Oil Leases. Leasing, Buying, Owning, and selling.

Answering question about the little man side of the oil industry.
/ the_zach_life

[@35Colorado]

Zach, keep in mind that what you find as boring because you have seen and done it yourself 30,000 times over the years probably will not be boring to us. :)

[@chrism4008]

Its pretty interesting to me, thats for sure

[@loggerchadwake7141]

I think he's talking about holes

[@christianmccollum1028]

Same here. Very interesting to me. I wish I could borrow (lease) just one well for one year. Cha-ching! I'd be good for the rest of my natural daze on Earth!!! Right?

[@texassweet1618]

@@christianmccollum1028 Wrong!!! I have five wells that I will give you right now!!! Be careful what you wish for!! There are economic wells and non economic wells. The non economic well are required to be put in working order or plugged. All of it costs money so you must be very careful what kind of well that someone is willing to give you. As is said, there is no free lunch and sometimes free is NOT cheap enough. If you wish to pursue this, the Railroad Commission of Texas , which controls all production in Texas, has abandoned wells (called orphans) that they will give you if you qualify as on "operator" Best of Luck. You are going to need barrels of it.

[@harikrishna69]

Drilling is boring init?

[@happycamper5213]

My brother got an email from an oil survey company saying that their records indicated our late grandfather owned mineral rights on a small property in coastal Texas. They had found him with an internet search by matching names. We were able to verify we were kin. Since we were heirs, they needed our permission to survey and were going to pay us for letting them look. We both got a check and never heard any more. So, thanks grandpa!

[@TheZachLife]

Hahaha sounds like a win.

[@apacheworrier3776]

@@TheZachLife My wife owns mineral rights on land in TX. The company who has been drilling, recently struck oil, and has begun paying us. How would you suggest we go about making sure we are being paid for the actual amount of oil being pumped? Any way we can put a meter on the pumps? Thanks!

[@BobSmith1980.]

How much have you both made from it? Just ballpark, I'm curious.

[@nitrometh42]

@@apacheworrier3776 you receive statements that record how much oil is being pumped. If you want to check "their numbers" TX has a regulatory commission where all records on oil wells is recorded and maintained.

[@scrotiemcboogerballs1981]

Here in southern Indiana I used to live by a old man who had a lot of ground and back in the 70s he had it drilled with oil wells and there was several wells that turned out to be really great wells they said one by his house made 30000 bucks a month for the old man and he had several wells that did good they still pump them to this day thanks for sharing buddy very informative I’ve always wondered how a lease worked

[@wrkey]

Good job. I appreciate the effort you will be making. Most people have NO idea how the oil and gas industry works especially the financial aspects of it. You show a pretty simple lease contract and they get so much more complicated. Not just the terms, but the royalties, taxes, federal regulations, EPA reviews, etc. I was in the oil and gas industry for over 25 years and mostly in the IT divisions and wrote programs and designed systems to manage the craziness. I know of wells that produce about 10 barrels a month and there are over 500 royalty owners getting a piece of that every month... in different amounts... in different ways... paid in different time terms. You haven't even gotten into the hedging and market fluctuations and productions contracts. I will be watching for you future videos for sure. Anyone that can use a V8 motor on a pump jack is alright in my book.

[@TheZachLife]

hahaha thanks

[@JayLupe]

So how do i find an oil lease/company to buy that doesn't have 500 royalties?

[@dannywilsher4165]

@@JayLupe I'm pretty sure it was either monthly or possibly quarterly...

[@fcaustin86]

I’ve been a landman for 13 years, and it’s still interesting to see this side of the business.

[@CuriousEarthMan]

sounds really interesting!

[@terrycannon570]

Zack this is great. I am a born and raised Texan. I myself always wanted to know what an Oil lease really is. I was raised on a farm where my Mom and Dad owned the property but did not own the mineral rights and some oil company drilled a well just about 100 yards from our back porch. I think mama and Daddy may have gotten some kind of damages payment but like you said they pumped all the water out of our stock tank to drill the well. I am looking forward to your next video. Thanks for bringing us along. BTW it was a dry hole.

