The North Dakota 3 month mineral rights education!

Oil and Gas Leasing Help
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Three months ago my wife and I were engaged in the every day happenings of life in the Pacific Northwest quite content with our routine. Older and somewhat settled. Enter into that....ND mineral rights (20 acres) that my wife is Trustee of forever! After 3 months of rigorous investigation, numerous phone calls, endless late nights of self education prompted by some GREAT help from this Forum, We've come to a conclusion based on our circumstances and we hope that it may help someone reading this with similar circumstances.

We would advise the following: Don't waste time initially on an Attorney if contacted by a leasing company to lease your mineral rights, those costs rise quickly every time you pick up a phone or have an exchange with your Attorney and we have nothing to show for it yet except a 2000.00 + bill and growing. Don't trust the Landman representing the potential Lessee with information that is provided only by him/her. It usually requires more calls to your Attorney. Avoid any costs to you that will be the result of potential Lessee's trying to "get" your mineral rights! Understand that the State of ND will ALWAYS be on the side of the developer whether that is you or a Lessee. Ignore the "excitement" of thinking you've got a bonanza and that you will get tons of money!

Now to the do's! Do educate yourselves through the great information that is on Forum's and blog's like this one! We have been fortunate enough to have some offline direct advise that always ended with, "check it out yourself and decide". Know that you have Zero control of your mineral rights unless you have the financial ability to develop them yourself so be willing to do "nothing"! Do everything you can, to not make an early decision on your rights............you will always regret it later. Finally, don't worry about the best deal..........you don't have control and never will! Just enjoy what ever you get and be quite content in your routine! Hoping the best for you all!

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Mike:

Good advice for newbies to the world of mineral rights. Sounds like you have been reading and doing your homework on these matters. Most will make mistakes along the way in regards to decisions on leasing and other matters, but the main thing is to learn from mistakes and not make the same again. The main thing is time; work the timeline to your advantage and don't get in a hurry to negotiate leases until you are fully aware of what you are signing. Best of luck in your future negotiations.

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As I stated with sincere meaning, this site and it's participants have been in most cases, a "GREAT" source of honest help. Some of you on these sites are just plain good folk! Most of us with these rights wouldn't have a chance without site's like this one and I've appreciated both reading and discussing how to best benefit our position. Now, I'm just slightly getting dangerous with all of this new knowledge but still able to turn a page and learn some more! If the group ever opens up a site on where to dig and how to prepare butter clams and steamer clams, I probably could help out a little better. For now though, thank you to all who participate and are willing to share their experiences, good or bad and let us benefit from that!

charles s mallory said:

Mike:

Good advice for newbies to the world of mineral rights. Sounds like you have been reading and doing your homework on these matters. Most will make mistakes along the way in regards to decisions on leasing and other matters, but the main thing is to learn from mistakes and not make the same again. The main thing is time; work the timeline to your advantage and don't get in a hurry to negotiate leases until you are fully aware of what you are signing. Best of luck in your future negotiations.

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Well said