Old inactive well

I am an Ohio resident. My family has owned a 72 acre plot in the Joseph Mills area for many generations. An old well, drilled in the 1930s, has not provided royalties for many years. The State report indicates no production for several years. We contacted the company to request they release the lease, which they refused. We sent a certified letter to again request. Does anyone know a reputable attorney who will not ask for a percentage of future royalties. Please any advice!

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Permalink Reply by Paul Martinelli on July 10, 2013 at 9:47am

so at worst case they owe you more $$$ based on the real  production numbers they provided to the state.

Permalink Reply by Nancy Mosley on July 10, 2013 at 4:50pm

Send your royalty ( thus production info)  to the state to verify against what they are being sent......the 2 should match up.

Yes, the will match up since in West Virginia it is the producer who supplies both of these amounts. The royalty owner needs a letter from an attorney to send to the pipeline company (whichever company buys the gas or oil from the wellhead) asking for the production record from the pipeline company's records. There should be 2 meters per well, one owned by (I guess) the producer, and 1 by the purchaser. I guess if you the royalty owner are also the surface owner and walk out to the well you can see this, but if you don't own the surface I think you have no legal right on the property. It is stacked in favor of the company. 

Back to the suggestion: you the royalty owner can ask the state for the information about production reported (but maybe not get that info before it is posted on the website). Also ask the State Tax Dept (Property Tax) how much $ was reported by the producer. That still doesn't give you a necessarily reliable figure, since all that info is supplied by the producer...

0ym9x5ag7ury2Permalink Reply by 0ym9x5ag7ury2 on October 30, 2013 at 10:15am

Kyle,

        A friend of mine who uses this site lives in Ohio and is coordinating a lease for his Mother who owns mineral rights in Greene County PA and I believe in WV as well.

He contacted a lawyer by phone in PA to ask questions and sent a few emails. Now the lawyer is telling my friend that he owes him money and is now a client of his.

What would the Bar Association say about an initial phone call, wouldn't that fall under a "Free Consultatioin"?  Reading an email would fall under voluntary communication I would think.

 

I own land in WV in several southern counties and will be looking for representation when things start to heat up in Cabell, Wayne, Boone, and Summers counties.

Thanks in advance for the response Kyle.   Ron Hale

Permalink Reply by Debra Lynn Pennell on July 16, 2013 at 5:10am
I recently was presented with a lease written in 1939. Greene county pa. 3 parcels: 30 acres mineral rights. 22acres 10% royalties and 100 acres with 1/2 royalties. Cheasepeake has offered a lease for the 30acres with 17% royalty. Upon further reading of the deed I noticed 2 wells producing on another property. The explanation we have been given for these two wells is one is used for house gas and the gas from the other is donated. How can i find out more about these two wells and wouldnt we have had to have been notified if the gas was donated? Debbie

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