AboutFrederick M. Scott CMM RPL Expertise I can answer questions about oil and gas leasing, and give suggestions on negotiating a good oil and gas lease and how to best deal with oil companies or their representatives. I can answer questions about buying and selling oil and gas royalty or mineral rights. I can help with questions concerning forced-pooling, correlative rights, deeds and conveyances, and "post-production" costs. I am most experienced with Oklahoma properties and laws, but am able to answer questions concerning other oil and gas producing states in many cases.
Experience I am a Certified Professional Mineral Manager (CMM) (certified by the National Association of Royalty Owners in Tulsa, OK) and have managed my own oil and gas properties in Oklahoma for over 10 years. I have dealt with many landmen, attorneys, and other oil and gas professionals in the course of doing so. I am also a member of several professional associations and have written articles of interest to royalty owners which have appeared in several industry publications. I have prepared deeds, title work, and done curative for my own minerals; and have acquired a good deal of knowledge on the subject of oil and gas law and landwork in general in the process. I am the owner of Timbercreek Mineral Company, LLC; which was formed as a vehicle to manage family mineral interests, and as a way to facilitate the buying and selling of oil and gas interests for other people.
Organizations NARO, NADOA, AAPL
Publications National Association of Royalty Owners "Action Report" (ROAR); NADOA Magazine, Landman Magazine, and several royalty owner association groups newsletters.
Question I am named heir of a property that was approached four years ago by an oil/gas company requesting a lease agreement.This has since expired. When the time comes for me to inherit the property, how may i begin to develop the gas resources.I live in Texas,the property is 1100 acres.
Answer James, I would first try to determine what's going on around the property. If there's some drilling activity, or leasing activity, then it's worth paying attention to. You could take a trip to the courthouse in the county where the minerals are located and look for recently filed leases near your minerals, then contact the companies (if they haven't contacted you) and ask if they'd like to lease your minerals.
Most of the time you will not have to search for someone to lease your minerals from you. Usually, they will contact you if they are interested. This assumes of course that they can find you. You should be certain that your name and contact info are filed in the courthouse land records so that you are easy to find when the time comes. After you actually inherit the property, you may want to file an Affidavit of Heirship in the county where the minerals are located.
If you actually own the minerals, then you of course have the right to drill them yourself should you desire. Most mineral owners however would rather lease that right to an oil company due to the costs involved in drilling your own well. I'm assuming that's what you'd intend to do as well.
I guess my first step in getting these leased would be to contact the company who leased them before and see if they're interested. If not, perhaps they know someone who is, or at least could tell you what's going on in the area.
The Texas Railroad Commission is another good source for information about oil and gas activity in all areas of Texas. They have a website as well, which is free to use.
