I’m just learning about all of this since Antero sent me an offer to lease or sell about 3 weeks ago. In fact I let the lease go unsigned by the “due date” as I’m not educated enough just yet. Background: WV Tyler County, 13 acres. Was offered 300 signing bonus and 15% royalties.
I’ve learned a lot on this site before posting this but I still have questions. Should I be trying to find the landman for other companies and seeing what they’ll offer (and how do I get that info?) or just negotiate with Antero for a better deal?
Also, it seems there was a lot of talk and interest in WV back in 2018. I see in old posts the offers were much higher. Should I be going off those numbers or not as this is new drilling?
Hi and welcome to the forum. You need to find out how many of the 13 mineral acres are yours or what is called net acres. You can contact the landman from Antero who should know this figure. Based on that I would counter the offer with $4,000 per net acre and 18% no cost royalty. They always lowball their first offer. Nat gas is on the rise right now. A good time to negotiate. It is normal to be one of many individuals party to a portion of the total 13 mineral acres. Once you find out your net acres multiply that by the bonus amount offered per net acre. The royalty percentage is more important so go for a higher number there which once they drill will pay for a much longer period. Others may have better input as my interests are in Marshall Co. Check out the Tyler Co website for lease examples at IDX Search Tyler County. Good luck.
@DW2 I’m going to make a few assumptions off of Antero’s offer but I recommend you follow @dome 's advice as he is correct. Regarding your mineral ownership, I would suspect that you own a very small percentage of that 13 acres. The reason I believe this is Antero has historically offered $3,000 per net mineral acre for a signing bonus. Their flat fee for anything below 1/10th of an acre is $300. 15% isn’t bad, but isn’t great either. They are likely offering this as a “final offer” before it gets drilled, but the way it works is that if you refuse to sign a lease, they have to pay you the same royalty rate as the highest negotiated lease in that tract. So if someone else negotiated 18% without deductions like @dome said to ask for, that is what you will be paid.
@Nick-TBM, you are correct about the size of land. It’s a small fraction of an acre. With that said, I think my brother is interested in selling to them. Would it be worth it for me to try and take over his portion? Might not be worth the Lawyers fees if I have to hire someone to draw up the paperwork.
Where on the counties website would I look to see who’s negotiated what? I assume it’s public record?
Sorry for all the questions, this is a whole new arena for me and I appreciate any help I can get so thank you!
If you take over your brother’s portion it will probably make sense to have him keep his share until you’ve both signed leases. That way he gets a bonus and you get a bonus. If you get his share before you sign a lease you’ll be the only one to get a bonus and they’ll probably still keep you at the same small flat fee, not double the flat fee they’re now offering. Unless, of course, you taking over your brother’s share makes it so you have a large enough net mineral acreage that they’ll pay you on a price per acre rate that brings you a larger bonus.
You won’t find much about other peoples’ leases on the county website. The companies file Memorandums of Lease, which provide only the most basic information about the lease. All the major changes, like bonus amounts, royalties, and other significant concessions by the company are in the lease and its addendum, but won’t be placed of record at the courthouse. You need to keep a copy of your lease and addendum so that if there’s ever a question about what you agreed on, you’ll have it.
@Kyle_Nuttall
I assume even having his portion I’ll still get the same offer as it’s that small of an amount. Great suggestion about doing it after but only if it’ll still only require a quit claim! Thank you for your response!
I just received an offer from Antero for .72 net acres I own in Tyler County, West Virginia. The offer is $1800 and 15% royalty on future production slated for drilling January 2027. Does anyone know if this offer is reasonable or is it a lowball? Thanks.
It sounds like an initial offer. My family has five leases, all signed roughly two years ago. Each has a 16% royalty and the bonus was $3500 per acre or thereabouts.
Aim for an 18% royalty. They’ve been trying hard to get lower royalties lately, but if you push them you should be able to get there. Counter with 20%.