Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant 16 hours ago

Lawrence, is Expand offering a new lease?  Was your prior lease a good one beneficial for you?  A little more information would be a step in the right direction for an informed answer.  If Expand didn't think your lease expired, there would be no need to pay you a bonus.  This is exactly the type of situation that is worth spending $300 or $400 for the services of an experienced O&G attorney.

No offense but there is no such thing as "a going rate".  Each instance is different and unique.  Your question on bonus brings up a number of other questions.  And if Expand is offering a lease, the bonus is the least important term in that contract especially considering your location in 30-12N-13W.  You only have that very low production well and Expand will likely drill nine (9) more wells in the future.  The bonus is chicken feed.   The royalty and other lease terms are where the serious long term revenue comes in.

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Permalink Reply by Lawrence Silver 16 hours ago

I really don't know what it going on. The last production on that well was in April of 2025. A landman called and said Exapand wanted to "rework" the one well in that section and wanted to give me $500 an acre for the "rework." It sounds like it won't be completed until after April 2026, so they are protecting their lease. Expand has asked for a hearing to drill a well that will extend 3 miles through Sections 30, 31, 25, and 36 in the Spider Field. I have acreage in all of them. I have just never had someone come and offer me money when they were going to rework a well.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant 16 hours ago

Lawrence I don't know what's going on either and that's why I think the best move is to get help.  How do you know the last production was April?  Did you check the SONRIS database?  Or was that just the last royalty payment you received?  This raises a red flag for me.  Take your time, get as much information as possible and consider investing a little money with a good attorney that has had dealings with Expand.  The landman will never ever tell you everything you should know.

The Section 30 well has not met the production in paying quantities test since 2022.  That is why Expand is now trying to get mineral owners to enter a new lease or declare that their old lease is still in force.  Be very careful here.  There could be a lot of money at stake.

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Permalink Reply by Lawrence Silver 16 hours ago

I sold some of my minerals and had to get a revenue statement. The last production was on my June 30 statement, and none since then. I have an experienced O&G attorney in Shreveport, and I will definitely send him the paperwork when I receive it. I had just never heard of this and thought someone else might have been through it.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant 11 hours ago

Good deal.  I'd like to hear what your attorney has to say.  This is a raising a red flag with me.

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Permalink Reply by Quattro 10 minutes ago

Could this be a payment for some surface access they need?

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant 4 minutes ago

I hope to hear more detail from Lawrence but if this is related to surface use it is far below what it is worth.  When lease terms allow for surface use they often state $5,000 an acre.  That's usually less than what the use is worth and in some cases far less.  Other than the money compensation, there is another major issue.  Where is that surface use located?  A lessee will put it where they want it and is cheapest to build out.  That can hamper if not ruin a tract for other future uses.  I usually advise a mineral owner to require a no surface use clause in the lease.  If they  would consider surface use, I tell them to make that clear to the landman.  Then the land/mineral owner is in charge of location and compensation.  They can negotiate how their surface will be used and preserve the tract for other potential uses.

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