Sudden interest in my minerals

I own surface and 100% minerals on a 16 acre tract in Tyler County, there is a new drilling rig approximately a mile from my property, they’ve been drilling for about a month, I now see they’ve put in a small pipeline from the rig headed through the woods, I’ve received nothing in the mail but my phone began blowing up all at once with voicemails from various people saying they want to lease my minerals, which direction should I go from here to play it safe, any input is greatly appreciated.

Start getting informed. Read your local newspaper or online news sources. Drive by the fence line with the new well and read the posted sign that says who the operator is. Look them up online. Get familiar with the TX Railroad Commission site and look up that well to see which direction it went. Go to the National Association of Royalty Owners and look up who the rep is for your area of Texas and have them talk you through the strategy of leasing. Talk to your neighbors. If this is your first time to contemplate leasing, getting good legal advice is imperative as the lease can hold your family for decades. Personally, I rarely deal with anyone on the phone to cut a final deal. Too much can be misunderstood. Ask to get offers in writing with a draft lease. That first lease will probably be all in the operator’s favor and not the mineral owner’s. Hence the need for good legal advice.

Appreciate your response, could you please explain your comment “as the lease can hold your family for decades” how so ? Usually a lease is three years if I read correctly.

The primary term of the lease is often three years. If the lease is drilled and there is production, the lease moves into the secondary term of the lease and remains in effect as long as there is production that abides by the lease terms. We have leases in our family that are a hundred years old and many that are decades and decades old, so the wording of the lease is extremely important to both you and perhaps future generations.

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