I have inherited some mineral rights in Ward county of North Dakota. The township is 153 North, Range 85 West. section 1,2,3, and 12.
Other step- siblings want my brother and I to sign over our shares but would like to know if these mineral rights are in a productive area for oil before signing over.
Is there any way you could help me find this out? I have tried but to no avail.
They want a $1200 administration fee a piece if we do not sign over.
Thanks,
Gale Bunkers
piranha58@live.com
Your step siblings may know something that you or I don’t, but I don’t see your described minerals becoming highly desirable for gas or oil for a long time if ever. That doesn’t mean nothing is there. There is a little production from the Madison formation a few miles from your minerals. It looks to me like 1 successful verticle well, 1 moderately successful verticle well, 1 that may have broke even because verticle wells were relatively inexpensive in the late 80’s, and more than a few others in a tight group with the producing wells that were a bust. But thats not necessarilly the end of it. There are many other minerals than oil/gas. If I were heir to them I wouldn’t just sign them over. The administration fee sounds suspicious to me. I hope you are on friendly terms with your step siblings and it is just a way of saying your share of the probate /filing fees/ title work came to $1200 each. If not; they may be trying to pick your pocket. I hope not. Hopefully someone else will chime in with more information than I could give you. Good luck Gale!
Tell them that you want a 1200 apiece administration fee if they do not sign over to you.
If they are talking about probate administration, those charges are paid from the decedent's estate.
Definitely do some research. I don’t know about Ward, but neighboring Burke and Bottineau counties are both active petroleum areas. Also, don’t forget there are other things in the ground besides oil. I recently signed a lease for mineral interests in Burke County with an outfit that wants to mine potash.
How do you go about researching to see if there is any prospect.
John Anderson “Andy” Davis said:
Definitely do some research. I don't know about Ward, but neighboring Burke and Bottineau counties are both active petroleum areas. Also, don't forget there are other things in the ground besides oil. I recently signed a lease for mineral interests in Burke County with an outfit that wants to mine potash.
I’m a novice at this stuff Gayle, but the forum was a good place to start. When I’m trying to find out something about the petroleum industry in a certain area, I just “Google” the heck out of it using every possible related term I can think of. You’ll quickly find there are a number of generalized sites that provide news of activity. One of the best is the Oil & Gas Journal . Another is OilVoice.com. You might also check the North Dakota Industrial Commission at https://www.dmr.nd.gov/oilgas/. They will list where the drilling rigs are. Also see if you can find a local newspaper site. Finally, if you know the names of some oil companies in the general area, check their sites. If they’re public companies, they are periodically telling their stockholders what they’re up to.
I have an oil company from Colorado drilling for Natural gas in Ward County just south of Minot, I would not sign anything over to anyone.
Gale,
I wouldn't sign over North Dakota mineral rights in any county at the present time. Unfortunately, you are at Range 85 which is outside the eastern boundary of the Bakken, which is at Range 89. However, there are other minerals under the ground besides oil -- potash, coal and natural gas to name a few. Companies are identifying new resources and inventing new extraction techniques all the time so you never know what they might find that could put money in your pocket.
I would ask your step-siblings exactly why they want the $1200, perhaps they are thinking they would rather have the mineral rights in lieu of probate fees or some estate-related expense.
You (and anybody else who discovers they own inherited minerals in ND) need to find out pronto if the local county courthouse has a deed of mineral distribution or any other legal documents naming you as an heir. If not, you need to file a statement of claim to the rights, get it notarized and on record so that a surface land owner or the state of North Dakota itself cannot steal the rights from you by filing their own claim. North Dakota has a law where unclaimed mineral rights expire after 20 years unless you specifically file a claim at the courthouse of the county where the minerals reside.
Most of all, don't panic and don't let anybody pressure you into signing anything. This is complicated stuff and it takes time to learn about it and figure out what is going on.
(Whoops, guess I'm replying to an old post so the horse is probably out of the barn for Gale. The advice for other new mineral owners still might help someone though).
John,
Just sent you a 'friend' request. I have questions about your potash lease.
jim w
keller, tx
John Anderson "Andy" Davis said:
Definitely do some research. I don't know about Ward, but neighboring Burke and Bottineau counties are both active petroleum areas. Also, don't forget there are other things in the ground besides oil. I recently signed a lease for mineral interests in Burke County with an outfit that wants to mine potash.