I have mineral rights on 60+ acres in 23S 23E without surface rights. Leased for $100.00/acre for 3 years with 1/5 net (not gross) with the royalty paid up front every 3 years. Does anyone have any idea how to get information on drilling activities in the area? I live 400 miles away and do not have any plans to visit even if that would tell me anything. Austin Exploration is the leasee. and it has been over a year with no activity. According to online county records they have been busy in Tulare acquiring leases. At the densest, it seems that the property could have as many as 4 wells on it with out the need to lease nearby property, though 2 wells seems more likely. Is anything happening in Southern Tulare yet or planning to? Thanks, in advance.
I just looked at the Tulare County Clerk's website, and it appears that the Austin Exploration LLC has bundled about 100 leases and released them to the Hess Corporation out of New York; a company that has Global Exploration and Production operations, and also operates over 1300 gas stations. Drill baby, Drill!!!!
Michael, my mineral rights are in the south west corner of the county which according to information I find on the Web is the eastern edge ofthe Monterey Shale deposit. I understand that many landmen have been snapping up leases to bundle to the drilling companies in that area (including King County and Kern County adjacent). I also understand that it is possible for a company to lease strategic plots of land and then by some WWII national security act they can force the rest of the land owners to accept the same terms as surrounding land without having to track down every owner and make every little contract. This was to prevent one or a few mineral rights owners to block drilling in a large area. 1000 acres is a very good size lot, so if you haven't been contact yet, look around at the companies that are buying up leases to bundle them for large sales to the actual drilling cos. Bakersfield should be the hotspot to find a list of these. Good Luck.
Michael Richards said:
Does anyone know if there is any drilling going on in Tulare? If not where could I find this sort of info?
We have mineral rights on 1000 acres that we would be interested in leasing.
Michael, my mineral rights are in 23S 23E section 30 which is just a stones throw from yours. We were approached about 1.5 years ago by Austin Exploration LLC and it took several months to get a lease contract in place. The lease has subsequently been sold to Hess Corp. which just opened an office in Bakersfield. It took about 6 months to get the lease finalized. We had inheritence structure issues since the property was sold but the mineral rights were severed and retained from the land rights a couple generations back. This is just speculation, but it may either be that the land you hold does not include the mineral rights and they made a deal with the owners already, or the landmen do not require a direct lease from your property to shore up the right to drill in the area. This would mean that they have enough of the area already leased out so another oil company cannot get a large enough track of land to make it worthwhile to lease your land. This does not mean that you are out, it just means that they will have to give you the same lease terms as everyone else in your area, but can reserve the right to do so after production is dertermined. Keep in mind this is just my speculation based on nothing except wild thoughts that a company would avoid having to lease 100% of the land up front and pay out all the lease bonuses before they even find recoverable oil. If you are not certain that you own the mineral rights I would go to the county clerk's office and find out. If you own the land and not the mineral rights, they still have to compensate you for using your property, though they do no have to get your permission in the end.
Michael Richards said:
They are located in Township 24 South Range 23 East Section 4, 5, 6 Tulare Co Any idea on how to stir up some interest ?
Redwall, thanks for the nice reply. We do own the mineral rights but not the land. We sold that 40 yrs ago.
About 2 yrs ago we were approached by Venoco and was offered a lease. We had our attorney check it out and found it to be lacking in several areas, so we declined
It would be nice to find a good fair lease as we are fast approaching retirement age. Ha lol
Drake Bolinger, how do you fit into all of this? Just wondering…
I appreciate the very direct nature of your question... in short, I work as an oil / gas landman for a private equity firm out of Houston. We look for possible investment opportunities in developing unconventional plays. I have recently returned from physically driving nearly 1000 miles in and around numerous areas in the Monterey Shale and now I'm back in Texas. Concerning your ownership of the minerals Redwall is correct-- and the process he's referring to is what we call "running title". I'd be happy to take a look at anything you've got.
Michael Richards said:
Redwall, thanks for the nice reply. We do own the mineral rights but not the land. We sold that 40 yrs ago. About 2 yrs ago we were approached by Venoco and was offered a lease. We had our attorney check it out and found it to be lacking in several areas, so we declined It would be nice to find a good fair lease as we are fast approaching retirement age. Ha lol
Drake Bolinger, how do you fit into all of this? Just wondering..........
