Lisa,
Get a lawyer, but DON’T sign! We had an atrocious lease offer from Antero for a much smaller acreage and sounds like your offer is even less! The time limit is an intimidation thing - he will pressure you for awhile but you have the upper hand. It’s your property. If he told you he can do it without your signatures you should report him as that is illegal. If you have that in writing, even better.
I am not signing anything… I never do, not without a lawyer to look at things and make sure they are koser. And yes, he did say that he could go ahead without out signatures… but there is also some sort of civil suit that the assessors found when they looked things up… I am thinking that it is a suit just in case he couldn’t find any heirs… I have to look more into that… with a lawyers help… Im trying to call this afternoon
I have a lot of homework to do… Everyone is so helpful here. I need to talk to Mr. Nuttall and find out a few things. Does he answer email from here? Would love to have a phone conversation … so much easier lol
Thank you! ill try him Monday morning.
Stephanie, the landmen don’t do all the work, I received a call from Antero a few weeks back from the" LEASING DEPARTMENT" , they were checking info on my Grandmother, so I asked her when will I here from the Landmen to negotiate a contract, her reply " oh, it could take months’ as they have to find everyone in the unit, and make sure of title before the landmen will contact you. This may be a new procedure by Antero to cut down on some of the problems mentioned here. Going to an Attorney is fine but they are busy also. I have been waiting 2 months for a call back from one, The Doddridge County Courthouse is also very busy, anyone going will take a number and wait all day to get in and check records, that includes you, landmen, Attorney’s etc, etc. In Doddridge County alone, Antero has over 300 permits, most have been issued, some still waiting and new one’s happening every day. Once a well is drilled and fracted it will take 9 months before one see’s a royalty check, could be from taking on too many Leases, but they all do it and it takes time to catch up. Patience is the word.
I wouldn’t sign anything under $2500 per acre an 17% for Doddridge. A good lawyer to talk to is Frederick (Dean) Rohrig (304) 758-2114 or [email protected] Your share is split up by ur family. Your grandfather had 3 kids an then they had 3 kids each then 77/ by 9 that will give u the acreage you own. Or say Your grandfather had 3 kids an 1 kid had 1 child an the 2 kid had 2 kids an the 3 kid had 3 kids. The 1st kid would get 1/3=33% then the 2 kid w/2 kids would get 1/2 of 1/3 then the 3rd kid would get 1/3 of 1/3. You must break down each family or atleast on ur side of the family tree.
There does seem like an awful lot of activity in Doddridge right now. I didn’t know that about the courthouse - that is interesting. Ten years ago, working at the courthouse must have been a whole different ball game! Thanks for the info.
Hi Stephanie: Do you live In Doddridge now? In 2010 I went back to West Union to sign a lease and to see the town that I was born in, went to the Courthouse and walked right in, no lines, no hassel ,checked on title, etc. Last year I went back and it was al together different, Things are booming in Doddridge County, I think some don’t like it, but most do. I can’t even get an Attorney to go their. I have made several calls to him to no avail. I guess we call this PROGRESS.
Hi Arnold, am not from WV, not do I live there. I am in NC. When we go visit family in OH we drive up 77, but that it’s about it for me and WV! My husband’s family was from there years ago, so that is how we got the mineral rights. We were like so many others and it was a complete surprise for us to learn we owned them.
Donna, how recent did you sign the lease? I went back several months and found no permits to drill, using the info that you provided, You might try http://www.dep.wv.gov/oil-and-gas/GI/Pages/WeeklyReports.aspx, in the future, I go their every week.
Arnold
I recently signed a five-year lease with Antero on a 178-acre tract of land situated on the waters of Meathouse Fork of Middle Island Creek in New Milton, Doddridge County, WV, being Parcels 06-13-22, 22.1 and 23; bordered on the North by lands of H.L. Davisson; on the East by lands of G.L. & J.N. Rymer and on the South and West by lands of Mary V. Dillon. Does anyone have any knowledge of any activity on this site?
Hi everyone havent been on for quite awhile . Doe’s anyone know who
would be intrested in buying some lease intrests on about 200 acers in
Doddridge Co. Mccellan District? Thanks Garry
I have a friend who owns minerals in Doddridge County, specifically in the McClennan District. Description shows “on the waters of Broad Run” in McClennan District of Doddridge County. I am not at all familiar with the WV area and just needed to know if any activity is occurring in or around this area. Thanks for any assistance in this matter.
In addition to my previous post, if the minerals were leased, what is the going rate (bonus, % royalty) for the McClennan District area? Thanks again for any help.
Hi Charles, you can find out a lot about leasing from this website and others out there, but it takes some time to do all that research. We have mineral acres in the McClellan district and leased in April to Antero for $2000/acre and 15% royalty. Advice given to me was to ask for at least $2400/acre and 18% royalty. There are other terms you should always negotiate over in a lease after these two are settled. It is always recommended to hire a good oil and gas lawyer from WV.
There are a lot of drilling permits being issued in Doddridge county right now, particularly in the Grant and New Milton districts, but the other districts also have some drilling activity starting. As the leases are signed, there will be more drilling permits issued for these other areas. Of course, there is no guarantee that the property will be drilled upon, but there is a lot of activity now, so it is likely, in my opinion.
What do you all think about the “Market Enhancement Clause” in the contracts? Do you think the royalty owner should pay out of the royalties to help the company enhance product to get the higher market price? Is it the royalty owners obligation to pay for it? I read Kyle Nuttals blog on this and I agree with him, tho some in my family think its ok… what do you think?
Hi, my husband and his sisters have recently been approached by 2 different landmen regarding, apparently, very small mineral right properties they are heirs to in Dodridge County (one in the McClellan District; (Sycamore Fork ,Pike Fork, McElroy Creek and 2 in the Grant District); (Waters of Red Run). From this site it looks like our next step should be hiring a lawyer to review the leases. Does any one know of a lawyer who would be willing to do this remotely? We do not live in West Virginia and know next to nothing about this type of thing. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. The landmen are representing Antero.
Hi Carla, I recommend Kyle Nuttall. He is a member of this group and lives in the next county over. He does a lot with oil and gas leases and knows how the companies do things, and can do this via email and phone. Doddridge is a very busy place, lot of permits and drilling, so if they want your minerals you should get the best deal you can.
Thank you for the response Nancy, I will see if I can look him up.
My family and I recently recieved a lease modification request from antero to allow pooling. After reviewing the modification I became extremely concerned and notified everyone that recieved this modification in my family and advised them NOT to sign ANYTHING they receive until they speak with me directly. I also advise everyone here to do the same. Please DO NOT sign anything!!! Please contact me and I will help you. I have extensive knowledge and experience in the industry on both the mineral/surface owner side and the industry side. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.