[@TheZachLife]

Its was what's know as land damage payment. Thanks.

[@ndfields1]

"We can have different ideologies and still get along". So glad to hear you say this, and couldn't agree more! I'd like to say more on this but will leave it at that. You are obviously an extremely intelligent individual, and I really appreciate your perspective of being extremely hands on, get it done yourself if and because you can (and it's probably done better that way unfortunately). "Anything worth doing is probably worth overdoing". It's a fine line many times, what's your time worth, and doing it yourself? I can totally relate to this. I really enjoy your videos especially the ones related to the oil field. Not that I don't enjoy the toterhome videos, but have always been interested in the shallow well oil field life.

[@webby459]

I'm a progressive and I'll keep watching you, heh! Really like your content Zach no need to change for anyone. We can all learn from one another. I'm not even in the oil business and unlikely to do so but other hand I'm very interested in the energy markets. Someone in the biz for a long time like you, I can learn from.

[@TheZachLife]

Thanks.

[@drmodestoesq]

Well, Zach claims to be a conservative who hates liberals. And then he says he thinks that the rich oil companies conned gullible farmers into signing bad contracts. What kind of a conservative wags a finger at a rich company over unethical business practices? I'm thinking he's just a political centrist like most of the population.

[@stxrynn]

Your explanation of how someone could take down a barn or house was perfect. It was finally clear enough to me to understand, others had tried but never gave the WHOLE picture. THANK YOU. One question: is the separation of the ownership of minerals from the surface something that happens everywhere? Or is that just a wierdness here in Texas. It bothers me no end that I can own the dirt but not the subsurface minerals all because someone that died when Tom Mix was a big name, sold them. It's like buying a house and the previous owner still owns the bathroom and can rent it out to the circus.

[@TheZachLife]

I believe most states split the surface and mineral ownership. I wish it was tied together. The problem with that is the land value goes up and down with the value of the production.

[@catman5546]

It was designed where the rich could sell the surface right ( high tax ) yet retain the mineral rights ( lower tax) . This controls the land , make a lion share of the money but payed the lowest tax , until producing. You can not recover any mineral, even laying on the top of the ground , with out payment. Mineral rights is the BIG money!!

[@thecollectoronthecorner7061]

I for one will never buy real property that has the mineral rights severed. We own surface and subsurface the rights to every acre we own. Now my wife inherited a 25% share of some acreage in Faulkner County Ark. And the mineral rights where intact. For a time there was a natural gas boom in the region. And every lawyer and his brother was trying to aquire leases. The other 3 owners where giddy to sell those mineral rights. However I wasnt so elated. I told the lawyer we would only sell the rights to the natural gas. and they had to drill and produce within one year, and give us 2 and 1/2 % for our 25% share. Needless to say they wouldnt agree to our terms. And what happened is speculators bought up most of the mineral rights with a blanket lease. And no wells where drilled and no royaltys paid. I think the companys already producing natural gas. didnt want any new gas fields going into production? So they sewed up the leases? And the greedy legislature promptly raised the severance taxes. That was likely the nail in the coffin that killed any chance of drilling & production. So the natural gas that is used in Arkansas is mostly produced in Oklahoma. So we still own the mineral rights.

[@1Dougloid]

@@TheZachLife That's the way it is here in central Iowa. The coal mining closed down in 1940, the companies are long gone and I'm a quarter mile from where the pithead was. I don't own the mineral rights under my house but I doubt anyone could figure out who owns them now. Every now and again over on the east side of town an old mine tunnel will collapse and somebody's got a big old hole in their yard that swallows up a garage or some trees. When I was at the U of Arkansas in Fayetteville as a self designed project I traced the title of a Diamond Shamrock lease that was about ninety years old.

[@timmilder8313]

@@thecollectoronthecorner7061 Of course they didnt take your terms. Drill in one year? 3+2 is standard lease terms. You want to dictate the drilling terms on a $10 million dollar well with no skin in the game.

