Hello all,
I’m writing because I have a group, Pikewood Energy, interested in purchasing my mineral rights that I inherited in Ritchie County and need help with a few things. First, I’m not in the O&G business so I’m not familiar with the process or with valuation metrics. To that point, I’m not sure if what they’re offering represents the Fair Market Value or if I’m being low balled. Could someone please provide some guidance?
Thank you!
Will
FYI the parcels are 3-36-3.3 to 3-36-21.2 and 10-19-25 if that is helpful. Thank you in advance.
Based on the location and the Snodgrass name, I would spend some time thoroughly researching whether you hold rights in other areas of West Virginia before doing anything. If you unearth a considerable holding there, I would put some heavy research into your family roots.
Not to send you on a sensational “treasure hunt”, but if you’re a descendant of the same Snodgrass family that I dealt with in Ritchie, Marion, Doddridge, Harrison, and Tyler Counties (and also numerous properties in Texas), you may not want to do anything without an oil and gas attorney. Without some digging on your part, it’s impossible to determine but I can tell you that there’s a clan of your surname in that part of the country that has passed down minerals in counties across WV as well as many other states across the U.S.
I don’t have any experience dealing with the company you mentioned so I can’t speak to them, but there are a lot of crooked fly-by-night mineral buying companies that will sneak wording into a conveyance deed that essentially says you also “give” them any minerals you own in other areas. If you’re not careful, you might unknowingly give away a small fortune.
Best of luck
I truly appreciate your feedback. This is the kind of thing I need to read. May I ask, where do I look and investigate? I’ve found a few resources that help but am not sure if I’m on the right track. Thanks again!
Will,
First off, Pikewood Energy does not have a good reputation within the industry. I would recommend you hold onto your minerals, however if you prefer to sell them, I would recommend you contact an Attorney for assistance.
In Ritchie County, there is an excellent firm Windom Law Offices that would be able to assist you, another Attorney I would recommend is B. Scott Wolfe, also in Ritchie County. Both would be able to give you guidance and assist in insuring you receive a fair market value for your ownership.
Cheers
Wrsnodgrass - Glad to help. Addressing your resource question, you can certainly refer to an attorney as suggested by WV_Mineral_Owner. In the event you live in that area and want to research it yourself, I would recommend asking for assistance from the county clerks to get you started researching the title history. Keep in mind, title research is a very complex topic with an extremely steep learning curve and many legal nuances so make sure you’re up for a significantly challenging and time consuming project - especially in WV.
As for genealogy research, you can use online resources such as ancestry.com, findagrave.com, etc. Talk with family members (especially older ones) and start building out a family tree. You may want to visit your local library as well. I don’t know about Ritchie, but I know Harrison County has a genealogical society that may be able to offer some help. Putting the information together from the title history and genealogy should give you a good footing to base things off of. If nothing else, you may find that you’re related to some pretty interesting people from the past.
Based on WV_Mineral_Owner’s comment, it sounds like the company that contacted you may not have the best reputation, however it may at least be worth reaching out and asking them to provide you with proof of your ownership in the property. By doing so, you might be able to talk them into giving you some or all the research they’ve already done. This is a longshot since most companies don’t like giving away their intel, so don’t be surprised if they tell you no, but it never hurts to try.
Best of luck
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