How do I find the lease for mineral rights on piece of property

West Virginia Mineral Rights Tyler County, WV
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I have recently inherited mineral rights in Tyler County, WV and there are vertical gas producing wells on the property for which I now receive checks.

I cannot find any copies of the lease in my families paperwork and I suspect the original leases were signed many years ago.

What is the best way to find the lease(s) so I will know when they renew or auto renew etc… Would it be the county courthouse or from the companies sending me checks? Or hire a lawyer?

I am being approached by companies wanting to purchase and/or lease my mineral rights but before I do anything I want to find out exactly what I own.

Thanks

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Oscar,

I would begin by searching for your relative’s name in the Tyler County records, using this link. CSSI

If you have companies offering to buy your minerals, I would NOT sell, unless you are in dire financial need.

Good Luck!

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You should also ask the current operators for copies of the leases that they hold for you.

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Though I agree with you in concept, my experience has been that very few WV production companies are willing to provide that information and frequently only provide a lease memorandum, void of specific numbers or clauses in the lease / pooling modification.

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You might find something at Missing Money. I put Iona Clemons in and there is one article under that name. What ever is there might help lead you to what you are looking for.Jim

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So I was able to find the oil and gas lease signed by my grandmother in 1975 to Exxon Corporation. Am I correct to assume that since there has been continuous gas production from the wells since the lease was signed that I cannot likely change the terms of the lease. The wording appears to allow the leased terms to roll over unless the well stops producing.

Is this common for leases signed in the 1970’s to just keep rolling over w/o a renegotiation?

It appears that we are entitled to 1/8th royalties on the oil and gas.

I guess that I should get a lawyer to sort things out but I was hoping to get all of the paperwork together first.

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Oscar,

First let me say, I am NOT an Attorney, have not seen the lease terms, et al.

Unless you have an extremely rare lease that I have never come across, the original lease remains in effect as long as there is production. However, there typically is a clause that states if production ceases for a period of time, the Lessee can make a nominal payment to keep the lease binding and possibly a Force Majeure clause is included.

There are occasions when you can change some terms of a lease, such as when the production company comes to request a Pooling Modification or some other modification to the original lease.