[@pattyeverett2826]

Good video as usual. It explains how the people where I grew up, in an oil field discovered in the late 1920s, got leases and such. My grandfather was the owner of the surface and the mineral rights for 80 acres. My family still owns the land and some royalties. As there is evidence of two oil wells that were shut down before I was born, the land must have been leased for a while, but the lease expired when production stopped. There are all kinds of easements on the deed and quite a few abandoned steel pipes on the property(they have rust holes in them, so obviously abandoned). My father and Aunt re-leased the land in 1986 and two wells were drilled. One is no longer producing(the pump is still at the site with parts missing), but the other is making around 5 bpd, so the 1986 lease is still active. The producer does have oil tanks on the land and there is a salt water disposal well on the land also. The royalties are now divided among at least 9 people, probably more, so the checks are not going to make you rich. As to La-Grange, I do not live to far from there and am aware of the long gone "establishment" that Dolly Parton made a movie about and ZZ Top wrote a song about. Your example lease sounds like it may be part of the Luling, Texas field. Luling is the home of great Watermelons and other produce as well as oil-a great farmer's market. Keep up the good work!

[@TheZachLife]

Thanks.

[@72polara]

Great video. My grandmother "owned oil wells" in Oklahoma on the old family farm and got a check every month. Now I a better understanding of how these things work. She was likely the mineral owner or had leases that was assigned to someone to operate the wells.

[@jamesmontano5916]

Love seeing this stuff and your explanations. I'm a field engineer for frac in Texas, we talked a lot about this stuff in school but I never learned much more about it, now I'm on these huge leases and I'm no closer to seeing stuff at this level. Thanks for the info man!

[@joespratt413]

Great biz video, Zach. Love the financial stuff as much as the mechanical.

[@ruben_balea]

Something similar happened in Spain with the "money of the 50s" there were tens of thousands of contracts from the 40s and 50s where a house was rented for a certain amount of money from that time and with an unlimited duration as long as the tenant will not fail to pay the owner. Then 20 or 30 years after signing those contracts the owners could already pay many times more in taxes than they charged for rent, apart from having to pay for repairs and in some cases even water and electricity consumption. In the 90s some desperate owners were willing to give those houses away to the tenants, but logically the tenants preferred to continue living for rent. About 20 years ago there was so much litigation that the state had to intervene, I don't know exactly what they did because I wasn't affected, I don't know if they updated the prices according to inflation or if they just rescinded all those contracts, I think the tenants had the right to remain as tenants but the majority did not agree with the new prices and left, after all most of them were very poor quality buldings made during the crisis after the civil war abd it was only worth living there because it was practically for free.

[@TheZachLife]

Wow That would be a nightmare.

[@bitsandpeace]

I'm a new subscriber And I love this channel. I'm a retired engineer and you have to really appreciate all of the commonsense and unique engineering and many skills of this guy. Am a binge watcher...Awesome Channel! THANK YOU..keep'em coming!

[@TerryLawrence001]

Thanks for all this interesting stuff. I am fascinated with the rough and tumble life style and enjoy watching the work you do to keep your livelihood going after all these decades.

[@duanemartin1094]

Very well done, Zach. Very informative. You always do a great job explaining the details. I'm always looking forward to your next video.

[@analyticalmastermind2569]

Thanks Zach. I appreciate you taking the time to explain these subjects.

[@georgearnold488]

Thanks Zach! As usual, very informative and interesting. Looking forward to the next video.

[@MarkRose1337]

You're very good at explaining things. I look forward to the subsequent videos!

[@skyking228]

Excellent class on oil/gas leases. We had a geologist in Osage County that would provide his services for a 3% overriding royalty. If we ran casing he was happy. If we plugged the well, not so happy. Informative and fun to watch, thanks!

[@wapiti3750]

For those unaware, It is interesting to note that any overriding royalty interest(s) is/are carved out of the 7/8th working interest. It does not come out of, or reduce, the mineral owner's 1/8th royalty interest. Furthermore, the working interest is seldom ever owned by a well operator. However, smaller operators such as Zach may also own the working interest. Working interest is typically owned by oil companies (Shell, ExxonMobil, Chesapeake, etc.). Wealthy folks such as lawyers and doctors often own small to medium working interests. If you own a working interest, you are responsible for your share of costs associated with drilling the well. If work is done on a well to get it pumping or flowing again, the working interest owners may be charged their proportionate share of the cost.

