WEST VIRGINIA FORCED POOLING...STOP IT OR LOSE YOUR LEASING RIGHTS !!!

The House Judiciary Committee of the West Virginia Legislature is preparing legislation to authorize forced pooling and multiple bore holes on a single drilling pad. Further review of the proposed legislation will continue during the January 2011 interim meetings, which will be held just prior to the start of the 2011 regular session on the West Virginia Legislature. The 2011 session begins January 12, 2011.


A FEW FACTS WHY YOU NEED TO TAKE ACTION

1- You will lose your right to lease your minerals on your terms. All “tax paying” mineral owners in West Virginia should reserve the ''Right to a Fair Lease'' !

2- Billions of dollars will be lost to the State and the mineral owners during the coming years of leasing and drilling !

3- The companies will be able to ''Force Pool'' any acreage (leased or unleased). For the unleased, pay no bonus monies and also they may only have to pay the state minimum 12.5% royalty. For the the leased, you will never get the chance to negotiate a more favorable and fair lease on your terms with addendums and separate leases for multipul parcels and formations if your poorly executed lease expires. If ''Forced Pooling'' is enacted, your chances of seeing your poorly executed leases expire greatly diminish.

4- The companies will also be able to “Hold By Production” millions of acres by including only a portion of large and small parcels in a drilling unit ! Also, the companies have taken advantage of many unknowing mineral owners by getting them to sign over multiple parcels within the same county on a single lease, allowing the companies to ''Hold By Production'' all parcels that have been included in the lease, once a well is drilled on any one parcel. If Forced Pooling is enacted, the companies will likely start applying for and drilling hundreds of verticals throughout the state so as to ''HBP'' as much acreage as possible before leases expire.


5- The companies will be able to take all gas producing formations from the mineral owners. Mineral owners should reserve the right to lease each formation separately.

6- The companies will be able to drill based on all the poorly executed early leases and the unsigned will not be able to add in addendums for protections. (This could end up being a hugh problem for the State and even envirometalists should be against ''Forced Pooling'' based on this fact).

7- The companies already knew that ''Forced Pooling'' could possibly be enacted before the leasing ever began. If you do your homework, you will see that the companies came in and leased up much of the large acreage first. If the large acreage had more than one owner, they would take a lease with the owner or owners who held the largest percentage and never offer, and in many cases, never even contact the remaining coowners who held the smaller percentage, in hopes of being able to ''Force Pool'' them in the future. There may be an instance where a mineral owner may not be found, but the drill still is allowed to go into the ground. As for the mineral owners who can be found, these companies should be “Forced” to contact all owners initially and present an offer to the group.

8- WVSORO wants Forced Pooling but they have gone as far as to say this about horizontal drilling;

“WVSORO generally favors horizontal drilling because one well site, access road and pipeline replaces three or four. Moreover, if horizontal wells are drilled from centralized well pads, one well site, access road and pipeline can replace more than 20 vertical well sites“.
Will WVSORO ever be happy?

9- WVSORO and the companies always use the term “landowner” to make the story of ''Forced Pooling'' sound as if it may be the only way an unleased landowner will be able to share in the royalties. Fact is, most landowners in West Virginia do not own the mineral rights that lay beneath their surface, thus misleading more people to believe that ''Forced Pooling'' is the right thing to do.

10- Forced Pooling will keep Billions of dollars from coming into the state and send it back to Texas, Oaklahoma ect !!!

Are you (WV MINERAL OWNERS) doing all you can to stop ''Forced Pooling''?
Most people in WV may not be willing to share information about their mineral ownership, what they have been offered for their rights, how much they recieved for leasing their minerals, what addendums they were able to negotiate, and so on.

FORCED POOLING IS NO JOKE !!! DO YOU WANT TO LOSE YOUR RIGHTS ? THEY WILL TAKE YOUR MINERALS !!!!

Individuals, Groups, Family Members, everyone needs to speak up about ''Forced Pooling". Get the word out !!!
Call your Legislators !!!
Call the media, newspapers, tv, ect. !!!



 


Below is a contact list of the Senate and House Judiciary A Subcommittee Members.

It would be in your best interest to contact as many of the Legislators as possible.

I cannot stress enough how important it is for EVERY WEST VIRGINIA MINERAL OWNER to contact these members and voice your disapproval of FORCED POOLING.

