# Marketability of Mineral Rights
**URL:** https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996
**Category:** Monongalia County, WV
**Created:** [August 11, 2025, 7:57pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996 "2025-08-11T19:57:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@W\_Pfost](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/W_Pfost)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2025, 7:57pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/1 "2025-08-11T19:57:55Z")
My family inherited a significant set of West Virginia mineral rights. We might be interested in leasing, but we’re unsure about the best approach to the leasing process. We know the acreage was leased decades ago. What’s the best approach to determine the marketability of these holdings? Our concerns are about securing a fair value and avoiding problems.
We know a thorough estimate is costly and no guarantee of marketability.
Any help is appreciated.
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### Author:  [@W\_Pfost](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/W_Pfost)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2025, 9:12pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/2 "2025-08-11T21:12:27Z")
I would like to note that this group of rights is located in the Clinton District and was recently separated from the surface. There is a single owner.
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### Author:  [@galetime](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/galetime)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2025, 1:12am UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/3 "2025-08-12T01:12:08Z")
Generally, you don’t ask a company about leasing; they ask you—and only if it is a favorable area and they are working on things to drill a new well or rework an existing one. If this is not the case, then at this time your rights have no marketability. The exception to this is if you own rights in a producing well that you want to sell.
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### Author:  [@W\_Pfost](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/W_Pfost)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2025, 11:39am UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/4 "2025-08-12T11:39:48Z")
Thank you. The existing wells and pipeline, I am sure, are documented in the industry. How may we assess what infrastructure exists? Is there a way to research it in public records?
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### Author:  [@galetime](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/galetime)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2025, 2:14pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/5 "2025-08-12T14:14:12Z")
I would start with the West Virginia Oil & Gas Commission or the County Clerk’s Office for where the rights are located. It seems that every state has its own way of doing things, and these are the two most common places to start. Sometimes you can just google phrases like Clinton District Oil & Gas or West Virginia Oil & Gas or Clinton District WV and go through the websites that pop up. You may also have to call the county or state offices for further info.
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### Author:  [@Petroleum9202](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/Petroleum9202)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2025, 3:21pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/6 "2025-08-12T15:21:12Z")
@W_Pfost Marketability depends on:
**Location:** A lot of Clinton District to the east, the Marcellus shale fractures out, and it’s not worth a drilling operator setting up pad sites. Chesapeake drilled two test wells along Route 73 near White Day Golf Course that depleted quickly in two years, and the MCF dropped sharply. You can always try Northeast Natural Energy, but I recommend waiting and having the operator present a new lease. When you approach an operator to lease, they will give you a very poor lease with no room for negotiation.
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### Author:  [@W\_Pfost](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/W_Pfost)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2025, 4:02pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/7 "2025-08-12T16:02:37Z")
Thank you very much, that’s my assessment as well. These properties are situated near and under Interstate 79 and have had a gas and oil lease for decades, which evidences that some companies have found value in the investment. There are two shale layers - the Marcellus and the Utica, which I understand to be deeper and much richer than the Marcellus. Is there a barrier to mining the Utica?
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### Author:  [@WVOGM](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/WVOGM)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2025, 8:26pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/8 "2025-08-12T20:26:58Z")
Not a whole lot going on in Clinton District - SWN leased some stuff in West Central Clinton in 2017, and a group called Pauley Realty has been taking some leases in that same area, which they clearly intend to flip. Geology is not great, and a very dry gas area. Aside from one unit, drilled by CHK, and now operated by Expand, there has been no Marcellus development in Clinton. I would not expect any leasing activity in the area until producers drill off their inventory in more favorable areas. Elevated, prolonged nat gas prices would be a must.
There is a fair amount of shallow wells from legacy leases in the eastern portion of Clinton. When you say it has had a lease on it for decades, are you saying shallow wells were drilled and it is paying royalties or delay rentals?
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### Author:  [@W\_Pfost](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/W_Pfost)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2025, 11:35pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/9 "2025-08-12T23:35:22Z")
Thank you for the charts! In perfecting the title to the properties, I came across documents indicating that there had been leases paying royalties for decades, starting perhaps (from memory) in the 1960s or 70s and ending in the 1990s. I have no information on whether the wells were shallow, but I gather from the posts here that they were likely relatively shallow and extended into the Marcellus layer.
