MRP 296: Listener Questions August 2025

MRP 296: Listener Questions August 2025

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You are currently viewing MRP 292: Listener Questions July 2025

MRP 292: Listener Questions July 2025

In this month’s episode, we tackle eight detailed questions from mineral rights owners across the country, including Stephen, Tracy, Kathy, Caesura, Linda, Julie, Nancy, and Tim. The episode covers complex topics ranging from pooling versus allocation wells in Texas, when minerals are at their peak value, to strategies for avoiding common scams targeting mineral rights owners. We provide practical, actionable advice for both seasoned and new mineral rights owners navigating everything from lease negotiations to tax implications of inherited properties.

As before, many of the questions in this episode are covered in more depth in my Mineral Management Basics online course, including how to read a legal description, perform a title search, identify nearby oil and gas activity, and determine whether you should be getting paid on a well. 

Thanks again to everyone who left a review or who submitted a listener question!  If you have a question about your minerals or royalties, you can send it to feedback@mineralrightspodcast.com!

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Listener Question #1

Matt,

Thanks for all you do for mineral owners. Thanks to you I’ve joined NARO and taken your online course, and really educated myself. I’ve come into an issue with an operator in Tx, and have already started protesting via a letter from an attorney. Basically, an operator permitted a horizontal well that  included a tract I had leased to them. They filed the original permit in August of 2024 as a pooled unit. They amended the permit that October changing the acreage, which actually helped my interest in the well, but keeping it a pooled unit. Upon receiving division orders in December, I noticed that my net revenue interest was listed as .00225 instead of my calculated .00385. I asked the division order analyst about the discrepancy, and she said they were calculating it as an allocation well. The plat included tracts that did not have any wellbore passing through them. I brought this to their attention, mentioning that if those owners were getting paid based on acreage, then I wanted to be paid that way too. 3 weeks later, in early January 2025, they filed another amended permit, dropping all of those tracts from the plat, but still listing the drilling unit as pooled, including a certificate of pooling authority. The well has been producing since early November of 2024 (I visited the site), yet they have not filed a completion report. Do I have a legal argument to go after my net revenue interest as acreage in a pooled unit? It was my understanding that the purpose of an allocation well was to access minerals that cannot be pooled, or you have decided not to pool. How long can operators legally take to get their permits in order post completion? Can you actually drill an allocation well on a pooled unit? When changing calculations of revenue interest is a hearing in front of the RRC required? This will have a huge impact on my net revenue interest. 

Thanks for any help and advice, 

Stephen

Listener Question #2

Good afternoon, 

My dad just told me about [a scam related to his mineral rights]. Which he didn’t realize was a scam until I guess he realized it was… It was too late I guess… Is there anything he can do? 

He sent a notarized letter to the company which now he can’t get a hold of. Can you shed any light on this?

Thank you

Tracy

Listener Question #3

Hi, Matt.

I am a mineral owner. Looking for a pathway to eliminate post production costs as stated in my lease that have been charged since the inception of my royalty payments.

Smiles, 

Cathy

Listener Question #4

Greetings Matt and Justin!

As a longtime listener of the Mineral Rights podcast (ever since 2023) I have greatly appreciated your insights on so many facets of mineral ownership, a lot of which I wasn’t even aware of.  This podcast has helped me immensely with the deep learning curve entailed when it comes to being a knowledgeable and responsible mineral owner.  So thank you so much for this great body of work on such an important topic!

My question may pertain for those landowners who have currently non producing but leased acreage on the edges of a major play (such as the Midland Basin).  I have been approached by buyers and while I have been rejecting their offers, I am mindful of the fact that not all shale acreage, indeed not all oil operators are the same. Which leads me to my question…

When would non producing leased minerals attain their most value? Would it peak when the drilling permits were filed for that acreage? Then possibly go up or down based on the well results? I don’t want to hold on thinking it is going to be a Spindletop  only for it to be a bust.

Thanks again so much for your service Matt and Justin!

Caesura

Listener Question #5

How can I find out if I have any oil royalties ?

Linda

Listener Question #6

Hi Matt, could you explain how the Ownership Interest and the Division of interest works.    We had oil and gas interests in wells operated by various companies.  Eleven of the wells operated by these companies had provisions in the leases that the parties entered into that prohibited the lessee from taking deductions for postproduction costs such as processing, transportation, severance and other taxes, etc.  One of the operators began operating the wells effective 1/1/2023 but then they were recently acquired by another company.

It seems like the Decimal Interest and the Disbursement Interest have recently significantly changed.  Could the deduction language in the lease cause a change to the division of interest decimal?  Can you tell me more about how the two interests are calculated?

Also, I have provided copies of the leases that have the no deduction clauses in them to the operators of the wells. Some requests for the company to comply were apparently  ignored.  One company agreed to comply after they took ownership, so prior years of the failure to comply were not included.  The Statute of limitation is 10 years in ND.  Our interests are small so we hoped to resolve the matter with without litigation. 

Who is the ND NARO representative? 

Thank you.

Julie

Listener Question #7

 Dear Matt,

I am going to need an appraisal according to my accountant. Hopefully we won’t have to pay 100% capital gains. I would like more information as to how to approach this.  I will gather the info concerning the legal description  from the buyer along with the amount we got for selling our rights to them. 

Nancy

Listener Question #8

Hi Matt I have a question. If I’m asking for more money per acreage and they’re second reply is the max they’re paying, and I feel should be a lot more because of the other mineral rights I have in that area are doing great, and I don’t sign the DO what happens now? Do they still have the right to drill and I totally miss out on the royalties? Should I accept the last offer? Sorry for all the questions. Thanks Matt. 

Tim

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Mineral Rights Education

How Mineral Rights are Valued

Avoiding Scams

Other Scams:

Inheritance

Mineral Rights Research

North Dakota Ombudsman Program / Royalty Underpayment by Previous Operator

Books

How to Make Sure You are Getting Paid Correctly

Check out the free form letter I’ve created for you to contact your operator about late or missing royalty payments.

Mineral Rights Research

Taxes

Thanks for Listening!

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Thanks again – until next time!