Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by M. Mcwilliams on August 25, 2008 at 13:53

Ah, thanks, I never saw the disclaimer - should have looked. I figured as much, just as the parish clerks' web sites are not the official records.

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Permalink Reply by alleyboy on August 26, 2008 at 8:29

I want to find out if a large part of section3 17n15w is leased and can I get a copy of the lease thanks

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Permalink Reply by Margaret Wren on August 26, 2008 at 8:34

you can get a copy of any lease at the courthouse you need the persons name that is on the lease.

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Permalink Reply by barneyfife on August 26, 2008 at 9:22

No, you cannot rely on Sonris. You may have to look at the actual well file to see what work or recompletion attempts have been made. A gap in production may not be enough to determine if a lease has expired. Itmay also be necessary to talk with the operator and actually visit the well site. If the well head or pipe has been removed, the production has ceased. Also be aware that some operators will report 1 barrell a month of production in an attempt to hold a lease or in the case of a gas well, 10 mcf. A well may show to be productive when its not.

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Permalink Reply by Liz Cb2 on August 26, 2008 at 9:51

That bursts my bubble. Then what good is Sonris if the information is not accurate? And how can the operators get away with reporting only one barrel per month to hold a lease? Is there no one who verifies all this information? The landowners in those units certainly have a right to know this information.

Sounds like business as usual in Louisiana.

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Permalink Reply by Natch N3 on August 26, 2008 at 9:55

you would think that there would be some accountability wouldn't you, i mean after all the taxpayers are who pay for the sonris site anyway, right?

what a joke.

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Permalink Reply by M. Mcwilliams on August 26, 2008 at 10:05

To determine whether a mineral title is good, I seriously doubt that one would be held to knowledge of actual well logs or the declaration of an operator. There has to be a reliance on some public record, and that public record would be contained, I assume, in the actual paper or official computer files maintained at the Louisiana Dept. of Conservation office. In the "old days", you had to go to the offices and check their computer records, followed up by a check of their paper files. I guess that is the method to be used, still, to be absolutely certain.

It's really not that outrageous to allow a public office to provide that a certain method of maintaining files is the official public record. Entry into a computer database means that someone is taking the original information and entering it; there's room for error there. I understand that. I was hoping that Sonris might be put together in such a way that it would be considered reliable, but I can see reasons for it not to be.

It is one thing to say that Sonris is not to be relied upon to provide an opinion on a mineral title with certainty; it's another to say that people cannot rely on it to provide accurate information. That's the distinction I was making in my original question.

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