My father passed away in 2011, and we are now finding out that he had several mineral rights in Logan, Oklahoma. Problem is, they were never transferred into my mother’s name after his passing. She was recently sent an offer to buy some of those mineral rights from Tommy Ogden, a land man who works for Pentex Exploration. Their offer is for $1,450 an acre for Section 24, 17N, 2W; Section 17, 17N, 4W; and Section 24, 18N, 2W, totaling $46,763.00. He has offered to help with transferring all the rest of my father’s mineral rights into my mother’s name as well. He said it would cost between 3-4 thousand dollars, which he’d deduct from the $46,763. Has anyone ever dealt with Mr. Ogden or his company? I just want to get a fair price for my mom, but have no idea what that price would be. It may cost more for a lawyer, but would that be a wiser way to go? Been trying to find out comparable pricing in the area, with no luck. My mom is 80 years old. She’s not in dire need of money, but certainly, this amount would be nice. I just need to know if this is a fair and good deal for her. Thanks.
The interest was in your dad’s name only? If so, did he have a will? Have you thought about a lease or do you feel a sale is the way to go?
To Lisa Smith,
This is interesting. I have a mineral deed and property for 30 acres described as Section 24, 17N, 2W. I own another 40 acres without mineral deed in Section 24, 17N, 2W. I received a “form letter” recently from Arbuckle Mineral, OKC, interested in buying minerals. No amount was offered. I am not interested in selling land or minerals at this time, but I would consider leasing. No offers for that yet.
Barbara
They were in his name only, and yes, he did have a will. He left everything to my mother. We knew of some oil and gas leases because when he was alive, he would receive checks from them. Those that we knew about were transferred into my mom’s name. It’s these “new” ones we found out about that haven’t been transferred. My mom is 80 years old, so this money could help her now. The question is, do we just lease the land and hope she gets some royalties, or sell some of the parcels and get the lump sum now? It’s kind of like found money she didn’t know she had. I just don’t want her to get ripped off. I don’t know if these mineral rights are worth 5 times what they’re offering. It’s so confusing.
I looked in 17n-4w and found a pooling that ordered the Oil Co. to offer one of these options to lease in 23-17n-4w $850 for 1/8th, 750 for 3/16, 650 for 1/5th, or no cash and 1/4th. I am still looking at the others. Take your time and get the facts you have time, options and control.
Ron, since I’m new to all this, what you just said, is like a foreign language to me…not sure what it means, and if it pertains to our mineral rights 
Would you want to call me if I sent you my # in a friend request.
Generally speaking selling minerals are worth 3 times what leases are worth. A lease is a bonus plus a royalty of production…typically 3/16ths in this area. I’ve had stuff that was worth up to $10,000 per acre after they drilled a well because the income string was worth a lot more than when it wasn’t producing. I have seen minerals sell for up to $3000 an acre in the right area in Logan. $1500 is a good starting point though, always always counter offer, but be prepared for them to say yes to your counter.
Devon Energy is getting the paper work done to drill four wells in 18n-2w.
So I looked at how much he has in each Section. Maybe someone can tell me if what they offered is fair. They’ve offered $1,450 an acre in Section 24, Township 17N, Range 2W = 1.25 acres, he has 1/32nds interest - their offer $1,812.5. Section 17, Township 17N, Range 4W = 20 acres, he has 1/4 interest - their offer = $29,000. Section 24, Township 18N, Range 2W = 11 acres, he has 1/4 interest - their offer = $15,950. I’m just looking for a fair deal for my mom. Thanks.
There is not much going on in Township 17N, Range 2W, but Township 18N, Range 2W and Township 17N, Range 4W have just started having some horizontal wells drilled in them, so you might be rushing things. So are these minerals already leased?
Lisa, if I were you, I would not sell (not unless your mother really needs the money). There is just too much going on in Logan at this time, like the Mississippi Lime, etc. Normally, if a company is wanting your minerals, they are banking on making a considerable profit! I was just offered $2,800 per acre.
I would start by getting the deeds in your mother’s name first, and you can do so by filing an affidavit. It shouldn’t be that involved if your dad’s estate had a will and it’s already been probated. In fact, the attorney who did the probate should have taken care of this for your mother, but if not, I would hesitate paying this Tommy Ogden any money, especially $4K, and instead, retain an attorney to handle this for you!
Another idea is after you get the minerals recorded into your mother’s name and to save you some problems down the road, see if your mother would consider quitclaiming you and your siblings’ names onto the mineral deed as joint tenants. That way, when she passes, the minerals immediately pass to you and your siblings! Sometimes this is a difficult matter to approach, but often it prevents a lot of headaches and costs later!
Thank you to everyone for your help, I really, really appreciate all the comments and advice.
Lisa, there are some people on this site that buy minerals. I would suggest you list them in the appropriate place in listings to see what offers you get. It might be a quick way to see if you have a lowball offer. Buyers may even reply to this thread. From what Mr. McKenzie is saying, I don’t think I would be in a hurry to sell, but it couldn’t hurt to learn more about what other people value the acres at.
Thank you for that. I am definitely going slow on this whole thing and consulting with a lawyer. Are you saying that some people on this site are here to take advantage and not really on the up and up? I’m sure that’s the case in some instances, which is unfortunate, especially when people come to this site seeking help. I’ve gotten some good advice so far, like yourself, thank you.
Lisa, there are people who come here just to find unsophisticated mineral owners. Usually, they offer unsolicited to lease or buy someone’s minerals without giving an amount. These people are usually easy to identify by clicking on their avatar where their picture would go and looking at their home page and seeing that they are here to do nothing but solicit mineral owners and have contributed no content. There are others who are regular contributors here who have made comments that they would beat an offer by $100 an acre and sometimes that they paid $500 an acre more than what someone said they received for acres in a certain area. Their posts qualify as content because they actually set a price in a thread about the going rates for leasing or sales in a certain area. I won’t mention the names of the two I have in mind because I don’t want to seem to be slighting anyone because I didn’t mention them also. I think the title of your thread gives enough latitude that if someone made you an offer it would not be out of place, but I think you would be better off offering your acres under listings.