[@TheZachLife]

Exactly.

[@myfoundrylife]

Very interesting...especially the part about having to produce commercial amounts of oil to keep a lease or to avoid having to plug a well. That's an ancillary benefit to a service I offer, which is recovering marketable amounts of oil from abandoned/offline wells. Cool videos...keep em coming!

[@warrenbridges4095]

Very insightful video.. I grew up in the country with old hit & miss engines running constantly supplying thanks on the edge of the woods with pipes scattered everywhere along the side of farm land. I always wondered how the legal side went. Thanks for the knowledge.

[@Hiei2k7]

Thanks for the update here! Look forward to the series. I'm sure the attorneys in the O&G field are never short of work between the old agreements and the derivatives of that going downhill to today.

[@christopherdominguez6472]

Wow not to many people would take the time to explain in a way That's so easy to understand

[@finpainter1]

I don't care if you make 1 dollor or a million . I just like the running and repairing of the equipment of the old wells. May your barrels be full.

[@natevanlandingham1945]

Interesting stuff! Can't wait to hear this whole series out. Never knew exactly how this stuff worked. Being here in the US it fascinates me. I especially like all the old iron and old school stuff .

[@blormpf1740]

Superb advice and channel content - thanks for your time to make these

[@chucksteele4787]

That was a very good definition of what I call "et al's". That may help people understand the difference between board price per barrel and what you actually see on your check. It may be good to understand the difference between board price today and what your check says by the date your purchaser "turned on" your tanks.

[@edkeniston4786]

You do a very good job putting things in layman’s terms. My interest in oil production ends at the machine shop after the equipment is built, but you have a way of making oil interesting! Thank you for your efforts.

[@TheZachLife]

Thanks.

[@ride4life199]

Cool video I especially liked the example at the end with the 70 year old pump lease. Very informative

[@perrinpartee557]

You are an excellent teacher. You’re my favorite channel on KZbin. No one else on internet explaining things this clearly in industry online. I’m currently working with landmen on lease we had overrides from back in the 70s when we assigned leases over to Davis Oil co in Wyoming. We retained an override and they fracked two wells in turner formation. Never would’ve thought that would’ve happened but just shows why it’s smart to keep overrides on leases. Drilled a bunch of dry holes up there before my time but I got a feeling this will help offset that lol

[@TheZachLife]

Thanks.

[@larrypostma2866]

Watching this in a hotel in Ennis Tx I’ve been looking out the window at oil wells all day and can identify everything I see thanks to Zachlife. I’ll be back in Conroe in the morning but really enjoyed the trip through the fields today

[@Baystateboy125]

Oil wells and mineral leases were completely foreign to me until I saw your video. Thanks for the education!

[@ahchu3256]

Very interesting! You give such a great insight into the oil industry. Thanks!

[@garrisonkarr9445]

WOW !! ... Excellent !! ... if I get the itch to go drillin', first thing is to find Zach ! ... thanks for recording this one and lookin' forward to more ... keep pump'n that Crude !

[@TheZachLife]

Hahaha Thanks.

[@zeon5323]

Very informative. I am looking forward to the next video.

[@aaronbauer4039]

Great video... I'm a petroleum engineer and I learned a few interesting things from it. Love the channel, keep up the good work...

[@cdalton3169]

Zach, you have a super fascinating channel. This stuff is amazingly great content. Seriously, man you have a great channel! Keep it coming. Really like your candid style!

[@TheZachLife]

Thanks.

[@Brad.whatthe]

I worked for a family that had gold mining leases on cattle stations in Australia, the station owners loved the idea because of all the infrastructure we built, being haul roads, massive dams, workshops and such and when we moved all the plant and equipment went with us to the next lease so no rubbish left behind. We did alluvial gold so no under ground hard rock mess left just mountain of washed gravel, perfect for there road building

[@TheZachLife]

Thats awesome, I've always been amazed by the gold industry.

[@andresbraud]

Excellent video! Can’t wait to see the rest in this series!

