From first conversation to funding, drilling, and — if the wells produce — distributions and a Schedule K-1. Below is the sequence, the waiting, the paperwork, and the parts that can go wrong.
Our offerings are made under SEC Regulation D and are limited to accredited investors. In general, that means annual income of $200,000+ (or $300,000+ jointly with a spouse) in each of the last two years with the same expectation this year, or a net worth over $1 million excluding your primary residence. A short call is all it takes to confirm your status — there is no cost and no obligation.
See the full accredited-investor rules → · Check If You Qualify →
Qualified investors receive the private placement memorandum (PPM) for the current project, along with the geology, the drilling plan, the AFE (the estimated cost per well), and the well economics. Take your time: study the target formations, the operator’s record, and above all the risk factors — that section is where the deal is actually described. Review everything with your own CPA and attorney, and ask us as many questions as you like.
Three questions to put to us in writing before you go further: is the interest assessable (can I be billed after funding?); is my liability limited in the form I would hold it; and who bears plugging and abandonment costs?
View the current project: Slocum Hollow → · Read the risk disclosure →
When you are ready, you complete the subscription documents and fund by wire or check. Minimums and unit sizes vary by program and are stated in each PPM.
Where the money sits. Subscription funds are held pending closing under the terms set out in the offering documents — those documents specify whether funds are held by a third-party escrow agent or received directly, the conditions that must be met before funds are released to the program, and what happens to your money if the offering does not close. Ask for the escrow arrangement in writing, ask who the escrow agent is, and confirm the release conditions before you wire anything. If a sponsor cannot answer that question clearly, do not fund.
Can you be asked for more money later? Whether a working interest is assessable — that is, whether you can be invoiced for your share of workovers, recompletions, disposal, equipment, or plugging after your initial subscription — is determined by the program’s offering and operating documents, not by this page. Working interests are commonly assessable. Confirm the answer for your specific program in writing before you subscribe, along with what happens if actual costs exceed the AFE and what the consequences of non-payment are.
If you are considering a self-directed IRA, read this first. Retirement accounts can hold a working interest, but the economics are materially different and two points are commonly misunderstood:
There can still be reasons to hold this in an IRA, but “for the tax deduction” is not one of them. Discuss it with your CPA before funding, not after. More on self-directed IRA investing →
Also decide how you will hold it. Holding through an entity that limits your liability generally forfeits the §469(c)(3) non-passive treatment that lets working-interest losses offset ordinary income. Holding it directly preserves that treatment and, by the same token, leaves your liability unlimited. That is a decision for your attorney and CPA, and it cannot be changed after the fact.
After the offering closes, the sequence is: permitting and regulatory approval → rig scheduling and site preparation → drilling → logging and the decision to complete or plug → completion and equipping → connection to a purchaser (tank battery and trucking, or a pipeline tie-in) → first sales → title opinion and division orders → owner setup in the operator’s revenue system → first distribution.
Each stage takes time and each can slip. The gap between funding and a first payment is measured in months, not weeks. The most common causes of delay are rig and crew availability, weather and road conditions, title curative work, division-order processing, and waiting on a takeaway connection. On top of all of it, purchasers settle a production month on a lag — so the first payment covers oil sold weeks earlier.
Estimated timing for a specific program is set out in that program’s documents. Treat any date you are given as a plan, not a commitment — ours included. The full sequence, step by step →
As wells produce and oil is sold, your share of net revenue is distributed — typically monthly, with a statement showing volumes, the price received, and each deduction. Each year you receive a Schedule K-1 reporting your share of income and deductions.
On the IDC deduction, stated precisely: intangible drilling costs are 100% deductible in the year incurred under IRC §263(c). IDCs are 100% deductible — your investment is not. IDC is one component of a well’s cost; the tangible equipment portion is capitalised and depreciated over a seven-year MACRS life. The split is set out in the AFE and varies well to well. The at-risk rules and basis limitations may further restrict what you can claim in a given year. Consult your own CPA.
On K-1 timing, bluntly: drilling-program K-1s are routinely issued at or after the April filing deadline, because the program must first receive and reconcile operator statements. Plan on filing an extension every year. Anyone implying you will have an April-safe K-1 is promising something this industry does not reliably deliver. Note also that income is sourced to the state where the wells are located, which can create a nonresident state filing obligation.
This is part of how it works, not an exception to it. Possible outcomes include:
Distributions are never guaranteed, in amount or in continuation. Read the full risk disclosure →
Offers are made only to accredited investors by private placement memorandum under SEC Regulation D. Oil and gas investments are speculative and illiquid and involve a high degree of risk, including the possible loss of your entire investment — and, depending on the form in which the interest is held, liability that is not limited to the amount invested. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances — consult your own tax advisor and attorney. Tax discussion last reviewed July 2026.
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