We are looking for an expert to advise us on an oil and gas contract that has been offered to us by a landman. In reviewing this site as well as other online information, it looks like it would be easy to make a mistake we would regret. Any suggestions for professional assistance would be appreciated.
Welcome to the forum.
it is very wise to get a good oil and gas attorney to review any draft lease. They are usually in the operator’s favor and need significant edits to be more fair to the mineral owner. Leases can hold the mineral owner for decades, so it is very important to get good help.
The National Association of Royalty Owners has an Eastern Chapter which includes the Appalachian area. www.naro-us.org
You may be able to get some attorney recommendations from them or check the KY bar association listing and see if there are Oil and Gas specialists.
Finding knowledgeable, legal advice in eastern Kentucky is proving surprisingly difficult. We have been looking long before I posted the question above. It’s beginning to look like we may have to do this on our own. The contract that we have been presented with is unacceptable and we intend to negotiate as much as we can. For example, we intend to include a Pugh clause, modify the wording on the Shut-in clause to limit the oil companies control of the property to no more than three years, strive for a cost free clause in regards to royalty payments and other issues. My question to this forum is what important issues should be addressed in the contract. We are also struggling to come up with what would be a reasonable royalty payment and bonus payments per net acre. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
If you are a member of NARO (National Association of Royalty Owners), they have an Eastern Chapter which has some excellent directors who can recommend attorneys in that area.