[@jimwhite7607]

Great video Zach my family own a lease in Oklahoma it goes back to the late 1920s from my grand father on my dads side I’ve never under stood it

[@BaileyFarming]

Well done. My family has mineral rights on some of our farmland and I never understood how it worked very well. Thanks for the info!

[@rickbogden4626]

Informative. Look forward to the next segment.

[@CuriousEarthMan]

Very interesting! I was very curious about the wording in a lease. Thanks for showing us one! I think it was over ten years ago, I was looking for businesses opportunities on eBay. Yes, eBay. I found a whole bunch of oil wells (or leases) like you talk about, in one, single lot which were for sale, the whole bunch for $200,000. I was looking into it, although I didn't have the 200k. Within five days of finding the ad, oil went from $20 to $100 a barrel.. If I had been ready to act, that would have been a nice windfall! I'm someone who would still buy something, oil or gas. Thanks again!

[@DavidCAllen50]

Tuber Here Professor Zack another great video, bringing your experience to the tube, so we can better understand the way things work in your world.

[@TheZachLife]

Hahaha Thanks.

[@nunyabusiness2294]

Thanks for the really interesting candid information! Love the content-I'm hooked!

[@shanespring2669]

Thanks for the time to explain this.

[@DirtRoadAutoRepair]

Very interesting. It is crazy how little people understand inflation. It’s not your friend most of the time as a seller. If you are buying over time it can be very advantageous.

[@thedesertfix2666]

Super interesting insights Zach, Thanks!

[@Sludge73]

Right on. Great explanation. Thanks for sharing!

[@CraigArndt]

This was a great video, very interesting how these leases work and what they are.

[@user-pd1lt1ub6z]

This was super interesting. I’m from Alberta, our economy is based on oil and I really don’t know much about how the industry operates behind the scenes. Thanks for sharing this, looking forward to future videos!

[@TheZachLife]

Awesome Thanks.

[@jerrysiler1737]

I love your videos. As a former roughneck. You give so many great answers and such great insight! So many Americans are clueless!

[@TheZachLife]

Thanks.

[@AChav92]

I am new to upstream. Was in midstream for almsot 10 years. Learning a lot! Thank you!

[@CuriousEarthMan]

if this is upstream, what is midstream please?

[@matthewmcdaniel8846]

Also there is different kinds of oil that come out of the ground that effect the price, in Oklahoma we have mostly what’s called sour oil wells that are just nasty greasy type oil, but I did work a couple leases that were what we called Oklahoma sweet wells that the oil coming out of the ground was so clean looking, it could have come from a Mobil one oil factory beautiful amber gold in color, great video Zach really appreciate you taking the time to educate those that have never worked in the oil patch and some of us (me) that have worked around wells thanks a million can’t wait for the next video

[@GoViking933]

That is another important aspect to it (as Zach stated, there are many variables) - I have worked on wells all over Alberta, everything from heavy oil to natural gas (also sweet & sour) and the quality varies greatly. Currently I operate a field of that produces from the Cardium formation, an ancient maritime shell riddled sandstone. Our area produces the lightest condy I’ve ever seen: clear as water in the sight glass, whereas down south in the Pembina Oilfield, the same zone produces a relatively heavier oil.

[@BERGBOY570]

Great explanation Zach, cured a lot of my curiosity about the leasing arrangements. Can you please give us an average price per barrel across all your leases?

[@togo3624]

Great video. Always enjoy your presentations.

[@FishFind3000]

So what I have learned is that any legal contract that regards to payments or fees when regards to your favor should always have a clause stating that the fee will increase with inflation. The US government didn’t do this when they had the NFA act of 1930 and required a $200 tax stamp, which today is nothing but back then was astronomical, but because they didn’t put in a clause for it to keep up with inflation over the years it’s been $200 for the last almost hundred years.

[@ET_Don]

Zach, thank you for the video, and upcoming series. I believe I posted in another video a question or two, possibly rhetorical. You answered those, and what would have been many more followup questions. I look forward to the series. Considering the $10 and $72.50 in the example contract you used, what would be realistic up front costs in 2022 to get started in the industry, including all leases (land and equipment leases if there is such a thing), initial purchase of essential tools and equipment, etc. Thank you.

