Lease Terms for Minerals

I’m in receipt of a letter from Panterra Services stating Southwestern Energy is interested in leasing minerals on .2856 net mineral acres I acquired from my father.

The parcel # 7-17-18 in Liberty District.

They offer the following lease terms: 5 Yrs w/5 Yr option, $2,000/acre, 15% Royalty.

I’ve done some homework and I think I should get 5 Yrs with no option, $4,000/acre, and 18% Royalty. These figures are dated–2015 and 2016. Any input/comment on my numbers, leasing in general, would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

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Bud, I have a lease with SWN north of you in Marshall Co. I would counter with a 5 yr term absolutely no auto extension, $4,000 - $4,500 per net acre which would yield $1,142 - $1,285 based on your net acres. Also a minimum of 18% royalty. Attached is an example of an Addendum to a lease that may be helpful. Perhaps one of the professionals will have additional advice. Best of luck.

Sample Addendum

Should there be any inconsistency between the terms and conditions set forth in the main body of this Lease and the terms and conditions specified in this Addendum, the provisions of the Addendum shall prevail and supersede the inconsistent provisions in the main body ofthis Lease.

ROYALTY: All references made in Paragraph (B) of the section entitled "PAYMENT TO LESSOR’ as to one-eighth (1/8) royalty shall be amended to EIGHTEEN Percent (187o).

ROYALTIES WITHOUT DEDUCTION: All royalties due hereunder shall be based upon the gross proceeds received by Lessee for all oil, gas, and the constituents thereofproduced and sold from the Lease, without deduction, directly or indirectly, for the cost ofproducing, gathering, separating, treating, dehydrating, compressing. processing. transporting, and marketing the oil, gas and other products produced hereunder to transform the product into marketable form. The royalty paid hereunder shall be subject to a deduction for its proportionate share ofany production tax and/or severance tax.

NO STORAGE RIGHTS: Notwithstanding anything herein contained to the contrary, Lessee agrees the herein described leased premises shall not be used for the purpose of gas storage as defined by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Any reference to gas storage contained in this lease is hereby deleted. lf Lessor wishes to enter into an agreement regarding gas storage using the leased premises with a third party, Lessor shall first give Lessee written notice of the identity of the third par1y, the price or the consideration for which the third party is prepared to offer, the effective date and closing date of the transaction and any other inforrnation respecting the transaction which Lessee believes would be material to the exercise of the offering. Lessor does hereby grant Lessee the first option and right to purchase the gas storage rights by matching and tendering to the Lessor any third party’s offering within 30 days of receipt of notice from Lessor.

NO COALBED METHANE: Not withstanding anything contained herein, this Lease shall not include the right to produce coalbed methane.

COMPLIANCE: Lessee’s operations on said land shall comply with all applicable federal and state regulations.

HOLD HARMLESS: Lessee agrees it will protect and save and keep Lessor harmless and indemnified against and from any penalty or damage or charges imposed for any violation of any laws or ordinances, whether occasioned by the neglect of Lessee or those holding under Lessee, and Lessee will at all times protect, indemnify and save and keep harmless the Lessor against and from any and all loss, damage or expense, including any injury to any person or property whomsoever or whatsoever arising out ofor caused by any negligence ofthe Lessee or those holding under Lessee.

WARRANTY OF TITLE: lt is understood that Lessor warrants title to said property only with respect that the title is good to the best of Lessor’s knowledge and Lessee agrees that no claims will be made against Lessor pertaining to warranty of title.

AD VALOREM: Lessee agrees to pay a proportionate share of any increase in ad valorem taxes assessed against the leased premises, which is based upon the value of oil and gas production from, or reserves under, the leased premises.

SHUT-IN LIMITATIONS: Lessee agrees that the shut-in royalty payment will be $25.00 per net mineral acre, per year. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, it is understood and agreed that this lease may not be maintained in force for any one continuous period oftime longerthan five (5) consecutive years afterthe expiration ofthe primary term hereofsolely by the provisions ofthe shut-in royalty clause.

EXTENSION OF PRIMARY TERM: The paragraph contained in the Lease, to which this addendum is attached, providing for an extension of the primary term for one additional term of five (5 ) years from the expiration of the primary term by payment of an amount equal to the initial consideration, is deleted in its entirety.

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Dome-Wow, many thanks, very informative, what I was looking for. I’ll make posts as I progress through the lease process.

