Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by 0i7okn54zwbdo on July 13, 2012 at 6:30am

Who's your attorney?

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Permalink Reply by Jack Straw on July 13, 2012 at 9:24am

RE: "Can I be held by production if the old well on the property was capped off and no longer producing back in 2005?"

I am going to head off on a tangent from your initial query; but, the following might be worth consideration.

You stated that the well was "capped off and no longer producing".

My question to you (and it is a question for which you might not immediately have an answer) is: was this well properly Plugged and Abandoned?

If the well was simply "shut-in" by the turn of a valve, it has not been properly Plugged (as required by law).

 

You may wish to contact the last Operator of the well and either receive confirmation that the well (again, as required by law) was properly Plugged and Abandoned in accordance with Ohio Law/Regulation.

If you do not receive a satisfactory response (in a timely manner), you might wish to contact the State authorities - such that this does not become an "Orphaned Well".

All IMHO,

               JS

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Permalink Reply by Jack Straw on July 13, 2012 at 9:32am

To add to my comments:

If the Operator permanently ceased production of the well (as you experience indicates), they are legally obligated to properly Plug & Abandon the well (P&A).

If they have not done so, the State should take the lead in seeing that the well is P&A'd.

Good Luck.

Again, all IMHO,

                             JS

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Permalink Reply by TM on July 13, 2012 at 9:33am

OK Thanks Jack. So if the well was plugged and abandoned how can I be HBP then? I do know a crew came in back then and worked on the well to plug it. The house used to get free gas when the well was operational and they said it was barely producing anymore so they wanted to plug it. The house then went on propane heat after they plugged the well. I will call Enervest and ask these questions and find out. The only other question is I believe this well was pooled with neighbors properties back then. Now if these neighbors still have producing clinton wells shouldn't I be getting royalties from that still?

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Permalink Reply by Jack Straw on July 13, 2012 at 2:32pm

RE: “So if the well was plugged and abandoned how can I be HBP then?” and “I will have to get a copy of the old lease and read it.”

I think that it would be in your best interests to obtain a copy of the Lease and copies of any Addendum/Modifications to that Lease. Also copies of any Assignments of the Lease (from the original Operator to subsequent Operators).
These should be available at the County Courthouse for the County in which the land is located – and should be associated with the surface property. The more paper work and other information you personally accumulate the less you will need to pay an Attorney to research and obtain.

A possible situation is that the property was pooled, with multiple wells drilled – and one or more of these other wells are still producing. If this were the case, you should have received royalties – but this reality could have fallen through the Operator’s cracks. If this were to be the case, that does not absolve the Operator of their unfulfilled obligations.

RE: “I do know a crew came in back then and worked on the well to plug it.”
It does sound like the well was indeed properly P&A’d.

RE: “I have been to 3 O & G lawyers already about this and they all give me different answers. None of them have been helpful much to me so far.”

As others have suggested, you need to obtain the services of a GOOD Attorney with substantial O&G experience. With the rapid increase in interest in that portion of the Law, I suspect that there are many Ohio Attorneys who suddenly call themselves O&G Attorneys. The challenge is to “separate the wheat from the chaff”.

If you post which Ohio County the land in question is located and the Ohio County that you are currently domiciled in, perhaps someone reading this thread will be able to direct you to an Attorney with whom they have had good personal experience.

Good Luck, please let us know how things turn out – we always like to hear about success stories.

All IMHO,
JS

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Permalink Reply by TM on July 15, 2012 at 7:25am

I looked over the lease and it looks like it has storage clauses in it. Also it says the land can be consolidated with other lands to form an oil and gas drilling unit of no more than 160 acres. Does this mean an addendum will have to be added to this lease to form bigger drilling units in the future?

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Permalink Reply by WLW on July 15, 2012 at 11:39am

TM

What county are you in? I know in our county (Washington) Enervest paid money for wells and doesn't even know what they purchased. There have been assignments to Chesapeake and Anadarko for 2 different company on the same wells. Many people (eldery) have been taken advantage of in this big screwed up mess. I have read many post on this forum, and feel that Chesapeake and Enervest are both making some real shady looking moves. Court house recordings were not filed correctly from the begaining, dating several years back, as in 40 years. Wells were drilled on new leases with existing leases never having forfeitures filed to remove the original leases. Some forfeited 10 years later and magicaly exhibits then showing up as to where the leased acreage on the second wells was drilled. I have never in my life seen such a snow ball from hell as the O & G leases in our county. The first company made a mistake, so the second makes 2 more to cover it up.

I wish you all the luck in the world of getting it straightened out. But it will take time. Your case sounds like one of the easier ones to clear. GOOD LUCK  WLW

IMHO 

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Permalink Reply by Jack Straw on July 15, 2012 at 2:49pm

RE: "Also it says the land can be consolidated with other lands to form an oil and gas drilling unit of no more than 160 acres. Does this mean an addendum will have to be added to this lease to form bigger drilling units in the future?"

Of course we hope that your lease is no longer valid, and you have the ability to negotiate a proper 2012 lease (in which your valid interests are protected and adequately rewarded).

For the Marcellus, units typically need to be at least twice the 160 acre limit of your "old' lease. As PA law stands, should the unlikely situation exist such that your "old" lease stand, a Modification would be required to allow for a larger unit - I cannot attest to the situation in Ohio for either the Marcellus or Utica.

Should a Modification be necessary, that opens the door for a renegotiation of all existing lease terms; some Operators are rumored to be flexible in this regards.

 

All IMHO,

                     JS

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Permalink Reply by Paul Martinelli on July 16, 2012 at 1:35am

Yes

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Permalink Reply by william r rinehart on July 16, 2012 at 5:03am

I would be real suprised if they let this lease slip through there hands, my property was held by prodcution for a shallow well lease, they just sold mine to another company, (meaning they got the bonus check). Shallow well drillers just fudge the numbers until they can sell the lease to a fracking driller.

Bill

 

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