Drake, yes by all means look into it. I have already stated we are just looking for a fair deal. Clean up is a major concern.
You will find the lease in the name of Ryser.
I am the husband of one of the owners. My wife, her sister, and brother have the rights.
Redwall please email me at qclumber@comcast.net
I would really like to talk .
Mike
Redwall said:
Michael, my mineral rights are in 23S 23E section 30 which is just a stones throw from yours. We were approached about 1.5 years ago by Austin Exploration LLC and it took several months to get a lease contract in place. The lease has subsequently been sold to Hess Corp. which just opened an office in Bakersfield. It took about 6 months to get the lease finalized. We had inheritence structure issues since the property was sold but the mineral rights were severed and retained from the land rights a couple generations back. This is just speculation, but it may either be that the land you hold does not include the mineral rights and they made a deal with the owners already, or the landmen do not require a direct lease from your property to shore up the right to drill in the area. This would mean that they have enough of the area already leased out so another oil company cannot get a large enough track of land to make it worthwhile to lease your land. This does not mean that you are out, it just means that they will have to give you the same lease terms as everyone else in your area, but can reserve the right to do so after production is dertermined. Keep in mind this is just my speculation based on nothing except wild thoughts that a company would avoid having to lease 100% of the land up front and pay out all the lease bonuses before they even find recoverable oil. If you are not certain that you own the mineral rights I would go to the county clerk’s office and find out. If you own the land and not the mineral rights, they still have to compensate you for using your property, though they do no have to get your permission in the end.
Michael Richards said:
They are located in Township 24 South Range 23 East Section 4, 5, 6 Tulare Co Any idea on how to stir up some interest ?
Redwall, do you know if any drilling has been started in the area that we have rights?
Redwall said:
Michael, my mineral rights are in 23S 23E section 30 which is just a stones throw from yours. We were approached about 1.5 years ago by Austin Exploration LLC and it took several months to get a lease contract in place. The lease has subsequently been sold to Hess Corp. which just opened an office in Bakersfield. It took about 6 months to get the lease finalized. We had inheritence structure issues since the property was sold but the mineral rights were severed and retained from the land rights a couple generations back. This is just speculation, but it may either be that the land you hold does not include the mineral rights and they made a deal with the owners already, or the landmen do not require a direct lease from your property to shore up the right to drill in the area. This would mean that they have enough of the area already leased out so another oil company cannot get a large enough track of land to make it worthwhile to lease your land. This does not mean that you are out, it just means that they will have to give you the same lease terms as everyone else in your area, but can reserve the right to do so after production is dertermined. Keep in mind this is just my speculation based on nothing except wild thoughts that a company would avoid having to lease 100% of the land up front and pay out all the lease bonuses before they even find recoverable oil. If you are not certain that you own the mineral rights I would go to the county clerk's office and find out. If you own the land and not the mineral rights, they still have to compensate you for using your property, though they do no have to get your permission in the end.
Michael Richards said:
They are located in Township 24 South Range 23 East Section 4, 5, 6 Tulare Co Any idea on how to stir up some interest ?
I see a lot of activity according to the DOGGR Map and website in 23S 22E right next door. Hess Corporation is drilling 4 wells in East Kings County (1 about 4 Miles away) as of recent. Hess has my lease, and quite possibly yours. I like the news that they (Hess) are selling all other aspects of their business to focus mainly on Exploration and Production. I understand that companies are having to lease larger swathes of land than they normally would because with the Deep and Horizontal drilling, they need more area (i.e. the deeper the well the more surface area required for the well). Also with the horizonal drilling, huge acreage is required and the spacing is much larger. I am not going to get too excited until I see the applications to drill in Tulare, right now I only see Kings County Aplications, and of course Kern County. I do not know how long it will take for them to move 4 miles east to 23S 23E if they are successful. I see that they tend to add new wells concentrically from places that are producing. Keeping my fingers crossed, but not holding my breath yet. In 18 months they will have to re-lease my rights for 3 more years bonus paid upfront anyhow.
Michael Richards said:
Redwall, do you know if any drilling has been started in the area that we have rights?
