Hello, I was wondering if any of you would be able to answer some questions about my family's Oil and mineral lease in Marion county. My family was an heir to the mineral rights, and the company we signed the lease with is Hunt Marcellus (a division of Hunt oil). We signed a lease 2 years ago for a 5 year term with a 2 year shut in. its on 46 acres of land divided by four family members. We recieved a bonus check when we signed but have not heard from them since.
*when do they start paying royalties?
*How can I find out if theyve found anything?
*What type of Oil or minerals does the land have out there? (we live in California)
Any answers on this would be helpful! thank you :0)
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Stacey, I put " Hunt Marcellus production update" in google search and a title "Hunt Marcellus Operating Co. LLC Marcellus Shale Map" on a website: www.fracktrack.org came up. It shows 20+ Marcellus shale natural gas wells north of I-80 in Pennsylvania. Nothing in Marion county WV. Marion county has just recently in the last few years being drilled for natural gas. They may be waiting to see other companies production rates and success in this area before actual drilling, just my guess. There are a lot of other factors that may delay their development of your site, but they have 3 more years to get going and Marion county appears to be a good opportunity for natural gas development. I am no expert at this, my family in Kansas own mineral rights in Marion county and have been approached recently with a lease offer, so I have done a lot of research. Be patient and good luck, Steve Wilson
Thank you for the insight! I've tried looking everything up, even our parcel numbers but couldnt find anything and wasn't too sure on how to go about finding information. so thank you for your reply! This all came as a surprise to us and no one in our family really knows how this process goes, we don't want to hire a lawyer- we will be happy with whatever we get, we were just hoping to get a little information about the process and minerals out there so we would know a little more about what to expect. Thank you again and I wish you the best of luck with your offer!
Marion County's a little hit and miss. It's right on the wet gas line, so some of it is more interesting to producers than the rest of it is. I haven't heard of Hunt Marcellus, though the name Hunt Oil does ring a bell. Obviously, I haven't had a client that had dealings with them.
They usually start paying royalties about 90 days after the well first produces.
They'll rarely tell you exactly when they're going to start drilling a well. The best indicator will be if they file for a well work permit with the state. I don't know of a way for a minerals-only owner to be notified of that. You can go to the WV DEP web site and look for all the well work permits that have been issued for Marion County and see if you can identify the well that way.
They're mostly developing natural gas. A small bit of oil will sometimes be produced with the gas. Natural gas liquids are also produced, but there will only be large quantities of them in the wet gas area of the Marcellus shale. That's why Marion County is hit and miss, not all of it is in the wet gas area, and the wet gas is more valuable so they're developing the wet gas first.
Thanks Kyle for jumping in here. Stacey, Kyle is a WV, oil and gas attorney, former landman. His advice about the WV DEP.ORG website as he reveals, is the pulse on reality. ( Free lawyer advice). It is always about, location, location, location. If you need any help navigating the site, please ask. Steve Wilson
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You might consider a lawyer familiar with the industry.
Consider, knowledge is important. A WV cousin, assisting his mother, who was familiar with the stories that the neighbors, the news and everyone else were talking about, thought it best to consult with one after another offer came in on a second, different location in a different county. It seemed a little less clear than the first contract six years ago. His mom was willing to carry the cost, but we all agreed that the cost would be divided proportionately among the three sister's (or heirs) in the same way that the rights were divided. The counsel was knowledgeable, very helpful, and countered with an agreement which struck one of the conditions, had additional protections for the family and an increase in percentage. They agreed. The attorney fees were much less than we expected and, cut three ways, quite reasonable.
I saw Kyle's name in answers to a lot of questions. So I clicked on his profile and read a blog which he wrote. He seems like an astute and helpful young man.
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