Change in Mineral Lease, Gulfport, Belmont County Ohio

Ohio Mineral Rights Belmont County, OH
1

We have been waiting to receive our 1st royalty check, with production being recorded for

oil & gas production from Jan - March 2019 on ODNR. So I called Gulfport and

I was told by the Landman at Gulfport (that took over from the original landman) two very disappointing facts:

  1. that we are NOT the owners of the mineral rights, that the mineral rights belong to the surface owners

  2. that Gulfport moved our wells over, so that they are NOT part of our property -

which belonged to our Great Grandmother.

My questions for you is

  1. Does this sound accurate? as the landman did do a title search and all the legwork.

  2. Does this occur often and should we just go along with it?

  3. Should I contact my lawyer and fight this, or will it cost me more than it’s worth?

Where can I go for assistance with this devastating news? Thanks All!

2

What state, county, section-township and range or legal are you wondering about. Can’t help you without the info.

3

Hi Martha Ohio, Belmont County, Somerset Twp The unit is Stephens North Thanks so much!

4

Cindy, If the “ UNITS “ were moved over, then you may be eligible when the DPU is filed for those proposed units… and they are drilled at a later date. Doesn’t make sense that you were told that if you don’t own the minerals though. Appears that perhaps a quiet title suit may have been filed by surface owners. Very important NOT to listen to the Landman. If due diligence and reasonable efforts weren’t used in the process then you may very well have a valid claim. A few hundred dollars spent with a knowledgable Lawyer is DEFINITELY worth your effort. Let me know if you need anything else. Good luck !

5

Thank you! As I’m learning more and waiting patiently to hear from our attorney, I am convinced this is all an effort to withhold our royalties. Our original Landman legitimately found us as heirs to these mineral rights, a lease agreement was written and acceptable to our attorney. The oil company never even notified us of this change to our lease. It’s just not right, and now we’ll have to spend a lot to fight this in court. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you all!

6

This is now becoming more complicated as Gulfport is now saying the Wells( that are producing) are not on our parcels. They are saying We don’t own the section of the parcel the wells are located on, we only own “pieces & parts” of our 40 acre tract of Stephens North and the Wells aren’t on these pieces & parts, Which is NOT accurate! Anyone ever deal with this issue? Our attorney who drew up the lease is worthless, after receiving $2500 for a very small amount of his time. Thank you!

7

Cindy, Send a letter to GULFPORT certified/ return receipt requested. Tell them you want a copy of both the DPU and DIVISION ORDER for Stephens North. Once in hand, closely examine to confirm what portion of your acreage is IN the unit. There will be tract numbers assigned to both your Lease, the surface acres you have in the UNIT and your % of ownership in total unit acreage. You are entitled to payment for ANY and ALL wells within the UNIT based on your ACTUAL acreage. If you already received AND signed the DIVISION ORDER it may be an uphill climb to change things now. If not, the DIVISION ORDER should be carefully reviewed for accuracy and any necessary corrections should be sent back certified. Explain that this has dragged out way too long and if they disagree, request supporting documentation in writing within 30 days. This issue should have been resolved when they conducted final title curative. Let us know if you encounter any more roadblocks.

9

I’d like to send you the reply when I asked the oil company for the copy of the DPU and Division Order. I need assistance here, and now my attorney states “just be glad you received a signing bonus”. There’s something really wrong here. Thank you.

10

Cindy, I sent my email in a previous message Friday evening through the forum. A response popped up that stated the administrator would have to approve my message before it was posted. Haven’t seen it posted yet. I looked up your parcels and have information on one so far showing a suit to abandon your rights was filed in 2017. You will definitely need the services of a good Real Estate attorney. If the message containing my email isn’t posted by Tuesday I will send you a note in the mail with my private contact information, I obtained your address from the Lease on file at the Courthouse. Many others have stepped forward to help me out in the past and I’m willing share what I know with you.

11

John I’m so grateful for any assistance you can provide to us. I’ve spent hours researching and reading and am shocked the leases we signed seem to be worthless. Thank you so much!