

Charles Emery Tooke III

Certified Professional Landman

Fort Worth, Texas

11

Carolyn,

It is important to find out if the entire description you have an ownership interest in is the 228 gross acres and then next to determine your fractional interest (maybe all) of that land. The offer to lease would not have been generated had the land man not searched the title. So a deed or some form of conveyance is in the record to you on these parcels. The title record in LA could be because that relative had other interests in that county as well. Remain friendly to the offer to lease, just patiently and persistently get that title report from the land man. In time, you will have it. That report may not identify all your interests and the land man is leasing the prospect he has been instructed to by the exploration company, however it will be a good start and then you can truly evaluate the lease knowing what your ownership in the tract is.

12

Mr. Tooke

Do you feel that witholding family information from the Stacfy's until they sign a lease is ethical?

Charles Cunningham

Charles Emery Tooke III said:

Carolyn -

I am a Certified Professional Landman and a member of the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL) with more than 36 years of experience as a Landman "In The Field", which means I have spent my years researching County Records and negotiating Leases with Land and Mineral Owners rather than in an office.

I am a Field Landman.

I have reviewed recent Oil and Gas Leasing and Drilling and Production activity in the Plainview, Hale County, Texas, area and, more greatly, in the surrounding Counties.

It appears that there is not now, nor has there ever been, any substantial oil and gas production anywhere near Plainview, Texas. Only two wells have been drilled any deeper than a few hundred feet and they were Dry Holes.

Although there have been a relatively small number of Oil and Gas Leases recently taken by Springfield and a very small handful of other companies in the Plainview area - mostly to the South and Southeast of the City/Town, those leases appear to have all been taken under 5 year Primary Terms with Options to Extend the Primary Terms for an additional 3 Years. That's a total of 8 years, which indicates to me that no drilling activity is scheduled or anticipated for quite some time.

Everything I can see indicates to me that most of Hale County and, in particular, the area around Plainview, which is in the Northeast part of the County, appears to be presently considered to be somewhat beyond the outer reaches of the major areas of interest to the Oil and Gas Companies interested in that part of West Texas.

I advise that you take whatever Bonus Monies for an Oil and Gas Lease that Springfield offers, but try and limit it to a single, 5 Year Primary Term. The odds of it being drilled in that amount of time are astronomical, so you can just about consider it free Money.

If they want to negotiate for an Option to Extend for the additional 3 year term, then negotiate that the Extension Payment be for 3 times the initial Bonus Payment.

Settle for no less than a 1/5 or 20% Royalty for the original Primary Term, to be converted to 25% Royalty for any extended Term.

I am certain that Bertram Sippy, Dave Quincy and Charles Cunningham are all very fine Gentlemen, but I must disagree with them as to their comments as to Springfield's Landmen and their efforts to address your questions.

They have very willingly provided you with all the information they appear to have at present. And nothing requires them to do so.

If you want to know more, everything you need is in the County Clerk's Office, which is open to the public.

If you want a free copy of their Title Run Sheet, which will be an entire history of the lands your interests are in that they will eventually prepare for an Attorney to review, you can add a provision to that effect in your Lease. Right now, however, they would only have some brief Title Notes, used to quickly and relatively inexpensively determine who owns the minerals.

Hope this helps -

Charles Emery Tooke III

Certified Professional Landman

Fort Worth, Texas

13

Very interesting. Thanks for adding to my reading list! Sorry this has turned into a discussion on the dependability or honesty of landmen.

Charles Emery Tooke III said:

Carolyn -

I am a Certified Professional Landman and a member of the American Association of Professional Landmen (AAPL) with more than 36 years of experience as a Landman "In The Field", which means I have spent my years researching County Records and negotiating Leases with Land and Mineral Owners rather than in an office.

I am a Field Landman.

I have reviewed recent Oil and Gas Leasing and Drilling and Production activity in the Plainview, Hale County, Texas, area and, more greatly, in the surrounding Counties.

It appears that there is not now, nor has there ever been, any substantial oil and gas production anywhere near Plainview, Texas. Only two wells have been drilled any deeper than a few hundred feet and they were Dry Holes.