[@TheZachLife]

Thanks. This is one of those questions thats too complex to answer. It depends on so many things.

[@bannedfromtheshow8188]

I just found your channel. I've worked in the West Texas oil fields for 40+ years. I really enjoy your videos.

[@TheZachLife]

Awesome thanks for watching.

[@43Danc]

Grew up in West Texas. I invest in Oil & Gas land trust. Enjoy watching and learning some of the hands on and historical aspect from you. Thanks

[@floridamancomedy3151]

HELL YES A NEW ZACH LIFE VIDEO

[@bobvilla5064]

Thank you so much. Keep them coming.

[@patriotmadness6231]

Great video I’ve been a lease operator for 17 years. Keep up the good work love the videos

[@drivingmylifeaway7149]

I'm just getting started. Seems like a great job! Any tips for a newbie

[@patriotmadness6231]

@@drivingmylifeaway7149 my tip would be just to work as hard as you can every single day. And if you can fix it yourself do it. It saves the company tons of money. And the company sees that and hopefully at bonus time they return the favor. I treat my leases like I own them and always tell the truth. If you mess up or make a mistake tell them don’t make up some story. And try to get it fixed when you see it because if you don’t you will have to fix it the next day along with something else. It never stops. And one thing about being a lease operator you WILL come across some big oil leaks. You just have to stay calm and get it to stop. It can get overwhelming sometimes but that’s part of it. And always walk out lines and know what valves should be open and what valves should be closed and always double check everything. Especially if your opening and closing multiple valves it only takes on little thing to make the whole place go wild. It’s a lot of fun too. I treat like a way of life not a job you got love what you do in life. I’m hopeful that on day I’ll have some of my own. Keep grinding

[@Bruhne]

Very interesting! That last example was crazy.

[@louispaparella5766]

Don't have time to watch now, but looking forward to seeing the series. At present, I know enough to be dangerous!!!

[@hg2.]

"This looks like fun!" Thank you so much.

[@tundramanq]

Clear mineral and water rights to a piece of land you want to buy are very important things that people tend to forget in getting title to land with out a professional historical search for these kind of things. I have seen whole subdivisions laid out and lots sold with no water rights here in the desert.

[@louispaparella5766]

How true. I knew of an investment club in Tulsa that bought land around Dell City, Tx. to develop it. But the water rights were controlled by the City of El Paso, Tx. It didn't end well...

[@MrWcjordan10]

I really like the info and watching the videos. The thing that I don’t like about separating minerals from the surface is that the information never gets put in the surface deed. People can by property and get a big surprise when others come in and start doing things on the property. To my knowledge anything can be separated out of the property, timber rights, hay rights, mineral rights can be separated into coal, oil or gas. Please keep the info coming.

[@stevensaxon8888]

Zach please do a video on who to contact about Investing in oil rig/leases. Interview lawyers, brokers , oil company employees who write contracts out etc.

[@briangoodman717]

Zach, thanks for the video. I do not recall ever seeing an active O&G lease from 1926, that is amazing. Speaking of dealing with surface owners that do not have any minerals rights, the first area I was assigned was onshore South Texas in 1982. We had completed a shallow (3500 ft) gas well in Goliad County and for some reason (ask the production engineers) the reserve pit had not been reclaimed after the well was completed and tested. The rancher calls up and stated that his prize cow had become stuck and died in the pit and we owed him $10k. I suggested that we go down and have a Bar-BQ because must be the best tasting beef in the whole state. Apparently, this guy had a reputation for losing a prized animal every time a new well was drilled on his place.

[@BobSmith1980.]

I'm looking forward to the follow up videos to this. I've been wondering about this stuff too

[@terrydavis8451]

Holy crap now I know why so many people have been killed because of bad oil deals. When you think of oil nowadays you think giant multi billion dollar corporations. Not Ted and John that are gonna off Frank because he did something shady with a lease....Awesome video Zach! Cant wait for the next one.

[@FosterFarmsOk]

very interesting. Im suprised the leases continues even with a new landowner or new lease owner.

