Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by P.G. on August 30, 2009 at 5:54

Are you expecting bonus money for NOT leasing?

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Permalink Reply by Mac Davis on August 30, 2009 at 6:45

The bonus money is an offer to buy some of your rights and property. If you don't accept it, the lease offer and bonus money is irrelevant.

If you get force pooled and drilled despite not being leased, any payments to you are made by the company operating the well from the proceeds from selling the gas.

There's not necessarily any legal relationship between the company offering the lease and the companies drilling and operating the well. I could offer you a lease and never reach any agreement with the operating company. If you signed, I'd still owe you the bonus money and royalty payments, and the operating company would owe me payments for minerals produced.

If I offer you $200,000 to buy your house and land, and you turn me down, what happens to the $200,000? There may not have ever even been a "real" $200,000 sitting around in a vault somewhere marked "Ethan Riggs." I would probably have been planning to get a loan to pay the $200,000.

(Slightly simplified.)

The O&G companies would claim that it's dangerous for random people to go to the well site and try to read the meter. They would also say that there would be potential for vandalism and other problems. There would also be potential problems because most wells are on private property. They wouldn't be entirely wrong.

I do think that there should be monitoring of production from a third party, either the government or someone contracted to the government, and paid by the production companies. There's probably some of this, but I think the LA government should take a more role in insuring that the public doesn't get shafted by the production companies. Right now, I think they behave a lot more like the court system. "We're not going to do anything unless you hire a lawyer, pay big bucks and present your evidence at a hearing."

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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on August 30, 2009 at 6:51

1) The bonus money is not paid.

2) No, there should not be a meter for public view. That is called trespassing and could be very dangerous.

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Permalink Reply by Parkdota on August 30, 2009 at 8:24

I agree with you, Les. I do have a question though...more out of curiosity than anything. If I own the minerals but sold the property, I would assume that I cannot go on the property without permission, right?

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Permalink Reply by Stevew on August 30, 2009 at 8:30

I totally agree there should be 3rd party monitoring and reporting for the HS wells. We are talking huge upfront costs and potiential profits and the gas is sucked out very quicky.

You can easily see the problem if lots of the public tries to go on someone's land to look at weird looking dials and numbers.

The bonus money is and should be gone - like it never existed. Those are the risk/rewards of life. Perhaps the UMI will come out on top in the long run. For me, leasing was the right thing to do. Although I have a college education I know very little about O&G.

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Permalink Reply by BirdDawg, plain ole' idiot on August 30, 2009 at 9:24

There is no bonus money if you do not accept the offer. And it is no one elses business where any money goes, they turned down the offer, pure and simple, they are out of the bonus deal. Like it or not, the only monitoring that is going to happen is the Louisiana Department of Conservation.
Production is reported to them, and mineral owners are supposed to get paid based on what is produced. As a mineral owner or any kind of owner in a unit, there could be serious consequenses if you go on the location, regardless of who gave you permission. Probably the actual landowner probably does not have this actual "right". And 95% of the people that want on the location would know little more when they left the location than when they got there.
Ethan, if you want the bonus money or any benefits from it, you have to sign a lease. You can not have your cake and eat it too.

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Permalink Reply by J.Shaler on August 30, 2009 at 12:03

It is possible that meter information could and should become data for a computer application. Interested parties could view it by registering for a password. If it isn't already done then attention all geeks....here is an idea for an I Phone application. Don't forget who told ya.

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Permalink Reply by Checkmateking on August 30, 2009 at 14:18

Interested parties could view it by registering for a password.

It is public information posted on SONRIS

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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on August 30, 2009 at 14:29

JS, some operators already provide access to electronic information but only to the unit mineral owners and/or royalty owners.

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Permalink Reply by Spring Branch,mineral owner on August 30, 2009 at 15:07

Les, are there any operators in the Haynesville that routinely do this? This is the first I've heard of this being made available to mineral/royalty owners.

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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on August 31, 2009 at 16:49

SB, most all the major operators appear to provide royalty owners with electronic access to their monthly payment details such as volume, price, deducts, etc. It does not appear that they offer daily access to the metered volume information.

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Permalink Reply by kittycatmama on August 30, 2009 at 15:09

Hey folks, I need help. On Sonris where do I go to find out who has applied to be an operator in a section. Thanks in advance

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