Just trying to learn site navigation. Feel a little overwhelmed and need to reply to Antero within 10 day of their offer. There are several of us who are heirs to 62.448000 acres and 0.07365 net (interest). My brother has not received his offer yet but is expecting it. My sister received her offer on a Friday and mine yesterday on Saturday. I have a half sister involved and to other non-blood relatives that would be classified as Aunts. None of us really know what we are doing and I would appreciate any input. Don’t know whether to go to an attorney, sell, or just accept the offer and maybe ask for more with a counter offer. This is from Antero for District of Ellsworth, County of Tyler. What should our first step be?
Suggest you check out the thread on the Tyler County section of the Forum. Go to Counties at the top of this page, select WV and then Tyler. You can also check out posts from other nearby WV Co’s to get a comparison. As to numbers I would suggest nothing less than $3,000 to $4,000 bonus per net acres, 16-18% royalty and no post production costs in the lease. Also no more than 5 years and no automatic renewal of the lease. There is no rush to sign particularly their first offer. I posted a sample Addendum to a lease on the Marshall Co WV section. Check it out as an example that might help. Good luck as you educate yourself as I did in the O & G arena. An attorney is always a good addition if you are not comfortable negotiating the lease.
I recommend that you get an attorney who can help with negotiating a lease. I would not sell; even though you have a fractional interest, it is worth more than you think.
I just posted a new thread about purchasing mineral rights in the Ellsworth District, then I saw your very eye-opening reply here. I was offered $1200 per net mineral acre to purchase my 1.7 NMA, by Appalachian Mineral Partners, but you’re saying $3000 to $4000 per NMA as a lease bonus, then kick in royalties on top. Wow! Where do I sign up? Can you give any advice on who might be interested in leasing my 1.7 acres or are these parcels kind of divvied up ahead of time, and no one else is going to bid. In other words, is Appalachian the only game in town?
Donald, I looked up Appalachian Mineral Partners and they are in the business of just buying mineral rights. They are not an operator therefore they will not be drilling. They are certainly not the only game in town as you put it. I am not familiar with the Ellsworth District. My interests are in Marshall County. Is there activity there and what production companies are active in the area? Those are the ones you should be interested in regarding leasing your mineral rights as they may eventually yield royalties as well as the initial bonus for signing. They will find you through a Landman most likely if they are seeking new leases in your area. All of us have received lowball offers from various companies in the business of acquiring mineral rights. Unless the financial situation warrants selling I would wait and see if one of the production companies comes along with a lease proposal. The numbers I used are typical of good offers in WV. Good luck.
Thanks so much for your help! Makes perfect sense.
I am submitting TWO replies. I’ve also had offers to buy from several, but there again…low, low offerings and insulting to us who are not in the business! I am not criticising, but they KNOW they are trying to get something for nothing. Try your best to hang in there. I feel our ownership is worth more than what they let on. I worry too how the current US political situation will affect this.
All I can say right now is WOW!! AND it could very possibly be you are also JUST MAYBE we may be mutual landowners???
I Will answer according to your sentences. FIRST OFF. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO RESPOND WITHIN 10 DAYS. If you are not happy with their offer, you need to counter-offer. The advice you were given about how much and the percentage is fairly accurate, BUT…Antero can be stubborn with counter offers as well as was MY dealings with them. I too have many people sharing land in Tyler County. However, the offer from Antero was yet another smaller parcel divided by many owners. Unless you DO seek an attorney to bargain for you, you still can work with them as I did. It depends on what you can afford w/attorney and how much you want of the pie. With a bit of experience under my belt, I felt very comfortable NOT accepting their first offer. To me it was a bit degrading, but I guess they have to start somewhere. 2 of my relatives accepted the offer right away and jumped on board. I managed to get just a little more of a signing bonus and also raised my percentage from 12% to 15% royalties. Could it have been more? Probably, but I’ll wait now and see how it all pans out once drilling begins.
I was also told they have to have so many signed on BEFORE they can consider drilling. The other reply you got with those MUCH bigger sign-on bonus amounts and percentages are NICE if you can get it, but good luck. Maybe I messed up. Also, if you are not aware you will also have to pay extra taxes to Tyler County on your royalties. It’s been my experience it is RARE to get the company to INCLUDE that in the legal agreement that THEY will pay the added taxes.
I received an initial offer yesterday from Antero and it was not a good offer. Since I do not reside in West Virginia, I am at a loss for what to do. They only offered me $300 lease bonus with 0.07796 (my interest) and 14% royalty. They asked for a 5 year lease with an automatic option to renew. I don’t want to pay an attorney for a counter offer for a measly amount of money. Thoughts? How much royalty could I receive off a gas drill in this county?
Due to the small interest of .07796 net acres (na) the $300 bonus offer equates to around $3,800 per na. If you got an offer for $4,500 per na that would add up to around $350 bonus (4500 x .07796 = 350.82). $4,000-$4,500 per na is a reasonable offer. Try to counter the royalty percentage to 17-18%. Only agree to a 5 year lease with no automatic extension. Also do not agree to paying any post production costs after it leaves the wellhead. Since your na interest is small it suggests the parcel is divided by several other parties, very possibly relatives. You might try to contact some of them if possible and compare offers. Hope that helps.
121810DI,
Even with your small interest, I would highly suggest finding a professional to help. You would be surprised as to the intricacies of specific wording.
Dome has given you a great suggestion as to coordinate with other parcel owners that are likely family members.
Hope this helps!
Rachel
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