Greetings all. I was contacted by a genealogist approximately 3 or 4 years ago that my siblings and I were heirs to approximately 46 acres of mineral rights in Marshall County, WV. We signed Affidavits of Heirship and returned them to her and we heard nothing. Finally I contacted her again and she said that Chesapeake had sold their rights to Southwestern Energy in Texas. I’ve contacted them and they say they have no information on it. Their are at least three oil companies surrounding the property and I know who the land owner is although I’ve never contacted him because he has no trespassing signs on the property. Earlier this year Canadian pipelines ran pipe across the land but I cannot find if the owner has leased his portion of the mineral rights or if they remain untouched. What can I do?
I would search the property on WVDEP records and see what you can find. http://tagis.dep.wv.gov/oog/
Thanks. I’m going to do that right now!
I did what you suggested and found three very active horizontal wells that are producing. I know where the property is located and it appears to me that they may cross the property although it’s not definite. When I drove by the property there are wells all around it. SWN would be the party the genealogist said acquired the “rights” or leases from Chesapeake. I also visited the court house and have a copy of my grandfather’s will but could not find the Affidavits of Heirship that we signed and sent back to the genealogist. When I last talked to her she said she had turned everything over to Chesapeake and no longer worked for them. She then told me about the sale to SWN. SWN said they had “no knowledge” of the paperwork. What would you recommend next?
Thanks. I have a copy of the deed.
They could have identified you as the heir to someone and then determined that you aren’t actually an heir to that person. Not the person you signed the Affidavits for, someone farther back.
On the other hand, they may have just screwed up. If you can prove that you’re the owner of the minerals, you have a decent sized interest in the minerals, and they’re producing from the property, then you have a good case for trespass. Trespass is nice. They owe you for not just the royalties but all the gas that came out of the ground, times two. Hope you can prove this up. Good luck!
Kyle,
Thank you for this information. My grandfather left approximately 56 acres with 1/2 of the mineral rights going to his heirs which there are 6 all of whom are deceased. I’m not sure how this would work, but am I right that you would divide 56 by 6 which would be 9 + which would mean my father would have 9 acres and he had four children which would mean we would be eligible for rights on 2 + and 1/2 of that would be 1 acre + . From the horizontal wells that lead to the “big one” it was producing over 900,000 in the beginning and is now down to approximately 600,000.