A natural gas rig is going up on my neighbor’s property right now as I type. This rig is 200 or 300 yards away from my property. I own around 5 acres currently, but 19 acres worth of mineral rights by which the oil company is sucking right out from under me most likely. Shouldn’t I be entitled to reimbursement for what they’re taking via my neighbor’s property? The rig isn’t on any of the property I own or have mineral rights for, but it’s literally just a couple hundred yards away from mine, so shouldn’t I be reimbursed some for whatever the rig produces?
I checked the deed from 1966 (it’s been in my family since then) and the previous owner only reserved “1/4th of 1/8th of all the oil, gas, and other minerals in, on, under or that may be produced from the described property” when it was sold to us for himself. I’m going to have to check previous deeds, so I believe I should own the large majority of the rights.