I was so happy to find this forum. I have inherited mineral rights from an old family farm in Payne County but no longer have relatives in the area. I had leased this two years ago for $150/acre with a 3/18ths royalty for 3 years and now the Lessee, Crown Energy, would like to renew.
Here are my questions:
Is this a fair rate at this point - another poster mentioned an offer of $4K an acre nearby - that's a big difference!
If I don't renew what is the likelihood that they will drill anyway, but from a nearby lease?
Is there a place online that i can locate these townships, etc on a map. It's been surprisingly difficult to find.
Other members of my family - cousins and sisters - have smaller rights adjacent to mine - is it worth pooling our resources? (their interests are a fraction of mine, but i would like us all to benefit)
Is there something i should know about activity in the area?
Thanks for helping me out! What a wonderful resource!
In Payne Co., I've been offered $930 3/16th 3 yrs, $400 1/4th 3 yrs, and $250 1/4th 3 yrs. to lease minerals and was offered $3900 to buy my minerals, but I never sell minerals. Be sure you know the difference in a lease and a bill of sale. The activity is shale oil and gas horizontal drilling which is occurring all across the US. Some areas are being developed before others, so you may have to wait a year or so to get the best lease offers. There are many more wells to be drilled.
You can have an Oklahoma attorney prepare and file Quit Claim Deeds to share your interests or combine all minerals into a family trust or partnership. Quit Claim will be far less expensive for small mineral interests.
Thanks so much for sharing that. I am talking about leases. And for the maps. If they drill in my section and i don't sign a lease will they have to pay me anyway at the rate they have negotiated from the owner of the land on which they are drilling? Not sure how this works.
NG, OK has forced pooling. “Forced Pooling” means that under Oklahoma law if the oil company cannot successfully get all the owners within the unit to agree, the oil company can apply to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to have those people or other oil companies who have not agreed to lease, force pooled into the unit. Those who are forced pooled will receive a notice of forced pooling and then the actual pooling order which contains elections they can choose from. For example: 1st election $800 per acre bonus 3/16th royalty, 2nd election $600 per acre bonus 1/8th royalty 3rd election zero bonus per acre 1/4th royalty. If they don't make an election and return the paperwork to the OCC within the 20 calendar days after they receive the pooling order the OCC will make the election for them which is usually the higher bonus amount with lower royalty amount. Go to the top of this page and read everything under Mineral Help. For example:
NG, Don't get in a hurry to lease. Read, learn, ask questions and wait until you understand leasing and how to get the best bonus and royalty interest. Usually, your first offers will not be your best. Some people offer to lease ahead of the operators who do the drilling then they turn the leases and make a profit. It's very important to know who you are leasing to and what they will do with the lease. However, your lease document is of the up most importance. Don't sign anything until you fully understand what you are signing.
Thanks to everyone for the information. I've really been diving down into this subject to educate myself. The resources posted here have been enormously helpful.
That said, I have a really basic question: my sisters and I have inherited perhaps 40 mineral leases from my mother. We have no idea what to do with them. What are the first steps we should take? Do we register them somewhere and how? I have cousins all over the country that have the same question. We don't know what to do with our inherited mineral rights. Secondly, what is the advantage of a quit claim deed and pooling our mineral rights together?