Runsheets vs. Ownership Reports: How to Know Which Product Your Project Actually Needs
One of the most common conversations we have with new clients starts the same way. Someone sends an email that says, "I need an abstract on this lease."
That sounds straightforward, but it leads to the most important question we ask: what are you using it for?
The answer to that question determines which product actually fits the project. Getting it wrong can mean the difference between a focused, cost-effective engagement and a 1,500-page deliverable that costs thousands more than what the project required.
The Language Gap Between Landmen and Abstracters
There's a real difference in how landmen and abstracters use terminology, and it creates confusion more often than most people in the industry realize. A landman might use the word "abstract" as a catch-all for any title research product. An abstractor hears that word and starts building a comprehensive chain-of-title document that covers everything from the original lease through every assignment, amendment, and filing in the record.
That comprehensive product is exactly what some projects need. For others, it's far more than necessary.
First-time clients often request an abstract without specifying what they're trying to accomplish. If we simply proceed with what our team considers an abstract, they may end up with a product that's more extensive (and more expensive) than their project required when a simple ownership report or runsheet would have been a better fit.
This is why we spend time at the front end of every engagement making sure we understand the use case before any work begins. We'd rather have a five-minute conversation upfront than deliver something that doesn't match what the client actually needs.
What an Ownership Report Does
An ownership report tells you who currently owns interests in a particular oil and gas lease. It's a snapshot of the current state of ownership based on what's in the record.
For companies looking to identify acquisition targets, ownership reports are a powerful screening tool.
For companies looking to identify acquisition targets, ownership reports are a powerful screening tool. If you're evaluating 50 leases to determine which ones have opportunities to purchase non-operating interests or overriding royalties, you don't need a full chain-of-title workup on all 50. You need to know who owns what right now so you can identify the leases worth pursuing further.
We can typically turn ownership reports around quickly because of the depth of our database. In many cases, we already have the information a client needs. On a batch of 50 leases, we can start delivering ownership reports as they're completed rather than making the client wait for the entire package. That lets the acquisition team start working leads immediately instead of sitting idle for weeks.
The ownership report gets the process moving. It answers the threshold question of whether a lease is worth a deeper look.
What a Runsheet Does (and Why It Matters)
A runsheet goes further. It includes the ownership information, but it also provides a complete index of all documents in the lease file, with bookmarked copies of those documents included in the deliverable. The index and the documents correspond to each other, so you can pull up the index on one screen and the actual documents on another and move through the entire file efficiently.
An ownership report tells you who owns what, but it doesn't show you how they got there. A runsheet does.
An ownership report tells you who owns what, but it doesn't show you how they got there. A runsheet does. You can see the chain of assignments, the original lease terms, any amendments, overriding royalty interests, and every other document that's part of the record.
For landmen and attorneys doing due diligence, that documentation is essential. An ownership report might tell you that Company X owns 50% of the operating rights. The runsheet shows you the actual assignment document that transferred those rights, which lets you verify the accuracy of the ownership claim and identify any potential title issues before they become problems during closing.
We produce runsheets for state and federal oil and gas leases across our coverage area, and our deliverables come ready to use. The bookmarks correspond with the index, so there's no additional processing required on the client's end. No one has to take what we deliver and hand it to someone else to reformat into a usable package.
How the Two Products Work Together
The most efficient approach for many projects is to use ownership reports and runsheets in sequence.
Here's how that works in practice. A client contacts us because they're looking to identify federal and state oil and gas leases where there are opportunities to purchase non-operating interests and overrides. Instead of ordering full runsheets on every lease in their target area, they start with ownership reports. We deliver those quickly, and the client's acquisition team reviews them to identify which leases have real opportunities.
Once they've narrowed the list, they come back and order runsheets on the specific leases they want to pursue. That gives them the complete documentation they need for due diligence on the deals that actually matter, without paying for full workups on the leases that didn't pan out.
We credit the cost of the ownership report toward the runsheet on any lease where the client upgrades to the more comprehensive product. That way, clients aren't paying twice for the same information.
We credit the cost of the ownership report toward the runsheet on any lease where the client upgrades to the more comprehensive product. That way, clients aren't paying twice for the same information.
The ownership-report-first approach lets clients move quickly on the leases that matter and skip the ones that don't.
The difference between this approach and the alternative is significant. Without the screening step, a company's options are to send someone to the BLM or state land office to pull files one at a time, or to order comprehensive products on every lease and hope most of them turn out to be worth the investment. The ownership-report-first approach lets clients move quickly on the leases that matter and skip the ones that don't.
Abstracts: When You Need the Full Picture
A full abstract of title is the most comprehensive product we offer. It provides a complete chain of title from the inception of the lease through the present day, with every document that affects ownership included and organized chronologically.
Abstracts are typically what attorneys and title examiners need when they're preparing to close a transaction or issue a title opinion. The level of detail goes beyond what a runsheet provides because it's designed to support legal analysis, not just operational decision-making.
For projects where the legal team needs to verify every link in the chain of title, confirm the term and status of the lease, and identify any defects or encumbrances, an abstract is the right product.
For projects where the legal team needs to verify every link in the chain of title, confirm the term and status of the lease, and identify any defects or encumbrances, an abstract is the right product. For projects where the goal is to understand current ownership and evaluate acquisition opportunities, it's often more than necessary.
Getting the Right Product for Your Project
The simplest way to make sure you're ordering the right product is to tell your abstractor what you're trying to accomplish, not just what you think you need.
If you're screening acquisition targets across a large number of leases, ownership reports give you the information you need to make quick decisions without overinvesting in research on leases that won't pan out.
If you've identified specific leases you want to pursue and need complete documentation for due diligence, runsheets provide a verified, ready-to-use package with all supporting documents indexed and bookmarked.
If your legal team needs a comprehensive chain of title to support a title opinion or close a transaction, a full abstract gives them everything they need in one organized deliverable.
We handle all three, and we're happy to walk through the options on any project to make sure the scope matches the objective. Abstracting is all we do, and part of that specialization is making sure clients get the right product for their situation, not the most expensive one.
When you're ready to talk through your next project, give us a call. We cover state and federal land records across New Mexico, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Texas.