Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Charles E. Woodard on August 23, 2010 at 11:52

Hey,
Dot is my sister and it does get confusing for us... We are trying to find out exactly what wells, from your knowledge, will we be receiving royalties on? Will it be only the two now producing?

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Permalink Reply by Charles E. Woodard on August 23, 2010 at 14:34

Hey I went to SONRIS and wrote down any well that was showing anything connected to section34. I went to Red River and Bienville Parish and found numerous wells that are showing production since 1968... The problem is I know my family hasn't received anything on these wells and I have concerns? This land has been in my family for years.. I know that some of these wells maybe physically in the section and producing in another section but there are a lot of wells that are showing in section 3 but showing up as a section 34 well? Confused and concerned...

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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on August 23, 2010 at 16:55

Charles, only Section 34 in T15N-R9W is relevant as I believe that is where your land is located.

Sonris shows only two wells currently producing in that Section 34 (T15N-R9W).

Serial #235217 has been producing from the CV RB SUBB unit since June 2007

Serial #239653 has been producing from the HA RA SU62 unit since October 2009

Serial #241203 was just spud in July.

Permalink Reply by carolyn johnston on August 22, 2010 at 6:09

Is Sonris only for Louisiana? Is there a similar website for Texas?

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Permalink Reply by Les Bamburg on August 22, 2010 at 6:22

Carolyn, yes Sonris is only for Louisiana. The Texas Railroad Commision (TRRC) has a similar site for the State of Texas.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on August 22, 2010 at 8:23

dot, the majority of units are governmental sections a mile square and ~640 acres. An operator may apply for a unit of a greater size if they so choose and the state may approve that application if they believe that there is a valid reason for the larger unit. There are 36 sections in a township and the major operators attempt to get as many as possible in a continuous lease block as this makes it more efficient to develop the supporting infrastructure. When you look at a well file on SONRIS Lite, the well name will give the unit designation if there is an existing unit for that section. It will look like ..... HA RA SUA and then the well name Joe Blow 13H. So use SONRIS Lite to find the well or wells in your section and see if they have a unit designation.

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Permalink Reply by Mac Davis on August 22, 2010 at 12:32

This description is mostly about Louisiana, but other states have something similar:

Dot, a "unit" is a collection of minerals that is treated as one "chunk" of minerals jointly owned by multiple people. When the minerals are exploited, the proceeds are divided to the owners according to a formula.

A unit will usually specify a geographical area, what minerals are involved, and something about the depth and type of rock formation it covers. One piece of land can have multiple units for different minerals. One for "Hanyesville shale" formations, one for "Cotton Valley" formations, and units for other depths and minerals. The units may be different sizes and have different boundaries.

For Haynesville shale, the formations are usually aligned along PLSS sections that are one mile square.

Some other formations may not be unitized in the same way. Some wells may not be unitized at all if one person or group owns all the minerals that the well will drain.

In some places, there are problems with PLSS sections. Along the state border, there are partial sections that aren't squares. Some areas have obstructions such as geological fault lines, bodies of water, etc. Some areas of Louisiana land were divided up and surveyed before PLSS came into effect or for other reasons and won't be 1 mile squares. Sometimes there are uncooperative or powerful mineral owners who won't go along with the operator's plans.

In these cases, a unit may be formed that's not a 1 mile square.

In theory (and according to law) a unit should be an area that can be "efficiently and economically drained by a one well." The operating companies and the state government have decided to ignore the law and form one square mile Haynesville units which actually require 8 wells to drain the unit. While this is clearly illegal, it seems that nothing is likely to be done about it. It's not necessarily a ripoff of the landowners, and even benefits landowners in some senses. The system in Texas is MUCH worse.

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Permalink Reply by dot holloway on September 7, 2010 at 5:13

How do we know which wells are unitized?

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on August 24, 2010 at 12:08

TD,P, are you equating "feeling the kick" with communication between fracture zones? Sorry, I'm just unclear as to the proof of communication where there was only one well being fraced. I am familiar with operators utilizing down hole geophones in surrounding wells to monitor frac propagation in a well being pumped.

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Permalink Reply by Two Dogs, Pirate on August 24, 2010 at 12:27

Skip you are better at finding stuff on the site, and this isn't fresh in my memory but I did post can't remember if it was under someone else post are a separate one. I remember the rig hand telling me that they were told that the "communication was not supposed to happen but that it did and that they felt it on both rigs".

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on August 24, 2010 at 12:55

TD,P, I believe you and don't need to look up the actual post. I'm just trying to make sure I understand how the fracture zone of one well is registered in the wellbore of another. I'm sure the seismic wave is registered but is that the same as the fracture zone. I think not as the seismic waves would be transmitted much further than the fractures induced by the hydraulic stimulation. Sounds like we need some help with this discussion. Maybe we'll get some of the members with greater operating experience than a couple of old landmen.

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Permalink Reply by Two Dogs, Pirate on August 24, 2010 at 13:00

Skip, he said they got stuck down hole because of it, so I assume that it was pressure from the frac. Damn I wish that I would have worked on a drilling rig for a while when I was young.

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