Finding Mineral Rights

My brothers and I inherited the C-Johnson A-19 survey. However, we only found out about it when a land man called us out of the blue to inform us of a land grab on property owned by the late Mr. E.B. Mott, our grandfather. A petroleum company claimed with the court they could find no living relatives, so were going to just take it.

We were fortunate enough to make our own filings in time!

The million dollar question is, how do we find out if we have other mineral right surveys from Mr. E.B. Mott we don't know about?

I do know my grandmother, Mrs. Mott, once received royalty checks from an oil well in the Zavalla area... I think I recall seeing the M & M company name on a check sent to her but that name might be wrong. I believe the well was capped at some point in the 60s or 70s.

My brothers and I hope to uncover that and any other mineral rights should they still exist.

Assistance in pointing us in the right direction would really be appreciated.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on August 18, 2014 at 2:51

Lance, your situation is quite common.  Since mineral rights may be severed from the surface ownership in perpetuity in Texas there are tens if not hundreds of thousands, of individuals who own small interests in E TX tracts.  It is often a very difficult process to track down heirs especially if probate conveyances have not been kept up over the years or have not been filed in the jurisdiction where the mineral interest is located.  Companies often fail to track down heirs if there is not a complete paper trail to follow.  And the cost to track down someone who owns a small fraction of an acre can be significant. The state has a set process that a company must follow to attempt to locate owners but when they fail, which they often do, the last step is that ad in the local newspaper.

Before you incur any expense in your effort, consider this.  An Oil, Gas & Mineral lease will give a legal description of a tract and an acreage total.  You own some portion of the whole quite likely a very small ownership interest.  The easiest means to calculate what the company offering the lease thinks that you own is to take the amount of your bonus check and divide it by the amount per acre that the lessee is paying.  You can call the company if you don't remember the per acre amount.  If your lease bonus is $1000 and the company is paying $2000 per acre then they would have calculated that you own half an acre.  Except in rare instances ownership interests passed down through multiple generations will get divided so many times that owners such as yourself who didn't know that they owned anything before being approached by a landman own very small fractions of the master tract.  It can cost a lot to unravel and document your mineral ownership in E TX only to find out you own half an acre here and a quarter acre there.  Of course you never know until you perform the search.

Permalink Reply by jffree1 on August 18, 2014 at 4:21

Lance,

Candler Johnson Survey, A-19 is a Spanish Land Grant which is 4428.0 acres. BBX has filed a permit for a tract well which means it is unpooled/non-unitized. The plat is attached and it looks, to me, like they intend to hold the entire 4428.0 acres with that well.

You said "My brothers and I inherited the C-Johnson A-19 survey." which would lead one to think you inherited the entire 4428.0 acres. If that is so, then, you have no issue with this permit. If, on the other hand, you own a fractional interest in the minerals in this survey then you might want to contact BBX and let them know of your ownership interest.

BBX Operating, L.L.C.

3698 Ranch Road 620 South, Suite 113

Bee Caves, Texas 78738

512-263-9212

W-1 page At the bottom of this page there is a "Contact" link. You can use that to access the permitting dept. at RRC if you need to.

Attachments:
Permalink Reply by jffree1 on August 18, 2014 at 4:28

I'm sending you a friend request so we can talk about your possible other mineral interests in private if you like.

Permalink Reply by Curious Will on August 18, 2014 at 5:49

You also might want to check with the state of Texas to see if any checks are being held for the family which might point to royalty interest which could point to mineral rights also.

Below is from the Texas railroad commission-

Who should I contact about unclaimed royalties or other oil and gas proceeds?

If you have a question about unclaimed royalties or other oil and gas proceeds, you should contact the Comptroller of Public Accounts. The Comptroller operates and maintains the Unclaimed Property Fund and they have listings of unclaimed property by owner name. The staff will help you research particular names and the property involved. That address is:

Comptroller of Public Accounts
Unclaimed Property Division
P.O. Box 12019
Austin, Texas 78711-2019

(512) 463-3040 or (800 531-5441
(800) 321-2274 (out-of-state)

The Comptroller of Public Accounts is located at 111 E. 17th St., Austin, Texas 78701.
A person who tells a potential claimant about property that is reportable to the Comptroller or that is in the possession of the Comptroller may not charge a finders' fee which exceeds 10 percent of the value of the property. If the property is mineral proceeds, the fee may not include a portion of the underlying minerals or any production payment, overriding royalty, or similar payment. Tex. Prop. Code Ann. '74.507. (Please note that as of September 1, 1996, the duties of the State Treasurer were transferred to the Comptroller of Public Accounts.)

Permalink Reply by Edward Peter Miesch on August 22, 2014 at 8:14

If you know the county or counties involved, it might be worth contacting a land man to run a quick title search on the name of your grandfather in the counties of interest.

You had a reply from one land man. 
Another Good Land Man that I have used is Jeffrey Manuppelli in
San Antonio.  His Cell is 210-862-6618.

Permalink Reply by Ron C on August 22, 2014 at 10:56

Thanks for the info, Curious Will. My family has a similar situation. My grandfather bought up mineral right shares in the 1940s in E Texas, Louisiana and, apparently Mississippi and Arkansas, but we've never been able to track them down. Do other states have a similar comptroller to contact?

Permalink Reply by Edward Peter Miesch on August 22, 2014 at 11:26

I am not familiar with Mississippi, but in Louisiana, you can't keep the minerals but for 10 years after you dispose of the property unless it is maintained by production.  After 10 years of no production, the minerals revert to the land owner in Louisiana.

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on August 22, 2014 at 11:31

A LA mineral servitude may also be maintained by good faith attempts to produce.  Every time a well is drilled, the 10 year prescription begins again from day one.  Ten years without production, or a good faith attempt to drill a well, will result in the servitude prescribing.  It is common practice for owners of large mineral servitudes, such as timber companies, to drill wells to maintain their mineral rights.

Permalink Reply by Edward Peter Miesch on August 22, 2014 at 14:22

Thanks Skip.  That is interesting information that I did not know.  I don't have any minerals in Louisiana, but i lived there for about 10 years.

 

Pete

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on August 22, 2014 at 14:28

You're welcome, Edward.  The mineral servitude prescription statutes and those covering unleased mineral interests (UMI) force pooled in a compulsory drilling & production unit set LA apart from other states.  Much to the benefit of LA mineral owners.

Permalink Reply by Ed on August 28, 2014 at 4:42

The Mississippi State Treasurer's office handles unclaimed property.

http://www.treasurerlynnfitch.com/

Permalink Reply by Jackie Root on August 22, 2014 at 8:21

You are just in time to join the National Association of Royalty Owners www.naro-us.org and come to the national convention in Albuquerque in October. This is an excellent opportunity to network with other royalty owners across the country, many of which have already gone through what you are experiencing. I think you will find others willing to share resources and their personal experience in seeking lost minerals. We also have resources within the state chapters. Jackie

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