What is the URL of the website where you find the well information?
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### Author:  [@W\_Pfost](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/W_Pfost)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2025, 12:03pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/10 "2025-08-13T12:03:05Z")
I have scant information on former leases, which is primarily anecdotal. Previous family owners (now deceased) were generally ignorant of mineral rights from the records and contacts we made, and cannot be considered reliable.
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### Author:  [@WVOGM](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/WVOGM)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2025, 7:58pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/11 "2025-08-13T19:58:54Z")
Priority #1 would be to determine lease status of your interest. If it’s a larger interest, I would be somewhat surprised if it’s not HBP by shallow production; meaning it’s not available to lease. If ownership has changed hands numerous times, it’s possible you need to do a change of ownership. I can supply quite a bit of information if I had parcel numbers. Up to you if you want to share that. Or at the very least the acreage. I can find it by that.
> **[IIS Windows Server](http://ims.wvgs.wvnet.edu/)**
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### Author:  [@W\_Pfost](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/W_Pfost)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2025, 8:12pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/12 "2025-08-13T20:12:49Z")
Can I PM somehow? I’d rather not post that publicly.
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### Author:  [@Nick-TBM](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/Nick-TBM)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2025, 8:23pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/13 "2025-08-13T20:23:37Z")
I don’t think you can PM on this forum, at least I haven’t figured out how to. I read through the previous conversations and based on what I’m seeing from operators, your property is very unlikely to be favorable for a lease. There isn’t any activity in that area, nor have I heard of anything planned up there for the foreseeable future. If you are looking to extract funds from this property, selling will probably be your only option. What WVOGM was referring to with “HBP (held by production)” is that if there are any wells at all on your property that produce oil/gas, you’re locked into the historic lease and it cannot be changed. Basically, no one will lease with you because it’s already leased. If you know your parcel number and location, you can use the interactive map they linked to see if any wells are on it. They appear as tiny red dots when you turn on that filter. Red dots mean it’s producing. Also, shallow wells did not extend to the Marcellus, only far enough to reach gas.
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### Author:  [@W\_Pfost](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/W_Pfost)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2025, 9:08pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/14 "2025-08-13T21:08:45Z")
It appears messaging is reserved for website staff members. I’ll look it up and see what I can find. I know of no present leases.
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### Author:  [@W\_Pfost](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/W_Pfost)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2025, 11:43pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/15 "2025-08-13T23:43:54Z")
Unfortunately, that link does not work for me.
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### Author:  [@Forum\_Administrator](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/Forum_Administrator)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2025, 11:56pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/16 "2025-08-13T23:56:49Z")
> [@What is a PM? (Personal - NOT Private - Message)](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/what-is-a-pm-personal-not-private-message/29632):
>
> A “PM” is a Personal Message, NOT A PRIVATE MESSAGE. PM’s are not provided for regular users. The PM feature is available only to those with administrative capacity. To send a PM, click on your avatar, then click on the envelope icon, then click on the New Message button. Follow the prompts. Note: PM’s on this site will have a light green palette around them, distinguishing a PM from a regular post which is displayed publicly to all users.
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### Author:  [@galetime](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/galetime)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2025, 4:57am UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/18 "2025-08-14T04:57:21Z")
You seem to be a bit more confused by what you are being told, so, since you seem to think you have a lot at stake, I’m going to suggest that you hire an oil & gas attorney to do the legwork for you and give you straight answers. A few $$ spent to protect possible assets could be well worth pursuing.
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### Author:  [@W\_Pfost](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/W_Pfost)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2025, 5:41am UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/19 "2025-08-14T05:41:40Z")
I think that’s good advice. Especially when weighing conflicting information.
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### Author:  [@system](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/u/system)
#### Post date: [November 9, 2025, 7:58pm UTC](https://www.mineralrightsforum.com/t/marketability-of-mineral-rights/82996/20 "2025-11-09T19:58:19Z")
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