I am an heir to C W Twyman, my family has royalty in Braxton, Doddridge, Gilmer and Tyler Co.'s
Can anyone advise me on our rights concerning a lease that has been held with a Casing head Rental of $12.50 per year,(that is hard to collect) for many, many yrs?? I have been told by Ritchie Petroleum which has changed ownership many times, that unless they decide to drill a horizontal well, this lease stands. I have been told several times that they do not intend to do any horizontal wells. Do we have any way to get out of this old lease????
All of our family lives out of state and I am the only one that tries to keep up with what is going on in WV.
Thanks for any input.
Sounds like it's held by production, they can keep this lease going for years to come as long as they produce the minimum amount per year, once there is no more production the lease is terminated which allows another company to come in and drill a horizontal if they deem this area economical. The only way out of a lease to my knowledge would be to sell, I could be wrong, but there might be a clause in the lease that would not allow you to terminate it.
Thanks for reply, if there is any production we don't see it, no royalty as long as I have taken care of this, and before 1962 when my grandfather died.
We have paid taxes on this for over 100 years and I have no record of any royalty payments, just casinghead rental.
was there a will/probate for your grandfather? if there wasn't theres always a chance they have been trying to pay him even after the fact, you might want to check west Virginia unclaimed properties (ive had this happen with my grandmother) to see if there is money owed to him (might be why you haven't received anything). If you haven't already, go on netronline.com and search the public records in those counties.
Ok thanks, will look into it. Yes, he had a will probated in Oklahoma
Bertie,
My first suggestion is to have your Grandfather's Will recorded in Every county he / the estate owned property. I am not an attorney, but believe estates are required to file a will, regardless of where the person died, if property is owned in WV.
There are ways to clear up and nullify leases that are not paying royalties on 'marketable quantities', which would require hiring an attorney. I too live out of State, but have found attorneys that are easy to work with, via the internet, phone, US Post & FedEx.
Lastly, Ritchie Petroleum would NOT be drilling a horizontal well, that would most likely be Antero Resources or EQT, after they pay Ritchie Petroleum a fee and an overriding royalty, for that right.
Feel free to contact me directly if I can be of any assistance.
Cheers
I don't know if my aunt filed my grandfather's will in '62, but in an effort to divide our royalty in the last few yrs I think I have provided these Co.'s with a copy of his will, I know I have filed the wills of my mother, my aunts and uncle. We have used Kyle Nuttall when we negotiated leases in 2011 he was a great help. I found nothing in unclaimed properties in WV.
Thank you for your information, this forum is a wonderful help to lots of people.