When I get a call from a potential client about their oil royalties in South Arkansas, I always ask “who has your lease?” The answer 9 out of 10 times is “Lion Oil.” This answer is wrong answer 10 out of 10 times. Lion oil is just a refinery. They don’t own oil wells anymore. They do own pipelines, but that’s about all outside of the refinery gates. So why do the checks come from Lion Oil? That’s always the next question. The answer is simple: Most oil operators in South Arkansas do not have the back office staff to set up and maintain complicated oil well ownership pay decks. (Complicated it is! I will tell you that a typical 80 acre oil production unit in South Arkansas has upwards of 100 distinct owners with interests diluted to the 9th decimal place.) Thus, these mom and pop oil companies outsource their royalty payment back office to Lion Oil. It works well because nearly all of the oil production in South Arkansas goes to Lion Oil anyways.
Lion Oil is a wholly owned subsidiary of Israeli multinational company Delek Holdings (NYSE: DK). The company bought Lion Oil back in 2011, but don’t worry, nothing changed as far as I can tell dealing with the land department. Still the same helpful folks. To change ownership, one has to contact their land department. They don’t provide legal advice. Thus, if you need your Arkansas oil and gas royalty ownership changed, you need professional advice. An Arkansas oil and gas lawyer can help. Law Offices of Mark Robinette practices Arkansas oil and gas law out of Little Rock, Arkansas. Mr. Robinette regularly deals with oil and gas royalty ownership changes in Union County Arkansas, Columbia County Arkansas, Lafayette County Arkansas, Miller County Arkansas, Ouachita County Arkansas, and Calhoun County Arkansas. These are all counties that produce oil and gas that goes to Lion Oil.
Many things can trigger a need to change oil and gas royalty ownership in Arkansas. This might include: Death of the owner, divorce of owner, sale of the interest, bankruptcy, creation of a trust, and name changes. In addition to providing these documents to Lion Oil, the owner should record the information in the real estate records of the county of the oil well or oil production unit. While this seems simple, there are many traps for the unwary. Hiring Law Offices of Mark Robinette to handle your Arkansas oil and gas royalty ownership transfer will give you the piece of mind that an experienced Arkansas oil and gas lawyer will handle your oil and gas ownership change from start to finish.
Do you need to mail something to Lion Oil’s Owner Relations/Land Department? Here’s the address:
100 E. Peach St.
Ste 201
El Dorado, AR 71730