Honors,

Do not feel alone. We are all confused as to these "legal notices" that not only request pooling, but also request "depth changes for well-established drilling fields/zones, i.e. Lower Cotton Valley, etc.

Because no clear explanation has been setforth on this venue or in writing...as to the benefits...or possibly huge costs to mineral owners. For some specific reason...drilling companies are "specifically" requesting these changes....We Want To Know Why. And, it should not take a trip to Baton Rouge to find out the answer.
If all is benign and there is a good reason for these requests...other than "shafting" mineral owners out of their rightful due...then so be it. However, just the fact that the O&G and E&P community is staying so very, very quiet on this subject, makes me believe that these changes are not good for us. The O&G and E&P and "landboys" ALWAYS (ALWAYS) get their replies out here on this forum or on TigerDroppings.com The quiet per this subject is ominously suspect.

My apology to you for the quite explicit letter, but I tried to cover all the "shale" bases and got a little convoluted...as I am doing here. It boils down to this:

If depth ranges of oil and gas fields are routinely changed in these "legal notices" through the granting of same..."we" do not feel that this is good economic news for mineral owners, un-leased or leased. ONLY a clarification from the Office of Conservation, or some other official State office will be good enough to suffice for this matter to be clearly understood.

Thanks for your interest. As landowners, we need to question ALL aspects of our mineral rights. I hope to have some answers in the nearest future.

If you put your "ear to the shale ground," and hear something, please share. No one of us knows what bit of information could save the rest of us Thousands of Dollars over the next 20-40 years.

DrWAVeSport 7/19/08 Have a great Sunday.