Redwall said:
Michael, my mineral rights are in 23S 23E section 30 which is just a stones throw from yours. We were approached about 1.5 years ago by Austin Exploration LLC and it took several months to get a lease contract in place. The lease has subsequently been sold to Hess Corp. which just opened an office in Bakersfield. It took about 6 months to get the lease finalized. We had inheritence structure issues since the property was sold but the mineral rights were severed and retained from the land rights a couple generations back. This is just speculation, but it may either be that the land you hold does not include the mineral rights and they made a deal with the owners already, or the landmen do not require a direct lease from your property to shore up the right to drill in the area. This would mean that they have enough of the area already leased out so another oil company cannot get a large enough track of land to make it worthwhile to lease your land. This does not mean that you are out, it just means that they will have to give you the same lease terms as everyone else in your area, but can reserve the right to do so after production is dertermined. Keep in mind this is just my speculation based on nothing except wild thoughts that a company would avoid having to lease 100% of the land up front and pay out all the lease bonuses before they even find recoverable oil. If you are not certain that you own the mineral rights I would go to the county clerk's office and find out. If you own the land and not the mineral rights, they still have to compensate you for using your property, though they do no have to get your permission in the end.
Michael Richards said:
They are located in Township 24 South Range 23 East Section 4, 5, 6 Tulare Co Any idea on how to stir up some interest ?
Thanks Redwall. We live in Aberdeen Washington and don't make it down there much anymore. Like you we are not holding our breath but have our fingers crossed. 5 yrs till retirement. I hope we hit it big. ha lol Michael Richards said:
Redwall, do you know if any drilling has been started in the area that we have rights?
Redwall said:
Michael, my mineral rights are in 23S 23E section 30 which is just a stones throw from yours. We were approached about 1.5 years ago by Austin Exploration LLC and it took several months to get a lease contract in place. The lease has subsequently been sold to Hess Corp. which just opened an office in Bakersfield. It took about 6 months to get the lease finalized. We had inheritence structure issues since the property was sold but the mineral rights were severed and retained from the land rights a couple generations back. This is just speculation, but it may either be that the land you hold does not include the mineral rights and they made a deal with the owners already, or the landmen do not require a direct lease from your property to shore up the right to drill in the area. This would mean that they have enough of the area already leased out so another oil company cannot get a large enough track of land to make it worthwhile to lease your land. This does not mean that you are out, it just means that they will have to give you the same lease terms as everyone else in your area, but can reserve the right to do so after production is dertermined. Keep in mind this is just my speculation based on nothing except wild thoughts that a company would avoid having to lease 100% of the land up front and pay out all the lease bonuses before they even find recoverable oil. If you are not certain that you own the mineral rights I would go to the county clerk's office and find out. If you own the land and not the mineral rights, they still have to compensate you for using your property, though they do no have to get your permission in the end.
Michael Richards said:
They are located in Township 24 South Range 23 East Section 4, 5, 6 Tulare Co Any idea on how to stir up some interest ?
My husband has mineral rights in property located in Tulare County, Township 24, Range 24 East (southwest county). We visited that area last week and saw orchards, scrub, and sand, but no oil wells.
If you want to discover the status of your lease, you can find that thru the Tulare County Clerk's office. www.tularecountyca.gov/clerkrecorder. There is a tab for "Property and Business Name Search." Enter your name and approx. date of the lease to find the status.
Companies typically lease a lot of properties in the off chance something will be discovered. Ours expired after 3 years, and the page that lists the "Release of Lease" has dozens of names.
Redwall said:
Michael, my mineral rights are in the south west corner of the county which according to information I find on the Web is the eastern edge ofthe Monterey Shale deposit. I understand that many landmen have been snapping up leases to bundle to the drilling companies in that area (including King County and Kern County adjacent). I also understand that it is possible for a company to lease strategic plots of land and then by some WWII national security act they can force the rest of the land owners to accept the same terms as surrounding land without having to track down every owner and make every little contract. This was to prevent one or a few mineral rights owners to block drilling in a large area. 1000 acres is a very good size lot, so if you haven't been contact yet, look around at the companies that are buying up leases to bundle them for large sales to the actual drilling cos. Bakersfield should be the hotspot to find a list of these. Good Luck.
Michael Richards said:
Does anyone know if there is any drilling going on in Tulare? If not where could I find this sort of info?
We have mineral rights on 1000 acres that we would be interested in leasing.