[@thoswallace]

I'm looking forward to your explanation of how you get your paperwork done. I don't know how people could stand it without computers.

[@kc033056]

Great job, I think you made everything very easy to comprehend. Is a lot of the scrub brush in the oil rig towing video mesquite? Thanks Kc

[@TheZachLife]

Thanks. They are mesquite trees.

[@rocksandoil2241]

I've appraised a lot of minerals that have been in continuous production (and lease) for 90-100 years. And they still produce some oil or gas.

[@michaelmcclure8673]

Zack my uncle bought some land in Central Oklahoma, it had a few wells. He built a nice big pond in a swale. He found out the hard way the oil company had rites to drive on any road . Even across his pond dams. Which caused it to fail 🤔.

[@lakeguy65616]

your best videos are those about the oil business. more of those please.

[@sandyullrich2188]

Hey Mr. Zach I'm new to the world of oil production. Looking forward to your videos about selling oil. Thanks

[@zowiefenderblast4602]

This is really similar to leasing farm land from what I understand. Great video!

[@zowiefenderblast4602]

...but way more asks from the property owner

[@TheZachLife]

Thanks.

[@chrisjcoul]

Great video, i really enjoyed it. I used to live in a town in West Texas pretty much owned by Oxy. How is it possible for little owner operators to compete with these big operations?

[@capt.stubby245]

Well done. You left out the Abstractor but you nailed it. "Landman" pretty much covers it.

[@59jm24]

I have no doubt that your ability to service your own wells is key to your success. If one had to hire out service to low producers, it will not pencil out. Keep it up, good one .

[@TheZachLife]

It is.

[@johnkufeldt3564]

Hey Zach, your Canadian friend John here, I'm libertarian in outlook. love yourchannel tho. Just have to add that you are very clearly communicating many overlooked legal aspects (1957 $ values for instance) showing how surface and subsurface rights can conflict and how $1000 to a good lawyer can help to cover everyones ass. Cheers and take care. And for all who don't know libertarian is sure as hell not liberal.

[@TheZachLife]

Thanks. And yes 100%

[@richardbrown8150]

Very educational thank you for explaining this

[@kgriggs75]

I've been working at the fringe of the oil field most of my life. I started as an oil field mechanic after the Army them after I opened my own shop I had contracts to repair and maintenance trucks and mobile equipment. All that time I've wondered how this stuff works.

[@oldragon666]

Great Educational Video. Thank you!

[@slomvr2]

Great Video Zach gave me a lot of information.

[@TheadventuresofSherylandPaul]

Thanks Zach. For an Australian that was hugely informative. We don’t have many wells here in Australia but I would love to do it if we had a few. I just subscribed. I love your work mate.

[@TheZachLife]

Awesome thanks.

[@oilfinder]

Hey, Mr Zach, your video on leases, operating was great, maybe you can add a little on the next one, like what an oil field shoeshine kit is---- a putty knife and wire brush. Thanks.

[@tmet01]

Great video. Keep them coming..

[@SIGINT007]

Well done! Looking forward to the rest of the series…

[@TheZachLife]

Thanks.

[@davidmitchell7183]

I just like to understand how stuff works and this channel is great for that. The only we have less of in Massachusetts other than Conservatives, is oil wells. So it's not something I grew up with. I have heard all of the doom and gloom stuff regarding the oil business for years. It is nice to hear from somebody closer to reality.

[@donsscooters]

In the 80's my family had 80 acres just built a nice new log cabin over looking about half of the property. It was beautiful. We could sit on the porch and watch deer/turkey at a feeder and the sun set. We had a prior lease for the prior owner and they put a well 75 yards from the front porch right in the middle of the view. We asked them to move it 100 yards either way but they would not.

[@robertsutton3001]

I used to be a well tester and now I raise capital for oil wells. I’d like to learn more about how to find these leases etc.

[@kjsud5546]

I find this fascinating as the mineral/royalty laws are completely different than than Canada. Very cool.

[@robjorg057]

Very wise to let it sink for a while.

[@Zt3v3]

Thanks Zach, this was really interesting.