FORCED POOLING AFFECTS EVERYONE, LEASED OR UNLEASED !!!
DON'T LET THEM STEAL YOUR MINERALS AND TAKE AWAY YOUR LEASING RIGHTS !!!
NOW IS THE TIME TO SPEAK UP AND TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS, NEIGHBORS, FAMILY MEMBERS, GROUP MEMBERS, ANYONE YOU BELIEVE MAY OWN MINERAL RIGHTS, ABOUT FORCED POOLING. EVEN IF YOU LIVE OUT OF STATE, YOU PAY YOUR TAXES FOR YOUR MINERALS SO SPEAK YOUR MIND !!!

PLEASE PASS THIS LIST ON TO ANYONE WHO MAY NOT BE A MEMBER OF THIS SITE.



Judiciary A Subcommittee Senate
Senator Herb Snyder - Chair (D - Jefferson) District 16
Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7957
E-mail: herb.snyder@wvsenate.gov
Capitol Address: Room 217W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Senator Clark S. Barnes (R - Randolph) District 15
Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7973
E-mail: clark.barnes@wvsenate.gov
Capitol Address: Room 203W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Senator Richard Browning (D - Wyoming) District 9
Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7807
E-mail: richardbrowning@verizon.net
Capitol Address: Room 204W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Senator Frank Deem (R - Wood) District 3
Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7970
E-mail: fdeem@mail.wvnet.edu
Capitol Address: Room 217W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Senator Dan Foster (D - Kanawha) District 17
Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7866
E-mail: daniel.foster@camc.org
Capitol Address: Room 223W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Senator Mike Hall (R - Putnam) District 4
Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7901
E-mail: delegate200@hotmail.com
Capitol Address: Room 245M, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Senator William R. Laird IV (D - Fayette) District 11
Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7849
E-mail: william.laird@wvsenate.gov
Capitol Address: Room 229W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Senator Joseph M. Minard (D - Harrison) District 12
Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7904
E-mail: joe.minard@wvsenate.gov
Capitol Address: Room 206W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Senator Ron Stollings (D - Boone) District 7
Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7939
E-mail: ron.stollings@verizon.net
Capitol Address: Room 229W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Senator Jack Yost (D - Brooke) District 1
Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7984
E-mail: jack.yost@wvsenate.gov
Capitol Address: Room 213W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Senator Jeffrey V. Kessler (D - Marshall) District 2
(Senate Judiciary Chairman, Ex Officio member of Subcommittee A)
Capitol Phone: (304) 357-7880
E-mail: jeff.kessler@wvsenate.gov
Capitol Address: Room 210W, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305


Judiciary A Subcommittee House Members

Delegate William R. Wooton - Chair (D - Raleigh) District 27
Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3164
E-mail: william.wooton@wvhouse.gov
Capitol Address: Room 476M, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Delegate Larry W. Barker (D - Boone) District 18
Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3149
E-mail: larry.barker@wvhouse.gov
Capitol Address: Room 224E, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Delegate Mike Caputo (D - Marion) District 43
Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3249
E-mail: mike.caputo@wvhouse.gov
Capitol Address: Room 246M, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Delegate Michael T. Ferro (D - Marshall) District 04
Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3111
E-mail: mike.ferro@wvhouse.gov
Capitol Address: Room 222E, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Delegate Mike Ross (D - Randolph) District 37
Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3145
E-mail: mike.ross@wvhouse.gov
Capitol Address: Room 224E, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Delegate Robert A. Schadler (R - Mineral) District 49
Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3191
E-mail: rschadler@comcast.net
Capitol Address: Room 6R, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Delegate Patti Eagloski Schoen (R - Putnam) District 14
Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3141
E-mail: pschoen@mail.wvnet.edu
Capitol Address: Room 150R, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Delegate Danny Wells (D - Kanawha) District 30
Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3287
E-mail: danny.wells@wvhouse.gov
Capitol Address: Room 208E, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Delegate Tim Manchin (D - Marion) District 43 - Nonvoting member
Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3166
E-mail: tmanchin@manchin-aloi.com
Capitol Address: Room 212E, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

Delegate Tim Miley (D - Harrison) District 41
(House Judiciary Chairman, Ex Officio member of Subcommittee A)
Capitol Phone: (304) 340-3252
E-mail: tim.miley@wvhouse.gov
Capitol Address: Room 418M, Building 1, State Capitol Complex, Charleston, WV 25305

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by gasoholic on January 3, 2011 at 1:19pm

I think you need to take a poll of the thousands of unknowing mineral owners who signed leases, with no protections and minimal bonus and royalties, to see if they would want forced pooling to take away their rights to possibly renegotiate. You know, the ones who have been told they are sitting on top of a gold mine and did not know they were signing for bronze prices, and in many cases, less than that. I know if I had signed a poorly excuted lease, I would not want forced pooling enacted. One can only hope that anyone who has already signed and approves of forced pooling, they were able to sign a lease with addendums and protections along with a nice bonus and royalty.  Oh, and the companies should have stayed away from any acreage where all owners could not be found. Forced Pooling penalizes the mineral owners, not the companies and they already knew this!

