As an appraiser of mineral rights, it is surprising how few of us actually track our mineral properties. We lack even a rudimentary understanding of the legal description. Often these minerals are transferred on hand written documents with really bad legals. This leads to serious problems. You may have deeds that are in conflict with what is actually… Read More »
LOVE LETTER TO MY FAMILY FROM: ______________________________________ (effective: _____________________) Dear Loved Ones: In an attempt to simplify matters for you, I have written this letter to provide you with information that will be necessary for you when the time arises: ADVISORS: Some of the people you will need to contact are listed below: Attorney: Insurance Advisor: Name: ________________________… Read More »
Time and chance taketh us all. That came home this week as I lost a cousin who was two months younger than me. Now the royalty owner has to just “tough it out”. It is not the time to panic or to think that your mineral rights are suddenly “worthless”. I have been watching in Arkansas as folks… Read More »
Was there a relationship between the San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 and the Panic of 1907 when J. P. Morgan had to step in and save the financial world after Knickerbocker Bank collapsed? The Southern Pacific and Union Railroads and the Insurance companies that had to pay out millions in claims were forced to sell stock in their… Read More »
From one of the quotes from the article in the Denver Business Journal Career Advice article “The opportunities for the learning that take place in down cycles, for people who are early in their career, now is the time to raise your hand and say, ‘Give me the biggest pile of crap that you have,’” van Kempen said.… Read More »
My friends with OKT Resources, out of Edmond, Oklahoma made a prediction that I have thought about and agree with. Namely, there were 4,900 drilling rigs in 1981. We got down to some 700 or less rigs by 1999. Where were the rest? Scrap metal or parts for salvage. Was it the worse rigs that were taken out… Read More »
Several years ago World Oil magazine fired an editor for running editorials from Art Berman, one of a few oil field experts who claimed the Emperor had no clothes and the value of shale gas and shale oil plays were vastly over-rated. Art has continued to vet the “unconventional revolution” with his petroleum truth blog, http://www.artberman.com/blog/ . Meanwhile,… Read More »
The success of the oil and gas industry should speak for itself. And the result however, has been very low product prices. As mineral owners, we know that the trade-off is there are a lot more mineral owners sharing a lot more royalties, but to recognize that when prices fall by 50%, our income follows. Unfortunately, it often… Read More »
The notion that the pain will end soon, and prices will not so much stabilize as to see costs go down is a pipe dream floated by true “believers” not serious students of the oil business. There is an idea that you will see the cost of frac’cing and drilling go down to meet the prices imposed upon… Read More »
Pretty clearly, the Iran deal means more crude is coming on line. That is going only rile up the Middle East as it cuts into Iraq, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabian incomes…not to mention Russia. And as such it seems that we are on course for a multi year, if not decade long process of deflationary oil prices and… Read More »