Interesting. My grandfather and five of his college friends bought into some oil rights in Western ND back in the 1950's. When he passed away, he willed the rights to his six kids (My Dad was one of them).
Nobody thought they were worth anything, but continued to hold on to them for whatever reason. Imagine the families surprise when several oil companies started calling to get permission to start taking field samples on the plots they owned.
They've continued to make good money on the plots and are now just waiting to see if the "big payout" ever comes, where an oil company would want to buy the family out of its ownership.
Nobody thought they were worth anything, but continued to hold on to them for whatever reason. Imagine the families surprise when several oil companies started calling to get permission to start taking field samples on the plots they owned.
They've continued to make good money on the plots and are now just waiting to see if the "big payout" ever comes, where an oil company would want to buy the family out of its ownership.