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Permalink Reply by LN on May 22, 2013 at 11:23

My family and I want to know about this company.  Who are they and what do they do?  They told me that they work for CHK.

TIA.

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Permalink Reply by ELLIS HUGH on May 22, 2013 at 11:29

Well... Red River Land Services is a Land Service brokerage company.  They have an office in Lafayette and a field office on Market Street (Shreveport).

Chesapeake is one of their clients. They acquire leases and perform other land related services on a contract basis. They are a legit company.

What else do you want to know?

-EH

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Permalink Reply by LN on May 23, 2013 at 3:17

We're just gathering information regarding them along with CHK O&G.

Have you dealt with them before?

TIA.

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Permalink Reply by LN on May 23, 2013 at 7:53

Thanks for responding ShaleGeo!

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Permalink Reply by ELLIS HUGH on May 23, 2013 at 9:58

I do not know any landmen at Red River Land Services or have I heard anything about them, good or bad.

-EH

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Permalink Reply by LN on May 23, 2013 at 10:02

t's interesting they were referred to as "wet behind the ears."

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Permalink Reply by ELLIS HUGH on May 23, 2013 at 10:13

Thing is, I could say the same about 1/2 dozen land companies (just that I know personally). If you feel the landman you are working with is incompetent/inexperienced/unprofessional you could request to deal directly with his superior/project manager.

It's pretty common for a Land Service Company to have seasoned guys running the projects and have the younger guys doing the leg work (being the middle man).

Ultimately, in my opinion, it comes down to whether or not you want CHK to own your lease.

-EH

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Permalink Reply by gary brannon on May 24, 2013 at 5:32

If you are crazy enough to sign with these guys at least give the lease to a reputable oil and gas experienced attorney.  

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Permalink Reply by LN on May 24, 2013 at 7:58

Hi Gary,

Why do you call them crazy? 

TIA.

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Permalink Reply by LN on May 24, 2013 at 15:17

Hey Gary,

Please re-send your reply to me.  I wasn't able to open it up.  

Thanks again.

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Permalink Reply by Henry on May 25, 2013 at 0:23

LN,

I think what Gary Brannon is referring to is the way CHK takes deductions from the landowner's royalties for things like transportation, marketing, compression, dehydration, etc.  It appears that CHK has created its own gathering system in the Haynesville Shale, and that they sell all of the gas they drill into their own gathering lines.  The companies that own the gathering system are subsidiaries and/or affiliates of CHK.  These companies seem to charge above-average fees for transportation, marketing, compression, and dehydration, and these fees are passed onto the landowner.  Many CHK lessors on this site report fees of up to $1.00/mcf being deducted from their royalties.  Other companies appear to deduct far less than that.  CHK can pay those high fees to the gathering-line companies because it just goes from one side of the company to the other.  

There are lawsuits going on over these issues, but I have no idea if any of them have come to a resolution.  

So you are warned:  If you sign a lease with CHK, you are at risk of these deductions. A good addendum, drawn up by a competent O&G attorney may help prevent this.

Last warning:  Even if you sign with one company, remember that your lease can be assigned to another company.  In my case, one lease my parents' had was sold half a dozen times, and now is in the hands of CHK.  So get a good addendum, even if you think the company you are signing with is more reasonable.  You never know who will ultimately hold your lease. 

Permalink Reply by LN on May 25, 2013 at 5:13

Henry, thank you for this incredible piece of information.  It will be most beneficial to my family and I.

Our concern is that in 2009, I was contacted by our church secretary who informed me that an Oil & Gas Co. wanted to speak to me regarding land that my mother had left to me.  She gave me the land man's name and phone number. As of now,  I choose to keep his name anonymous.  The secretary was very excited telling me that this person told her that I was a "very rich woman."  (She still remembers the conversation she had with him and told several of my church members).  Anyway, when I called this person, he told me that this Oil & Gas Co. had been looking for the heirs that were tied to this land.  They had searched all over the country but were not able to find anyone who could prove that they were legal heirs.  This Oil & Gas employee mentioned a person who claimed to have a will, but it was proven to be false.  I was their last hope.  When I asked him how he located me, he said that someone gave him  a copy of my mother's funeral obituary with my church's name, address, and phone number listed on it.  

Because I knew nothing about the oil & gas business, I began to do research about it.  When I read countless horror stories about what had happened to some of the landowners, I told him that I would not sign a lease because I needed an attorney to help me to understand what I was doing.  My contact with this oil & gas employee and  his co-workers  went on for several months.  I have the phone records and email messages to prove it. They even went so far as to file my birth certificate and my mother's death certificate in the Clerk of Courts!   Anyway, this company mailed to me,via FED EX, a lease agreement in 2009.  I still refused to sign until I hired an attorney.

Imagine my surprise when someone alerted me that in 2010, that this O & G Co. had entered into a Lease Agreement with the very folk that this  O & G Co. told me in 2009 had submitted "bogus" info. and were not legal heirs and had no will at all!!!  This O & G employee's name also appears on this 2010 Lease Agreement!  It also came out during court testimony that this O & G employee was in the room giving advice to  the fraudulent folk during the LA signing!  How can this O & G Co. say that they entered into the LA unaware that these folk were dishonest when it can be proven otherwise?  They were the ones who notified me that they were not tied to the land.  That's why this O & G Co. searched so diligently to find me because I had proven my legal claim.  (Even the Judge who presided over the case commented on the timing of locating this "will" after many years). The relative died in 1997, but her "will" was not discovered until 2009?

So, we did not enter into a LA with this O & G Co.  They entered into it with the very folk that they told us (one year previously),  were not tied to the property at all!

So, we're asking about Red River Land Services because they told us that they work for ? O & G.

This is a big mess, Lord willing, my family and I will get it untangled.  We've already instructed our younger relatives what's going on and they are to continue to get this ironed out in the event of our death.

But, I just want to take the time to thank ALL of you for your help and encouragement.  We've learned so much valuable information from this site.  It has helped us to keep out attorney fees at affordable costs. 

(Please excuse the bad grammar, am in a hurry to go somewhere).

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