Our land is being drilled under!

We just found out our land is being drilled under in Clinton District, Mon county, WV.

Chesapeake has drilled 3 wells on the same property and the first one has passed right under our land not far from the wellhead.

We found out by contacting the DEP rep who sent us the plats. 

All along we have wondered about this because the land is not quite a mile from us. 

We matched it all up and they are indeed below us.

So, now what do we do?

Thanks!

 

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Permalink Reply by Sam Moore on November 11, 2011 at 10:03am

I don't know the law in WV but in Ohio the surface owner can file a quite title action in the local court to get the mineral rights back if there is no production.  They advertise in the local paper for 3 weeks and if you don't show up in court the fourth week they sign the mineral rights over to the land owner.  Hope this didn't happen.

Permalink Reply by Nancy Mosley on November 11, 2011 at 10:06am
West Virginia taxes the mineral rights, and if you pay your taxes you don't have a problem (if you have good title in the first place).
Permalink Reply by thelma cathleen hays on November 12, 2011 at 2:44am

this is not the only property chk has done this. in ohio county they drilled through 48 ac. that they had no right 2 do. a week after they drilled and was pulling out a old friend called and told me what was going on. his wife was the daughter of late land owner. he was told that he was the owner of the O&G right. long story short the day he was to sign he got a call and was told he dosn't have them either. to my surprise they O&G right we reservied by my great great grandfather. now waiting to hear from a mediator of chk to see whats going on. at this point they are trespassing and the funny thing is this property was they only one the were trying to tie into old lease. not a big fan of chk we have well pad on our property do not wish this on anyone.

Permalink Reply by William K Watkins Jr on November 13, 2011 at 6:05am

It would be useful to hear  what kind of problems you have had with a well pad. I have not seen any other comments on this.  Maybe royalty checks make it bearable.

Permalink Reply by C Stutzman on November 12, 2011 at 6:30am
There have been leases signed that have language in them that says something like this "all of lessors property and any other property lessor may own in the future".
Permalink Reply by thelma cathleen hays on November 12, 2011 at 8:23am

not the case here. we have new lease with chk on our farm and the other 48 ac. is not under lease at all, the surface owners had a lease with range res. that chk took over. so chk should have done some he homework before jumping the gun. And they wonder why so many people are not happy with them and the way they work. beware!!!

Permalink Reply by Mark Baker on November 12, 2011 at 9:36am

I know a very good law firm in Mon County that only deals with Oil and Gas Issues, they tend to stay under the radar as they hand pick their clients, and only take cases that have legitimate causes. I can put you in touch with the head attorney directly. I am unsure of the solicitation rules on this site, so I do not want to post their name, even though it does not financially benefit me. You can private message me I think, or you can send me your email and I will send you the contact info, I know they have been very successful in dealing with large OG companies, and by all means should be able to help you. I have been in the industry for ten years, and this firm has the best personnel and track record of any I can think of, they have actually helped me before. Hope it helps, but in my opinion you should definitely contact an experienced attorney, and not rely on anything other than legal help. Good luck.

Permalink Reply by Barbara on November 12, 2011 at 12:51pm

mark, as someone in the industry, ...hmmmm, i guess no matter how i ask this it puts you on the spot...................anyway to say whether or not you see/know of a lot of subterfuge with companies running over the land owners?  or are we unduly paranoid???  i do not, at this time, believe any assurances from the gas industry .  thanks for whatever you can say.

today i was reading a 2006 pdf file from the state of pa which is an introduction or overview of the geology of this area.. the north east...of pa.  i was looking for information re:bed rock...weird equip here monday to hover over the bedrock in my field for about ten min and then it went away and hasn't returned...i think they are figuring out if they have to blast it or not......SO i was reading about the glacial ages and what they deposited where, and came across a paragraph that struck fear.....due to the deep and very prevalent granite GRAVEL that surrounds the deep gravel aqufers we have in this area, ANY type of hazardous material or practices would be very dangerous in terms of polluting the water in these. the gravel allows for easy travel trough it for any hazardous material.  ....

hmmmmmmmmm  and this was published the year BEFORE the industry took over......i googles pa geology or some such...

Permalink Reply by Mark Baker on November 14, 2011 at 6:21pm

Well Barbara I am not a geologist, nor an attorney, however I will try to answer your questions to the best of my ability. As far as subterfuge, or surface disturbance and subsidence is concerned, until better regulations, guidelines and environmental laws are more strictly enforced, and companies are held accountable in a way that really effects their bottom line, some companies will continue practices that can be viewed as ignoring surface owners and their rights.  There are also instances in which the casing or the pipe in the well has failed, and subsequently leakage of various hydrocarbons or toxins has leaked into the water tables or aquifer that you get your drinking water from. I also just read a study's results that concerned the frac jobs penetrating formations above and below the targeted formation as much as 1800 feet in some cases! That being said, I have personally seen companies that a year or two ago I would have never let step foot on my land, now do a good job with respecting surface owner's rights, and leaving as small of an environmental footprint as they realistically can do with the resources they have available.  These companies that have made it policy to behave in this manner also seem to be doing much better in regards to the final reclamation of the surface.  What I'm trying to get at is there are problems within the industry, however, there are companies out there that are doing a great deal to mitigate the risk, and damage, of these problems to both landowners and the environment. One good thing is that it has become pretty much industry practice to do more seismic surveying throughout the process of drilling a well, from the initial stages of actively leasing the area all the way to post production, which provides more information of the geological activities and the amount of disturbance caused throughout the various processes.  My advice to you would be this; don't ever be afraid to ask. If you see a truck on your property, and you didn't know they were coming, or what they are doing, go out there and ask them for an answer as that is your property. Most people forget they can do this, get intimidated, or are too worried about their level of knowledge in various industry practices to just go out there and ask them; most of the time you will get an answer, and you seem to be very good with finding information, so just make sure to take a notepad with you and write down what they are doing so you can research it later. As far as the geological aspect goes in my opinion your best bet is to do exactly what you are doing, and do your research, and ask around; neighbors, mineral owners, city or county officials, and especially the companies doing the drilling in your area.  If you find the issue is one that greatly disturbs you, then you may want to hire an independent geologist or company to come out and obtain the results to your questions. If it turns out there is a problem, then it will have been money well spent because you will get it back in the form of a settlement, or a judgement against the company who perpetrated the act. I hope this helps you some, I have tried to be as genuine and honest as possible, while giving you an answer to your questions.  If you have more questions I will do the best I can to answer them, or defer you to someone who can.  I just get the feeling that your at your wits end and looking for answers now, not referrals, so I tried to do the best I could in giving you an immediate answer.  :)

Permalink Reply by JK on February 20, 2012 at 1:23pm

MARK,

PLEASE CALL ME!!

Permalink Reply by Al Cramblett on November 13, 2011 at 4:58am

What I am reading on this thread is incomprehensible. It is also very difficult to discern exactly what the situation  is.  JK, the bottom line is that you're asking for help. I'd suggest you contact

NARO-Appalachia President: Robert Hart at 304-345-3244. Bob is from Charleston West Virginia and should be able to connect you with the appropriate professionals to help you resolve your situation. Good luck to you!

Permalink Reply by JK on November 17, 2011 at 2:32pm

Thank you Al.

Some new developments have come up.

I will report results shortly I hope.

I hate to say this, some appear to be liars!

All to save face..wow

Unbelievable.

I must say I am surprised.

If it were me I would be the first to admit I was wrong if I was.

 

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