Hello all. My brothers and I inherited 10 acres of mineral interest in WV. This inheritance happened years ago, unbeknownst to us. We only just now started getting offers about it. The offers are extremely low as far as the bonus, $400 flat. 16% royalty. A family member is a lawyer who is currently working on gathering certain documentation about the history of this land, to help us determine its actual value and if these offers are criminally low. We’ve determined that we will not be signing anything until we can make an informed choice.
But, that being said, does anyone have any experience dealing with mineral rights or a similar situation?
Looking for guidance and wisdom in this arena. This is a completely new subject to me, so l’m just taking steps forward intuitively. To me, it seems the next right move would be to contact the county, see what energy company previously held the lease, if any, and what their production was. Any suggestions?
Joe here is the web address for the IDX site in Marshall Co where my interests are, 129.71.117.225. Select the Book & Page menu and then enter 1177 in the Book box and 1 in the page box. From there you can advance thru several sample leases and other documents to get an idea of what others are recently negotiating. We leased with SWN Energy as several of the lease examples show. I found the IDX site for Wetzel but was unable to find the O & G examples. Hope that helps. Also try not to agree to paying a proportionate share of severance taxes in the addendum. It’s about 50/50 in the various leases.
Hi and welcome to the forum. Wetzel County is fairly active for gas exploration. Depending on where your acreage is located and the actual net acres involved it could be a valuable asset. As to bonus offers I would counter any with $4,500 per net acre and a 18% royalty rate. Also make sure the lease is cost free relative to post production costs. These items can either be directly written into the lease or included in an addendum that is controlling which is common. Lease examples with addendums can be found on the county clerk’s site of most counties. Sometimes they are just summaries without specific numbers but several have the addendums attached for examples of what others are agreeing to. Your brother lawyer should be able to gather most of the pertinent info and then you can decide whether an O & G attorney is needed. Usually a good decision when dealing with landmen who obviously work for the gas companies. A few hundred dollars with an attorney should secure you all a better deal. Good luck.
Jeannie- It takes 5-6 months after first production to begin receiving revenue. From start of drilling to revenue can be 10-12 months so be patient. Hopefully you gave your information to EQT and that your title at the county clerk’s office is up to date.
If you have received an offer, how can you find if permits have been granted or if there is an active well on the parcel? We just received an offer and want to do as much research as I can to make the right decision for my family and hoping I could get some guidance. Thank you!
Check the West Virginia oil and gas commission website for wells. Just because you received an offer doesn’t mean you have to take it. Most offers come before drilling, so take time to evaluate and find out as much as you can. Most of my offers have been below what royalties I eventually made off of drilling by not selling. Depends upon the area and the activity. Competition drives the offer amounts.