I have inherited three parcels of mineral rights. The only detailed info I have is the descriptions on the lease of each parcel. But they are described as "bordered on the south by______ and bordered on the west by_______. I am in Fl and can't find anywhere that I can research myself. Is there a map of Doddridge with these places listed like this? I know the rights came from early 1900's. If they are leased will they have API number even if they aren't drilling?
Thank you in advance for any information.
An API # is only present when drilling has taken place.
Shari, somewhere on your lease you should find map and parcels numbers. If you can give us that info and the district, someone on this forum can help you,"me included". If you don't have that info, get it from whomever sent you the lease. The API # will show up when the Plat is permitted, you do not have to wait for the well to be drilled, there are tools that can show you when the plat is permitted, we can show you how to do that also. Welcome to our forum.
Shari, the map and parcel numbers will look something like 14-23, or 12-36.1. The first number indicates the district, like McClellan or Grant, the second number is the tract where the lease is in that district. Arnold is right, they should be listed on the lease someplace near the opening paragraphs, and once you have those numbers you can get a map from the county and figure out where your tracts are. I have a map of McClelland and if you happen to have tracts that are in that district (14), then I could probably help you. When you know where your tracts are you can zoom into another map online that shows all the wells and if they are producing and see what the API numbers are of those wells. You need those district and tract numbers first which should be listed on the lease.
Central Drafting sells "old farm maps" from around 1905, made by an oil company, which show who owned what tracts of land in those days. Their contact info:
Central Drafting
921 Emerson Avenue
Parkersburg WV 26104
304 485 7148
They have the really big size, where Doddridge would be in several pieces, and a smaller size, where Doddridge is in 1 or 2 pieces. When you call you can find out. It is interesting in a historical sense to look at things like this.
If your description on the lease is simply what you described, you will have a hard time finding the correct information. If it lists a district, map number and parcel number (as Arnold mentioned and Stephanie described) it will be easier. You can call the Doddridge assessor's office and find out about ordering a tax map.
As Arnold said, there are lots of people here who like to help. And if you have time to read all the discussions on the forum, even just in the Doddridge group, you will find out a lot.