Although there have been a relatively small number of Oil and Gas Leases recently taken by Springfield and a very small handful of other companies in the Plainview area - mostly to the South and Southeast of the City/Town, those leases appear to have all been taken under 5 year Primary Terms with Options to Extend the Primary Terms for an additional 3 Years. That's a total of 8 years, which indicates to me that no drilling activity is scheduled or anticipated for quite some time.

Everything I can see indicates to me that most of Hale County and, in particular, the area around Plainview, which is in the Northeast part of the County, appears to be presently considered to be somewhat beyond the outer reaches of the major areas of interest to the Oil and Gas Companies interested in that part of West Texas.

I advise that you take whatever Bonus Monies for an Oil and Gas Lease that Springfield offers, but try and limit it to a single, 5 Year Primary Term. The odds of it being drilled in that amount of time are astronomical, so you can just about consider it free Money.

If they want to negotiate for an Option to Extend for the additional 3 year term, then negotiate that the Extension Payment be for 3 times the initial Bonus Payment.

Settle for no less than a 1/5 or 20% Royalty for the original Primary Term, to be converted to 25% Royalty for any extended Term.

I am certain that Bertram Sippy, Dave Quincy and Charles Cunningham are all very fine Gentlemen, but I must disagree with them as to their comments as to Springfield's Landmen and their efforts to address your questions.

They have very willingly provided you with all the information they appear to have at present. And nothing requires them to do so.

If you want to know more, everything you need is in the County Clerk's Office, which is open to the public.

If you want a free copy of their Title Run Sheet, which will be an entire history of the lands your interests are in that they will eventually prepare for an Attorney to review, you can add a provision to that effect in your Lease. Right now, however, they would only have some brief Title Notes, used to quickly and relatively inexpensively determine who owns the minerals.

Hope this helps -

Charles Emery Tooke III

Certified Professional Landman

Fort Worth, Texas

14

The Land man is honest. Just exercise your land ownership. No one can sign an oil and gas lease on your minerals except you.

15

Carolyn -

You mentioned that you have an Attorney with BP willing to review the package of information you received from Springfield. If Mr. Sippy or any others have you "jumpy" as to the Landman you have been dealing with, then I very much advise your going that route. No Attorney would jeopardize his or her career or license by dealing with you in an unethical manner.

It would probably have helped if in your original message you had described what all information Springfield has provided you, but even so, I see no indication of anyone's having withheld any information from you in anything close to an unethical manner.

From my years of personal experience, most people are absolutely thrilled when a Landman contacts them. We don't SELL anything, just bring people money, frequently substantial amounts of money - in the form of Bonus Payments for Leases and, hopefully, Royalty Payments from eventual oil and gas production.

As in your present circumstance, this is frequently for mineral interests they never even knew they own or inherited.

As to how the Landman connected your family's mineral interests from Hale County to Caddo Parish, there is probably a document of record in Hale County indicating or referencing whatever conveyance or reservation, the original of which simply happens to be filed of record in Caddo Parish but not yet filed of record in Hale County.

An old Lease, perhaps. Could be anything from that or a Probate Matter or an Affidavit of some sort.

Nothing Landmen do is Magic. Everything effecting Real Property, which in Texas includes Mineral Rights, must be filed of Public Record. We're just must more experienced at researching Public Records as to such matters than most people. It's what we do for a living.

The County Clerk in Hale County was correct, studying the titles to Mineral Interests is difficult. Much more difficult than studying simple surface historical ownership. But it isn't anything you can't learn to do, especially if you like researching family history and that sort of thing.

Just be careful - it can be quite an addictive hobby.

I now live in Fort Worth, but I am from Shreveport, which is the Parish Seat of Caddo Parish, Louisiana. If there is anything specific that you or your BP Attorney needs from their records I will be happy to obtain copies for you.

Hope this helps -

Charles

16

No one can really tell you what it is that the landman you came across saw regarding the 1944 acquisition instrument that is supposed to be filed in Shreveport. What you should have done is obtained a copy of it. They would have charged you $1.00 a page.

I don't see how it could have been an old lease, unless the previous reply is referring to some type of legal description. That wouldn't be legal, however.