Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Helen T. Lambie on September 17, 2012 at 12:42pm

Do you know if $3250 is still the average signing bonus in Tyler County? We were originally offered $2500. A lawyer is negotiating for $3000, but that sounds low to me.
Thank you or your input!

Permalink Reply by John Dewey Polt on September 17, 2012 at 1:22pm

Hello Helen,

If you are not a member of a group, I think $3,000 per acre is a fair offer. I believe $2,500 per acre is the going offer for smaller acreage. Please check with other landowners. 

My group has an offer on the table, but I am not able to say what the offer is at this time. 

Dewey

Permalink Reply by Leo S on October 26, 2012 at 11:24am

Hello,

I currently have a lease with a company, Montani Energy, who is also Haught Energy, who is also Top Drilling.  They are based in the Clarksburg area, I believe.  The current lease expires in 2013 and does not allow for any pooling.  Montani Energy has asked if we would consider a new lease to replace the existing lease. In considering this new lease, I had some questions and wondered what others think regarding this matter.  Here are some of the items I am thinking about.

1. Does anyone else have experience dealing with this company?  Are their experiences positive? For our current lease, we chose them because they are local to the area, but I want to better understand if anyone has experience or feedback relative to their business and their work
2. When they do the lease, they sign it under Montani Energy, but do drilling under Haught Energy.  Why do they want to do that and add complexities for us to deal with?  Is there a pre-caution we must worry about?
3. The current lease does not allow pooling and Montani wants to have pooling.  Should we be able to ask for current lease rates, such as 18% royalty?  Our current lease receives 15% royalty.  Should we ask for the $2500, $2750, $3000, or $3250 per acre numbers I am seeing for our 90 acres?
4. In general, are the royalties higher if you do not pool, versus if you do pool?  Are there studies that provide statistical data for this question?
5. Is there a difference between the terms 'all monies received' and 'gross'?  I think all monies received allows for the ability to enhance the minerals before they are sold, which in effect would be a good thing to do.  Is this right?
6. The new lease would be a sub-surface lease only.  One benefit for us is that our surface is not disturbed.  However, we also own another 134 for which we do not own the mineral rights.  Is it possible that we could sign a sub-surface lease for our 90 acres, but then learn that the drilling platform would be placed on our 134 acres parcel?  Or could it be placed on a neighboring property that is on our border?  This seems it could defeat the purpose of the sub-surface lease. Is there a way to see what the planned pooling map is going to be?  Is there the ability to add terms to ensure the platform is not placed within a certain distance of our property, even though the platform is on another?
7. For tax considerations, and also for income planning purposes, it is better to receive a lump sum payment or is it an acceptable option to receive the payments in monthly form across, say, 60 months? What do people do to help avoid the large tax hit?
8. Are there other considerations for which we need to be aware?

 

Thank you in advance for thoughts you might have to help us?

Leo

Permalink Reply by Mark Allen on November 3, 2012 at 10:21am

leo-

1st off-what legal team are u working with?   u need to sit down with a good gas and oil attorney, who is not working for the leasee's but who will represent u the lessor.

2nd-have u contacted a finance expert, investment guru or even a CPA?...IF NOT u need too today.

3rd-u can ask 4 whatever u want, the problem is that u will not get all of it, but u must know the current market in the tax district in which your mineral interest lies,do not be greedy, nor be unreasonable, be able to compromise and able to communicate professionally.

4th-search the data, call upon your local reps and professionals, network with your neighbors.

Good luck.  

Permalink Reply by Leo S on November 7, 2012 at 8:51am

Thank you Mark,

I do plan to use an attorney and CPA.  Before I do and encounter the expense for their services I wanted to have as good an understanding of as many of the considerations as possible.  If I pay $500, $1000, $1500, or more for each lease I receive, and I can receive a couple dozen leases, that is a signicant expense for which I risk receiving no contract.  I think I want to try to have some degree of confidence that the lease and company I am working with will result in an acceptable contract before I begin to pay expenses for everyone's services.  The items I asked about in my post are not new and I wanted to see if people can share their experiences and provide some insight on them.  As an example, my neighbor has been negotiating with his lawyer going into the third month on a contract, but now may not get a signed lease because the gas company is not having success in leasing the surrounding lands. If this happens a dozen times, that is a significant cost burden to bear.  I have thought about making the gas companies agree to pay my lawyer fee before any discussions begin, to help ensure the gas companies are serious in their dealings with me.

Permalink Reply by DSFS on November 13, 2012 at 11:52am

Do you have a phone # for Haught Energy?  Thanks

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