Dome, I modeled my lease negotiations on your post; cost per net acre, royalty %, no extension on 5 year term and importantly the addendum. I got all that’s included in your sample addendum. I’m happy with terms I negotiated and look forward to reviewing the lease when it arrives in my mailbox. This has been fun for me, including the steep learning curve --I’d never seen a mineral rights document of any sort before. I’m now going to the Marshall County Clerk for an affidavit of heirship and a land deed. Thanks again, your post provided a great working base–I did lots of Google searches using your words and terms.

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Bud, Glad it helped. I was in the same boat with zero knowledge about mineral leases when our initial offer arrived out of the blue in 2012 from Chesapeake. It is definitely a learning experience. I was fortunate to have neighbors at the time who worked in the industry and connected me with others who helped with that language. When SWN took over for the new lease period we at least had more info to help get better terms. Good luck.

Budmatthews,

Did you get all of your questions answered?

Rachel

Yep, thanks very much for asking. If a question(s) come up I’ll post them up on this forum.

Bud

Hi, Bud! My husband just received a letter/packet regarding the same parcel # in Liberty as yours. Is the same parcel possible? The numbers they gave you are different from ours. I have read how you are having things rewritten. Does an attorney have to do this? A notary must be involved? Of course, this is all a surprise and we are not sure who to contact for help to negotiate and finalize the documents. We are in Ohio.

Bud, I meant that the amounts Penterra offered you are different than my husband’s. The letter was dated 12-16-20. We saw that you are requesting to change the amounts they offered you.

This is my 1st experience with mineral rights, so keep that in mind. Hopefully folks with more experience will add some advice. Yes, the same parcel is possible. I used Dome’s post to me, the 5 yr term no auto extension, $4,000 - $4,500 per net acre and the 18% royalty without deduction and Dome’s “Sample Addendum” as a starting points to negotiate the lease myself. I did not retain an attorney. A notary will be needed. I’ve received a proposed lease to sign and have asked for some additional changes. I contacted an oil and gas attorney but have not retained their services.

Thank you, Bud, for responding! Yes, all things new here, too! As I was reading all the comments last night, I thought I’d respond to you with questions on things since it appears we may have the same parcel, which I don’t understand but anyway, how do we go about changing the papers/rates/figures/no auto extension, etc we received to what Dome’s “Sample Addendum” like you are doing? Through the notary? I had read another site and they recommend using legal counsel from a real estate attorney for clarification before signing anything. You must feel confident with Dome’s advice and “Sample Addendum”? Thank you.

I’d call the contact on the letter you received and ask for the lease they want you to sign. Maybe tell them what you want for a signing bonus and the per cent royalty you want based on gross proceeds. If you are willing, negotiate these numbers. Once you get the lease in hand you’ll see how it’s set up. Mine was a boiler-plate lease followed by an addendum. I spent some time googling lease terms and looking at posts on this forum to understand the terms of the lease. I’ve now got the lease I’m going to sign-it’s the 4th version that’s been emailed to me.
Take your time, I see no need to rush. If you’re not interested in spending time to understand the lease and negotiate terms then maybe an oil and gas attorney is what you need, obviously your decision.
You’ll need to get the lease notarized when you sign it. I feel confident because I used Dome’s post as a spring board and did my homework, all on the internet, till I had a layman’s understanding of what I was signing up for.

Bud Mathews I also have a parcel 7-17-18 in Marshall County, West Virginia. Wonder if it a share of the same parcel as yours. I think our would be .2856 also as I think the four kids each received .071390625 net mineral acres. Are you related to a Schxxxxx?

Bud, I am new to O & G leasing and reading about experience has been really helpful. I, too, have a lease on TMP 7-17-18 in Marshall County, WV. I have a very small amount 1/8 of an acre. I was able to increase the price per acre to $4500 with a 17% gross up from 16%. They would go 18% net but I’d have to give up the No deductions part of the addendum. They agreed to everything else in the addendum–thank you–as I saw from your previous post with Dome. I thought it best to keep the No Deduction clause and take one % point less. The lease is with SWN Energy through Penterra Services also. I’m wondering what any costs will be as the year goes by. Open to any comment/info and thanks in advance!

Pamsalty, I agree keeping the No Deduction clause at 17% was the way to go. I’ll post any info/updates I get on my lease going forward and look forward to any posts you make-thanks.

As a side note to anyone dealing with Marshall County parcel 7-17-18 I found a minimum of 52 separate memorandum of leases all with SWN on the Marshall Co website. There may be a few more. Good luck to all.

Dome, thanks for the info.

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