Minerals/Royalty Owner Info

"WV SORO is primarily a surface owners organization, although 30% of our members are also small mineral owners.  Although our expertise is with surface owner laws and issues, we get many questions about leasing.  Therefore we present this collection of materials from other sources, but we do not have the expertise to do more than that.  If you come across other useful information, please forward to us to consider adding here.

"To find out what gas companies are offering other mineral owners to sign leases, go to the Natural Gas Lease Forum For Landowners.  This forum was started in Pennsylvania, but has now included West Virginia.  Scroll down to "Natural Gas Offers On The Table (POST OFFERS ONLY)", and look under "West Virginia".  The Pennsylvania offers may also be helpful.  Some of them are $1,500.00 an acre and 15% royalty, which is confirmed by news reports!  They are probably leases intended to use to drill to the the Marcellus formation which is hot right now, and this map of the thickness of the Marcellus shale formation shows that the seam is up to 150 feet thick in that area, and not so thick generally here."

Here is a video of most of a presentation on oil and gas leasing made to a gathering of folks who mostly own both surface and minerals.  The meeting was held in Marlinton, West Virginia, in April of 2008.  The speaker is David McMahon, a founder of WVSORO and the author of the West Virginia Surface Owner's Guide to Oil and Gas. The meeting was sponsored by the West Virgnia Farm Bureau.

If you want to know if the royalty checks that you are receiving are being properly calculated you can get a free initial consultation with a lawyer who has volunteered to do this for WV SORO members and others.

Penn State Cooperative Extenion service web site on leasing. At the bottom of the page under "Wiki Information" click "Show all pages" to see what is available.

Pennsylvania Natural Gas Lease Forum    

Information on signing bonuses and royalty payments paid by Chesapeake Energy in Wayne County, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania mineral owners form organization to negotiate leases.

Natural Gas Lease Forms and Addendum.  This document was drafted for Pennsylvania law and conditions.  However, it is useful for West Virginia for the most part in explaining the major terms of leases, how addendums work, and things to consider in signing a lease.  We do not know whether or not the signing bonus amounts mentioned are justified in West Virginia -- based on what this says about free gas, the pressures may be higher there.  The problems this mentions with free gas and gas pressures does not apply here, whether because their pressures are higher or they are not accustomed to free gas like we are here.  Also in West Virginia there are statutory provisions for surface damages even without a lease provision, but a side agreement in an addendum would also be legal.  Also there are revegetation requirements, but the State would probably not interfere with provisions in an agreement that are different so long as they prevent soil erosion and sedimentation.  Finally, limiting the depth of formations drilled is one thing, because a really deep well, around 10,000 feet, takes a lot more surface area.  More importantly is the number of different formations to which they may drill.  Lots of formations means lots more wells if you are a surface owner.  Consider leasing to only the formations they say they want to drill to, and negotiate up.

National Association of Royalty Owners

Pennsylvania Attorney General press release  with advice

Property owner files suit over gas extraction

Natural Gas Lease Forum For Landowners

Circuit Court Decision on Flat Rate Royalties.  We think that the "contemplation of the parties" theory that is only mentioned in this decision and also contract theories might be good theories for a lawyer to pursue  in a court case.

Lease clauses and other forms from the web site of an organization of oil and gas industry landmen.

Owners have way to fight landmen

Daily Natural Gas Price (NYMEX Henry-Hub)