Let's go back to the list;

You will lose your right to lease your minerals on your terms. All “tax paying” mineral owners in West Virginia should reserve the ''Right to a Fair Lease'' !

For the the leased, you will never get the chance to negotiate a more favorable and fair lease on your terms with addendums and separate leases for multipul parcels and formations if your poorly executed lease expires. If ''Forced Pooling'' is enacted, your chances of seeing your poorly executed leases expire greatly diminish.
The companies will also be able to “Hold By Production” millions of acres by including only a portion of large and small parcels in a drilling unit ! Also, the companies have taken advantage of many unknowing mineral owners by getting them to sign over multiple parcels within the same county on a single lease, allowing the companies to ''Hold By Production'' all parcels that have been included in the lease, once a well is drilled on any one parcel. If Forced Pooling is enacted, the companies will likely start applying for and drilling hundreds of verticals throughout the state so as to ''HBP'' as much acreage as possible before leases expire.
The companies will be able to drill based on all the poorly executed early leases and the unsigned will not be able to add in addendums for protections. (This could end up being a hugh problem for the State and even envirometalists should be against ''Forced Pooling'' based on this fact).
The companies already knew that ''Forced Pooling'' could possibly be enacted before the leasing ever began. If you do your homework, you will see that the companies came in and leased up much of the large acreage first. If the large acreage had more than one owner, they would take a lease with the owner or owners who held the largest percentage and never offer, and in many cases, never even contact the remaining coowners who held the smaller percentage, in hopes of being able to ''Force Pool'' them in the future. There may be an instance where a mineral owner may not be found, but the drill still is allowed to go into the ground. As for the mineral owners who can be found, these companies should be “Forced” to contact all owners initially and present an offer to the group.

Forced Pooling will keep Billions of dollars from coming into the state and send it back to Texas, Oaklahoma ect !!!


 

Permalink Reply by Dean Harris on January 4, 2011 at 1:57am

gasaholic,

 

I think you have missed my point. First of all, if someone signs a standard lease then the chances that they will be able to re-negotiate at a later date are minimal due to the fact that most "standard" leases have a perpetuating clause in them that allows the Lessee to keep the lease after the primary term. I am NOT in favor of allowing companies to force pool anyone who doesn't want to sign a lease due to the terms not being negotiated. Either the operator negotiates a "fair" lease or they move on...end of story. I was talking about a situation where certain owners cannot be found. If you had been approached about signing a lease then were told that the company would not be drilling and you would receive no bonus payments or royalty payments due to the fact that they could not get a permit because they cannot lease eveyone needed, how would you feel? Now it could be impossible to drill a horizontal well that would include your acreage. There you sit with acreage that you know could be developed, but never will be because the state says you lease eveyone or you don't get a permit. You and I are on the same side, believe me. Additionally, understand that my initial response to the "forced pooling" issue is to say NO WAY! All I am doing is offering a thought about where this may head and what "give" there may be on our part. As to polling interest owners, I have spoken to literally hundreds who, in the scenario I suggested, would want the operator to have the right in that instance to force pool; however NOT USING THE TERMS THAT THE COMPANIES HAVE SUGGESTED. We would all want the best terms offered by that company or any other company within a reasonable radius of the proposed well. I have several thousand acreas of oil and gas and know others who own the same or more. I am not saying that I speak for everyone...far from it. I just think we should all be aware of options that exist if this moves forward . There will be some type of legislation on this matter... probably not this year, but it WILL happen. It may require some type of negotiating of the issue on the part of all interested parties. If that happens I would want all of us (OG owners) to get the best possible outcome. What I have presented is what I and others feel would be the least harmful. Thanks for your input on this issue.

 

Permalink Reply by gasoholic on January 4, 2011 at 2:45pm

For this particular matter, where an owner cannot be found, why not call it ''Forced Pooling Unfound Owner''. Keeping the specifics on this matter only.

 

Permalink Reply by Dean Harris on January 5, 2011 at 1:05am
Good thought
Permalink Reply by brinlady on January 3, 2011 at 11:54am
Permalink Reply by Todd Charles on January 5, 2011 at 9:19am

OMG, THAT'S TOO FUNNY, BRINLADY ! THANKS !

Always, Kit

Permalink Reply by gasoholic on January 11, 2011 at 4:38pm

In case anyone missed the story, ''Forced Pooling'' has been removed from the draft.

http://www.dailymail.com/News/statenews/201101101330

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