Court tables Verdun Oil request to waive bidding for tiny county land interests

Verdun Oil & Gas told the Dimmit County Commissioners Court it has begun drilling a lateral that will run beneath the Elm Lake addition and wants to lease tiny fractional county interests in multiple lots. The company asked the court to waive the normal competitive bidding process for those fractional interests because each county-held interest totals roughly 0.1 acre per parcel and, the company said, would be uneconomic for other bidders to pursue.

Mike Reed, identified in the meeting as a contract landman for Verdun, described two distinct county interest packages: a small trust-owned lot that he said is held ‘‘in trust for the county and the school district, city and other entities’’ and a set of partial interests in additional lots. Reed told the court that Verdun already holds the necessary contiguous acreage to drill the proposed lateral and that the county's fractional interests are de minimis in area and value, which is why the company requested a waiver of the bidding process.

County officials declined to grant an immediate waiver. The court's judge asked the county attorney to review the documents and directed staff to consult the auditor and outside counsel if necessary. The item was tabled for further review and scheduled to return to a future commissioners court meeting.

Why it matters: County land interests and the legal process used to dispose of them can affect future revenues and liabilities. Commissioners said they needed an attorney's opinion on whether state or local procurement and conveyance rules permit waiving the bidding process for such small fractional interests.

Ending: The court tabled the Verdun Oil item pending a legal review; county staff will return the documents and counsel's advice to the next available commissioners court meeting.