My father recently passed away but informed me prior to passing that he has Gas and Mineral rights for a .40 acre property in Lycoming County PA. I have found some paperwork from 2006-2009 - Memorandum of Lease with East Resources Inc. I understand that East Resources Inc is no longer in play and that Anadarko is the company that took over those leases with Land owners. I have called repeatedly to understand information about the current lease that my Dad had with them and they are not returning any of my calls. They also do not have a way for me to physically speak with someone. It has been a frustrating process for someone who knows nothing about these rights and how I would either split them between the beneficiaries of the will or sell them. I do understand that currently in Lycoming county they are not drilling so the value is zero but need to understand what my next steps are as I am preparing to auction the land and the cabin that it sits on and have no idea what to disclose to the potential buyers? Can anyone help a novice who needs to understand the information? I do have a parcel number and thought maybe the Lycoming County Courthouse would be the place for me to get more information. Thoughts or direction from anyone would be helpful.
Traci,
Your thought on contacting the County Clerk Office would be a good first step in my opinion. And then you may have to employ a Landman for further information gathering.
Good luck with your search.
Clint Liles
traci,
Welcome to the oil business. Basically, when a lease is signed, the lessee, assumes complete control of the mineral rights and access to them. In other words the lessee can do whatever it wants under the lease terms that are written by the lessee in most cases. Under most leases, the lessor has the unbridled right to assign the lease. It is up to the operator to find the current owner if and when a distribution of production income is eminent.
I suggest that when you have found a buyer for the entire property and with knowledge of the existence of a lease, carefully review a deed that includes the minerals and that the transfer is subject to any and all mineral rights agreements of record. Limit the deed to the 0,40 acres in the event that old dad may have more mineral.rights in the County.
By the way, I don't agree that the minerals have "zero value" as the speculative value may add some total asset value depending on the location. As long as Anadarko has the lease, it has value to Anadarko.
Gary L Hutchinson
Minerals Managment
One thing you can do to help the title process is probate your father's will if it has not been yet.
You might try calling Anadarko Corporate Headquarters, 1201 Lake Robbins Dr., The Woodlands, TX 77380 / 832-636-1000. This information was found on their website (www.anadarko.com/about/locations/ )
Ask for the Land Department or Owner Relations, or both. Someone should be able to help you. They're a pretty sophisticated operation.
Good luck,
Pat