My siblings and I each have mineral rights for 4.8 acres in Doddridge County - West Union District. We are currently receiving royalties for these wells, Deano Unit 1H/Melody Pad, Deano Unit 2H/Misery Pad, Weinhold Unit 1H/Melody Pad and Weinhold Unit 2H/Melody Pad. (I think there are two total wells each with two legs).
We have been approached by Spring Creek Energy Partners (in Colorado) to purchase our mineral rights. They are offering each of us $14,500 (for the 4.8 acres we each have).
They emailed the offer to my sister. The language in the document is misleading ... it alludes to "land you own" with some vague legalese language that refers to mineral rights, etc (which is what we actually have). None of us are interested in selling. But I can see how someone could be hoodwinked into selling, thinking that those monthly checks will still keep coming :(
Has anyone been contacted by them? Do any of you have any opinions regarding this offer; I am curious. Low? High? Our royalties have steadily dropped over the recent months, but we are in it for the long haul. Thanks for any input or comments!
The $14,500.00 offer equates to $3020.00 / NMA and that area frequently goes for $5,000.00 / NMA. Recently I was offered $6,000.00 / NMA for my West Union parcels and I found the offer to be lacking.
I was curious, so I called the individual that contacted my siblings (he was unable to reach me, because his source, White Pages, didn't have updated information). He asked me if I had seen the offer he'd made to my siblings, and I said yes. He then asked me why I wouldn't be interested in selling my mineral rights. I responded that I was in it "for the long haul" since my family had owned the mineral rights since the 1800's. I asked him why they were interested in buying our rights. He said that our property is not on the upcoming 5-year drill schedule so they are buying up as much as they can from those people. They are hoping that during the next 5-year cycle, some of the property that they purchase now will be on that next schedule. He mentioned a 10% chance of that and said there is risk on their part (but there always is with this sort of investment). I wondered where he got his info regarding the 5-year cycles. He made it sound like we could be in for a long dry spell but we already are receiving royalties from two active wells on two separate pads. They were drilled in 2016. Surely they aren't drying up yet?
You are correct, the wells are not drying up. So much of what the brokers / buyers are saying these days is simple BS, if the production companies have not planned out 5 years, how do the investors know? The simple question they never are able to answer is: "If it is such a poor investment for little ole me, why do you want it?"
There is a lot to be said for "the long haul", that is my strategy too.
I wonder if they are targeting older mineral rights owners, hoping that they (a) feel like they are running out of time to collect royalties; and/or (b) are financially strapped and need the immediate cash to meet some need. Whitepages provides an age range in their data search results.
You have hit the nail on the head; in addition to those that are not aware of the current market and the heirs of recent deaths. One specific situation that I am aware of, an heir sold approximately 50 NMA for $157.00 / NMA that has two horizontal legs of a well.
Hi Robin. Same thing with me and my sister and we have about 4.6 NMA each. I am trying to find out how to tell if WV has the right records since we inherited these a few years ago when my grandmother died. However, have not been getting any royalties or tax bills. I know the royalties were dropping pretty low the last few years before my grandmother died, but seems we should still be getting tax bills. This is from a couple older wells. Our family rights go back to 1916 on those lots. Hard to just run to the Doddridge County offices though from 2500 miles away.
The line about low chance of drilling etc. is BS. I did talk to Antero who also wanted to buy the rights and they told me there are 2 wells on our tracts one ready to frack and another soon to be drilled. That makes more sense since I can see one of them in an aerial shot and found that TransCanada is laying pipe in the area too, so something is happening.
Larry, it is your responsibility to notify the county about the change of ownership (inheritance in this case) and file a will (if she died with a will; otherwise an affidavit of heirship). The county clerk or recorder should have someone who can help you figure out what paperwork you need. If you haven't received a tax bill, did your grandmother receive the bills before her death, or someone else? You need to do this as soon as you can. Unpaid taxes can cause the property to be put up for sale.
It is also the responsibility of the new owner to notify the company, if under a lease. Many companies have a process to follow, such as send a copy of the will.
Yes she had a will. and I guess that's how Spring Creek, Antero and another something like Master Mineral knew to come knocking on our doors (via mail). The inheritance was for mineral rights, not land. My aunt had been doing the paperwork for my grandmother and I thought she was to transfer my share to a charity but apparently she never did and is now getting pretty forgetful and doesn't remember what she did or did not do. So I'm trying to find out from some of my cousins if they have any of the records so we can notify the appropriate counties & companies. One of them said she did pay a tax bill a couple years ago. There were rights in Doddridge, Tyler and Richey counties, but split many ways, so our part is pretty small.
When you say county clerk or recorder, do you mean in the WV counties where the land is, or do you mean where my grandmother lived?
I did try to email a county person a few weeks ago at a link you had posted in another thread, but no response from them yet. Perhaps I will try phone next.
The link for Ritchie and Tyler (same website, you have to choose the county) is slow right now, probably being updated with today's records or something.
I think the first thing is to check the documents websites for you grandmother and any other relatives that might be involved. Then check the tax records, start with your grandmother's name. If you find that the taxes have been paid, very good. If the will is filed, good. Then call the clerk's office and ask for the clerk who handles probate and just explain the situation.
If the taxes are not currently being paid, check for a phone number for the sheriff's tax office and call and see if there is anything that can be done. Ask more questions here if you need to.
Phoning is the best. Start with Ritchie. I think they are pretty well organized, and you can figure out things better there. Not saying anything about the other counties, but some do things better than others...
Thanks very much Nancy. How about links for Jackson Co. I incorrectly stated Ritchie.
I just spent some time on Doddridge county records and found a few things including my mother's and grandmother's wills, and records on relatives I didn't know were part of the deal, so I guess that is a good sign. Looks like Antero must have done some of the research since there are Antero stamps on the scanned docs.
The above will give you information and a phone number. I didn't see any online document search but somebody in the county clerk's office should be able to tell you if they have one and if not if there is any way short of going there to find out things.
Glad you were able to find some things in the Doddridge records. Antero usually does a good job in doing those things, but not always immediately.
You have a lot to do but it should be worth the effort. Keep asking here if you need more information.
There is a Tyler county group and maybe Jackson. Go to the top of the page, under Groups the County Groups. Maybe somebody in those groups has more information.
YES well do decline and buyers will NOT pay premium price for a well that has tapered off or has been in production for over 30-36 months. The premium prices are for those not yet developed but permitted to, or under 30 months