In our State of the Mineral Owner survey, we asked Mineral Owners, "In retrospect, if you could have done one thing differently during your leasing process, what would it have been?" The survey participants had 6 answers to select from
So how did the participants answer? See below:
So there you are. On this question, royalty deductions make an infamous appearance as the selection for nearly 25% of survey participants.
There were also some common themes for those who selected "Other." They tended to drop into 4 categories:
1) Nothing/Satisfied
2) Acquired legal representation or professional guidance
3) Did not go through the traditional leasing process due to inherited mineral rights or force pooled
4) An addition of a pugh clause to the contract
And my personal favorite, "Joined GoHaynesvilleShale.com."
Stay tuned in as we continue to share this interesting data.
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Permalink Reply by William Simmons on 
Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on Sometimes you don't have a choice of lease offers to accept. Then it becomes a matter of whether you can get satisfactory terms under the prevailing circumstances. Those terms should anticipate the possibility of a lease being assigned, in whole or in part, to other parties as that is a very common occurrence. All parties who obtain development rights by assignment are bound by the terms of the lease. Take the time to get the best terms possible for your specific situation by seeking qualified professional assistance.
There are some companies a sane person would not voluntarily do business with. The law as written can put you in business with these shysters. While they may be bound by law to honor a lease somebody else acquired, it may fall on the landowner to enforce the lease if an unscrupulous party becomes the named operator. But ultimately, in Louisiana at least, the law as written is simply an evil necessity of the O&G business, bound to cause problems.
Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on In LA one always has the option to go non-consent. I would prefer to be leased. For all the possible exposure to unscrupulous parties and evil necessities, it is the better option for most mineral owners IMO.
Permalink Reply by Henry on Yes, they buy and sell. My parents signed a lease 50 years ago, and it is on something like the 6th operator now.
A funny story.... I signed a lease with BHP a while back. Although he was polite about it, the BHP landman let it be known that he thought I was way overly meticulous on the wording of certain parts of the addendum. Then, I said, "Look, you never know who may own this lease one day. Chesapeake may end up buying it from you." He then immediately understood where I was coming from, and began to work with me to get the exact language I wanted.
Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on You've learned well, Henry. A lot of energy companies active in the areas we regularly discuss must perform their day to day business in a climate of suspicion and anger because one company pushes the bounds of ethical behavior.
Permalink Reply by Keith Mauck (Site Publisher) on LOL
The History of GoHaynesvilleShale.com
GoHaynesvilleShale.com (GHS) was launched in 2008 during a pivotal moment in the energy industry, when the Haynesville Shale formation—a massive natural gas reserve lying beneath parts of northwest Louisiana, east Texas, and southwest Arkansas—was beginning to attract national attention. The website was the brainchild of Keith Mauck, a landowner and entrepreneur who recognized a pressing need: landowners in the region had little access to…
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