Oil company letter
I got a letter from an oil company. What is it?
A flag is a question to ask, not a finding that anyone did wrong.
Papers we recognise
- Division order
- Lease or lease offer
- Buyout offer
- Ratification
- Direct deposit form
- Unclaimed property notice
- Pooling notice
- Operator letter
- Anything else, read and explained
Upload
One box for any letter
Upload the letter or form
A free account can have two papers read a month. Members read as many as they have.
Your paper is stored in your private Mineral File. It is never shown to anyone else.
What we recognise
What each paper is, and what to look at
Division order
The paper a payor wants signed before it pays your royalty.
Look at: Whether it holds only what the statute allows, and whether the decimal is right.
Texas division ordersLease or lease offer
A company wants to lease your minerals, or sends a lease to sign.
Look at: How the royalty is figured, what is released after the first term, any option to extend.
Is this lease offer good?Buyout offer
An offer to buy your minerals or your royalty for a lump sum.
Look at: Which acres it counts, what is limited, and how the amount compares with your income.
Is this buyout offer fair?Ratification
A request that you approve an existing lease or a change to it.
Look at: Whether it revives a lease that had ended, or adds terms the old lease did not have.
Royalty checks stoppedDirect deposit form
An ACH form so royalties are paid straight to your bank.
Look at: Whether it lets the company take money back out of your account, and for what.
Check my statementUnclaimed property notice
A notice that royalties were sent to the Comptroller, or an offer to recover them.
Look at: Whether a finder is charging a fee, and the fact that you can claim from the state at no cost.
Unclaimed royaltiesPooling notice
A notice that your land is being combined with others into a unit.
Look at: The unit size, the effective date, and whether your share matches the acres.
Unit decimal checkerOperator letter
A letter about a hold on your payments, a change of operator or a title question.
Look at: What it needs from you, by when, and what stays owed in the meantime.
Operator changesWhat gets flagged
Terms that get a second look
Division orders
Provisions that are not on the statute's list of what a division order may contain, such as a release of claims or a broad indemnity. §91.402(c)
Finder fees
A fee to recover unclaimed property that is more than the 10 percent cap. Prop. Code §74.507
Direct deposit forms
Wording that lets the company debit your account, or reverse payments beyond correcting a mistake.
Ratifications and offers
Wording that revives a lease that had ended, or that conveys everything you own for a price that counts only part of it.
Before you reply
Five steps, in order
Step 1: Do not sign or call yet
A date in a letter is the sender's date, not one the law sets on its own. Write down any date it gives.
Step 2: Keep the envelope and every page
The postmark, the return address and the pages you did not read matter later.
Step 3: Find out who sent it
Look the company up. Its state record shows whether it operates or buys in Texas, and where.
Step 4: Compare it with your own records
Your deed, lease, division order and last statements say what you own and what you are paid.
Step 5: Answer in writing, and keep a copy
Ask for what you need in a letter you can prove you sent. Members get a reply drafted from the upload.
Related
Related
- ToolIs this buyout offer fair?The offer as months of your income, what the acres mean, and the questions to ask.
- ToolIs this lease offer good?Bonus and royalty against the county, and a scan of the lease's clauses.
- Texas dataTexas oil and gas companiesOperators and buyers: the state's record, permits, leases, production.
- ToolTexas well watchPermit, completion, first production and when the first check is due.
- HelpTexas division ordersWhat you may sign, what you may refuse, what to check.
- HelpUnclaimed royaltiesHow royalties reach the Comptroller and how to claim them.
- HelpRoyalty checks stoppedSeven reasons checks stop, and what to do about each.
- GuideTexas royalty owner rightsSections 91.401 to 91.507 in plain English.
FAQ
Questions people ask
How do I know if a letter from an oil company is real?
Check who sent it and whether it names your property. A company that operates or buys in Texas leaves a public record: the Railroad Commission lists operators, and many buyers file with the state. Our company pages show that record, with sources, and nothing else. This page does not judge whether a sender is honest. It tells you what the paper is, what it asks and which of its terms deserve a question, and every claim quotes the sentence it comes from.
Do I have to sign a division order to get paid?
If the order holds only the provisions Texas Natural Resources Code section 91.402(c) lists, the payor may hold payment, without interest, until you sign. If it has more, the payor may not withhold payment only because you refused to sign it (section 91.402(e)). The upload flags provisions beyond the list and quotes them.
What is a ratification letter?
A ratification asks you to approve a lease, often one that already exists, sometimes with changes. Read it before you sign: approving a lease can confirm that it is still in force, and it can bring in terms the original did not have. If checks stopped or a lease may have ended, ask what the ratification changes before you sign anything.
Someone offered to recover my unclaimed royalties for a fee. Should I pay?
You can claim unclaimed property from the Texas Comptroller yourself at no cost. A finder may charge a fee, and Texas caps it at 10 percent of the property recovered (Property Code section 74.507). The upload flags a fee above that cap. Search the state's list yourself first, and compare what a finder offers with what the state shows.
What should I look for in a direct deposit form?
Whether it only lets the company send money to your account, or also lets it take money back. A form that allows debits, or reversals beyond correcting a mistaken payment, deserves a question. The upload flags wording that allows debits and reversals and quotes it.
Is my letter kept private?
Yes. The paper goes into your private Mineral File. It is not shown to anyone else, and a name or number on it is not published anywhere. You can delete it from your file at any time.
What if the letter is a photo or a scan?
It works. A photo or scan is read from the picture, which can contain mistakes, so the page says so and every quote is there for you to check against the paper. A clear photo taken flat in good light reads best.
What does it cost?
A free account can have two papers read each month, with what the paper is, what it says, the flags with their quotes and the next steps. Membership reads as many as you have, explains every flag with its statute, lists what to expect in that kind of paper and writes a reply you can send.
Payments stopped or changed after a letter?
Seven reasons checks stop, and what to ask for in each case.
Sources
Primary sources, opened on 29 September 2026. Statute text is the current version on statutes.capitol.texas.gov.
- Texas Natural Resources Code §91.402, time for payment of proceeds and division orders
- Texas Property Code §74.507, the 10 percent limit on finder fees
- Texas Property Code §75.101, presumption of abandonment for mineral proceeds
- Railroad Commission of Texas, Drilling Permit Query
- Texas Comptroller, franchise tax
- ClaimItTexas, search for unclaimed property