Ventura County, CA oil & gas discussion group. Share your experience regarding lease bonus, royalty rates, drilling activity, and oil & gas news.
Anyone have an idea of a fair lease price for mineral rights in Ventura County? I have been offered 50/acre for my 210 acres. Is that in the right range?
Kate:
Do you have a legal description of your interest? $50 per acre is a fair rental rate in the Central California area but the exact location of your interest, as well as what percentage you have in those 210 acres determines if you have negotiating power to ask for more. $50 per acre is the rental rate. You did not mention the royalty percentage. Given that you hope that the company drills and finds oil, you want to ensure that the royalty that they are offering you is also acceptable.
Hope this helps.
Jean M. Pledger
EHRLICH PLEDGER LAW, LLP
Thanks Jean for your response! Well, it is near the Ferndale Ranch in Ojai,(don't have the exact description with me) and my corporation owns the mineral rights for all 210 acres. Royalty offered is 3/16 or 18.75% In looking at other posts this seems quite fair - but I was not sure. I'm not counting any chickens... we will just wait and see what happens. Thanks again!
3/16ths is very fair for 210 acres. I have had clients receive 1/5th (20%) but that's rare. In addition, they have quite a bit more land to offer for lease and they are in a "hotter" area for leasing right now.
Good luck!
Thanks Jean very much - I thought I was on the right track but it's nice to have someone more knowledgeable agree with that. Thanks again!
I signed a lease with Vintage Petroleum over a month ago. I am still waiting for my copy with their signature. What is a typical amount of time for this process?
Hi David! When I signed my lease with Vintage they sent me 2 copies, I did not get one, that I recall, with their sig on it. I did, however, get the lease check within about 2 weeks. Hope that helps?
Thanks, Kate. Still waiting to get my lease going.
Just noticed that someone started a Monterey Shale group... we are all in the Monterey and, as was discussed at an oil/gas forum a couple of days ago - we are sitting on the "largest oil reserve on the planet" - should get interesting.
Anyone know how to value the asset of mineral right ownership for tax purposes? Also, are the mineral rights a depriciable asset? I have 220 ac. and have a lease, but there is no activity on the property at this time.
Kate:
I don't know about mineral interests being a depreciable asset, but I do know that mineral owners are only assessed once production is obtained. Prior to that, you do not pay taxes on a mineral interest. Of course, if you also own the surface, then you will pay property taxes on that.
Valuation of minerals for sale is a complicated thing, once they are producing. Non-producing minerals rights are not worth very much, somewhere between $15 - $25 per new mineral acre is my understanding.
Hope this helps.
Very helpful Jean, thanks. So, if I understand you correctly, I do not pay property taxes on the leased mineral rights that are not currently producing? I do not own the surface, (land), only the mineral rights. I am getting 50.00 per acre on 220 acres. I thought I would get a property tax bill on the value of the lease (about 11,000/year). But you are saying I will not? Is that correct?
While I am no property tax expert, it is my understanding that you will not receive a property tax bill for the income from the lease. You will, however, likely receive a 1099 for reportable income from the oil company given that the amount is over $600. You will want to check with your tax preparer on the inclusion of that income on your taxes.
Thanks so much Jean - oh yes, got that 1099 ;-)
Anyone else have their lease quit claimed by CRC? I just got the letter yesterday.
I have had a few clients that have CRC leases and CRC will ask them to accept reductions in the rents in order for them to continue them. Some are simply getting their leases quit claimed back. CRC is trying to keep what they think may be profitable in the shorter term, is my understanding. But, don't get discouraged. The Monterey Shale is real. It's just too expensive right now to expend the millions of dollars in exploration costs. Once the companies feel comfortable again about pricing, they'll likely start more exploration.
Thanks Jean, yes they cut the lease offer in half in 2016 when the price of oil crashed, from 50/acre to 25/acre. Then this year they sent the quit claim. As my mineral rights are technically owned by a corporation I will just have to let the CA FTB tax and the Ventura County property tax (which makes no sense to me - we don't own the land and the oil was not being produced- but whatever) lapse and if anyone decides to lease in the future they will have to pony up the back taxes and penalties.... just as Oxy did back in 2012 ;-)
Thanks again!