MRP 354: Listener Questions October 2026

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MRP 354: Listener Questions October 2026

This month’s mailbag covers a little bit of everything; thanks to Alfred, Jesse, Dave, John, Dean, Frank and Gary for sending in a question this month. Questions range from who gets paid royalties on gravel, to the Lithium that may be hiding in produced water with Pennsylvania natural gas, what to do when a royalty check hasn’t arrived in four months, and we finally do the math to answer the question about what is better – a higher lease bonus or the highest royalty rate possible when leasing. This month’s listener questions come from North Dakota, Texas, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Colorado and beyond, but the lessons carry across state lines. Whether you own minerals or are just curious, there’s a good chance one of these answers will save you money, time or a headache.

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

I have recently inherited 3 acres of land that wasn’t sold as part of the parcel of land my parents sold.  The county had an agreement with them that they could buy or use the minerals there to fix other roads as long as they paid for it. I see a lot of rock missing and I don’t see any royalties from it. What should I do?

Alfred

Listener Question #2

Greetings,

I am a landowner residing in Northeast Pennsylvania.  Am currently receiving OMG rights from surrounding wells.

My question is will landowners eventually receive royalties from the lithium extraction? Or will royalties be paid to the properties that only contain wells?

Thanks in advance for your help and your extremely informative website.

Best regards,

Jesse

Listener Question #3

My wife has mineral rights in ND. They were passed down from a great aunt to grandmother to mother then to wife. Last summer they drilled 3 wells in the spacing unit. I paid the hundred bucks (for a ND Oil and Gas Commission data subscription) and have been watching for activity. The same company drilled three more wells in the next section to the east. Being a retired Land Surveyor I was interested in the survey data.  

We have had offers to buy the rights. Our son is the remainderman if something happens to my wife. We are just waiting for the next step, a different crew. We live in MN a long way from the wells, I have tried to monitor activity from recent satellite imagery. Just waiting for word that the wells go from drilling to active.

Dave

Listener Question #4

My husband has his land leased to Valence Operating Co. We have not received any payments since Dec 2025. They are setting up a system with PAK Energy and now want to direct deposit all checks. Which is fine, He sent in all info requested by them in OCT 2025, as of yet they have not issued any payments. They will not talk to anyone, all you get is a message to leave a message – which no one ever returns. They say they are in the process of setting all the direct deposit and PAK exchange up, it has been 4 months now and no response.  I feel that they should have kept sending checks in the mail until their system was up and running. Instead they have withheld all payments to us and no answer as to when we will receive payment for gas they are drawing from the wells.  How do we know they are not just stealing the gas and not paying the owners?  We don”t as they refuse to speak to anyone. Tell me my options in getting an answer on this ongoing problem. 

John

Listener Question #5

Matt, could you please provide an example of payouts of an average well with the lease term of a fifth, versus a fourth, versus 3/16th royalty over the life of the average well.

Dean

Example Payout at Different Royalty Rates and Lease Bonus Amounts (from Oklahoma Pooling Order, assuming 1 Net Mineral Acre)

Metric1/8th Royalty + $17503/16th Royalty + $15001/5th Royalty + $12501/4 Royalty + $0
Decimal interest0.000097660.000146480.000156250.00019531
Year 1 royalties$902$1,353$1,443$1,804
Year 1 royalties + bonus$2,652$2,853$2,693$1,804
First 5 years, royalties + bonus$4,021$4,907$4,884$4,543
Through month 65 (no extrapolation), royalties + bonus$4,111$5,041$5,027$4,722
Life-of-well royalties (30 yr, undiscounted)$5,323$7,985$8,517$10,646
Total incl. bonus$7,073$9,485$9,767$10,646
Total incl. bonus, PV10$4,615$5,797$5,833$5,729

How long does it take for the lower bonus option to pay back the additional amount you would have received from the higher lease bonus:

Higher royalty vs. lowerBonus given upBreak-even (undiscounted)Break-even (years)
3/16 vs 1/8$2506 months0.5
1/5 vs 1/8$50011 months0.9
1/4 vs 1/8$1,75040 months3.3
1/5 vs 3/16$25071 months5.9
1/4 vs 3/16$1,50098 months8.2
1/4 vs 1/5$1,250106 months8.8

Listener Question #6

Hi Matt,

My uncle and I share ownership of 320 NMA in South East Colorado. There is active drilling within a 20 mile radius but haven’t had any offers for a lease for over 15 years.   How would we go about promoting our minerals?  We are in Kit Carson County. 

Thanks for your insights,

Frank

Listener Question #7

Hi Matt,

I have received a Division Order from an Operator, asking me to sign without providing a lease or bonus. I am holding off signing until they produce. What is your take?

I am trying to finish the Mineral Management Course (need more time).

Thanks,

Gary

Resources Mentioned in this Episode:

Mineral Rights Education

Mineral Rights Research

Negotiating an Oil & Gas Lease

How to Make Sure You are Getting Paid Correctly / Contacting Your Operator

Inheritance

Lithium

Thanks for Listening!

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Thanks again – until next time!

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