Hi all,
I’m trying to help my family sort out a royalty issue and would appreciate advice. In 2012, my parents signed an oil & gas lease for 97.12 acres in Labor 18, League 18, Wichita CSL, Hockley Co., TX. I have a fully executed lease and documents showing it was pooled by Occidental (OXY) in a 2013 Form P-17 with Tract 100 (Labor 15, League 28, Hood CSL) — Lease No. 03780, which has been continuously producing ever since.
However, OXY never updated ownership records after my grandmother passed, and royalties were sent to the wrong address and ended up in suspense. My parents have never been paid.
Our net mineral interest is 0.062499999, and I’ve calculated that the pooled leases have produced ~20 million barrels of oil and ~17 million MCF of gas since 2013.
Questions:
- Shouldn’t we have been receiving royalties if the pooled lease was producing?
- Can they argue the lease expired even though it was pooled and producing?
- How do I estimate what’s owed?
- Who do I talk to — a landman, attorney, or the RRC?
I’m a geologist, not a landman or lawyer, and I’m trying to get my family the compensation they deserve. Thanks in advance for any insight!
Was your grandmother ever in pay? Have you sent the recorded probate and/or deeds to Oxy proving that your parents now have title? Oxy will not watch the deed records for changes. You need to discuss with Oxy’s land department and division order department and find out what they need. Best to send by certified mail. RRC has zero to do with royalties so do not contact them. An oil and gas attorney can also help you.
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Yes, the affidavit of heirship was sent to OXY for the Labor 18, League 18 tract. My grandmother had dementia and passed without a will, so settling her estate across multiple counties in Texas and New Mexico has been an interesting process. That said—after doing a deep dive into her paperwork again—I think I’ve figured out what’s going on. The P-17 form that was included with the Labor 18, League 18 documentation actually belongs to the Tract 100, Labor 15, League 28 lease, which turns out to be a completely separate tract that my family didn’t know she owned mineral rights for—until last night. So the affidavit of heirship currently on file with OXY is for League 18, which never went into production. We’ll now need to have League 28 added to the affidavit in order to receive royalties.
Filing a new or amended AOH is a good practice. OXY still may require other curative filings prior to transfer of title.
Have you looked to see if any of your grandmother’s interests have been escheated to the state of her last known address? If TX, I’ve had some success getting fund out of them under similar circumstances. Good luck!