Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on September 9, 2011 at 1:26am

I'm definitely interested. I live about 125 miles away and don't have a phone book for that area. If you could send me a private message with the contact info I'd appreciate it.

Permalink Reply by TonyMik on August 14, 2011 at 6:49am

Marquette and Chesapeake have both approached us in Flushing Twp. Early contacts started at $25/A about a year ago. Now $2700/A and 17.5% royalty. Both claim that they will be drilling actively ( Horizontal ) in 2012. Coal companies appear to have signed with Gulfport north of I-70 for varying amounts, slightly less than current market, to protect sub-Utica formations.

 

On another thread there is a listing about Hopedale and a signing opportunity for Harrison for larger amounts. here is the link. http://www.nalsinc.com/Landowners.html Meetings were held last week. No details on Gas Company. Appears they would like to sign Belmont...No details on offer. The sample Ohio lease and addendum are in line with others but not sure what terms they are offering at the rumored much higher bonus and rolyalty amounts.

Permalink Reply by Tony on August 16, 2011 at 3:55am

I have just under 40 acres in Flushing Township and have not been approached by anyone. I'm not sure who to contact or wait for someone to contact me. This is all new to me. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Tony

Permalink Reply by Marc on August 16, 2011 at 5:56am

I would contact Mason-Dixon, the leasing agent for Marquette in Belmont County.  740-260-2198. 

It helps to know in what "section" of Flushing your land is located (you can find that out by going to the Belmont County Auditor's website and doing a property search). Or they may have an offer that applies to all of Flushing. Certainly, at some point in the process you will have to give them the "section" and probably also the "range" and "township" of your property.  The "township" in this case is a number, not a name (it's a curious system, I know). But if you have the information ready to go before you call them you will come across as generally more informed and less likely to take any BS.

After letting them know the location of the land, let them do the talking. There is a good chance they will cut right to the chase and make a low-ball offer.  Something like $2,000 and 15%.

In that case, I would tell them you heard Marquette paid $3,700 and 17.5% in Harrison county and since you are right over the county line, you want the same deal. See what they say. In my case, they made a verbal offer of something very close to that in terms of financials. Then you can arrange for them to email you a copy of (1) the lease and (2) the order of payment, for your review. 

Permalink Reply by Marc on August 16, 2011 at 5:41am

Gary - I have land next door in Wheeling Twp. I would like the contact information for the people running this new landowner's group. 

Last week, I received an offer $3,700 and 16.0% with decently landowner friendly provisions (using the exact same addendum as Piergillini's Harrison-Jefferson Marquette group).  This was after one-on-one negotiating with Mason-Dixon, Marquette's leasing agent. I indicated interest but they have yet to send me anything to sign.

Also, after reading a couple leases with higher amounts attached, I've noticed that some companies have switched back to demanding 1280 acre production units.  In my initial discussions with Mason-Dixon, they were offering leases with units at 640 + 10%. 

Two may not make a pattern, but I'm wondering if anyone else is seeing this trade-off between higher bonuses for larger production units.  As a short-term solution, I think it may make sense for most parties involved.  But it's something to keep in mind when negotiating - they may not be offering you a better deal as much as front-loading it more.

Sorry bout the italics, some kind of browser glitch.

Permalink Reply by Gary Ball on August 16, 2011 at 4:13pm

I will find out more information tomorrow and post, this seems to be a gambling scenario, do I sign or hold out for a better deal, comparing what was being offered last year some difficult choices to make.

Permalink Reply by Steve McGee on August 19, 2011 at 9:54am

Somerset Township bordering Noble and Guernsey , Gulfport 3000 and 16 , and Eclipse 2750 and 17 . Still negotiating

Permalink Reply by billmac on September 1, 2011 at 10:07am

 

Did they contact you or did you have to call them? I got agreements in the mail from a company called Pleasant View offering 2k an acre plus 15%.  I wont sign  for several reasons. Someone has to do a title search on your land back until 1859 I think it is to make sure your are indeed the right person to make a contract. Thats not cheap. It just doesnt seem logical to me these companies are so far apart in there offers. Granted, they want to give you less in order for them to sell it or flip it to and bigger gas/oil company. If you sit down and think about it, how can 10 different companies sign us up in the same area. they need hundreds of acres to go sideways and if im next to you, and I sign with a different company, what happenes? One of the other has to sell to the stronger and you cant do anything about it. Here in lies the problem. Whos the biggest and strongest? Deal with them directly and not a middle guy. To many things flying around, just from what im reading on here. Its like throwing darts and see what sticks. Companies are testing the waters here for sure and see who will bite. If they have all of us signed up with different companies, whos going to drill.? Thats the one I think will do the best for us as landowners. Just my 2 cents worth.

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on September 1, 2011 at 12:39pm

You actually should do/have done a title/mineral search on your holdings unless you are 100% certain of what you actually own. It has been my experience that most landowners are not certain of the status of their mineral rights. It is foolish to go into a lease signing of any sort without doing your due diligence (mineral rights search) beforehand because you could end up tying up the lease signing payment for a long period of time if there is ANY question about mineral rights ownership.

That being said, the Pleasant View offer is a turd (for other reasons) and you should run from it.

As far as who you lease to, find a lease with terms you can live with. The major players will all do some horse trading after an area is mostly leased and your lease will probably end up with the company who wants to drill your area. The company you lease to may not be the one who ends up drilling but the driller will be bound by your lease.

 

Permalink Reply by Doc on September 2, 2011 at 1:19am

I am not an attorney, but the title/mineral search doesn't have to be expensive if you do the research before taking the information to an attorney. Start with your current deed at the Court House and look up each reference in your current deed by volume and page number. Copies are 50 cents each, but copy each page. The worst part is climbing over the land agents to get to the records. Once you have all of the prior records recorded, look through them and copy each record that they reference. Continue this process until you have every document and find the first recorded deed. In my experience, in Belmont County, you are at about 1900. Prior to that time, you may need to search grantor and grantee indexes to find any additional records. The staff are very helpful, especially if you identify yourself as a landowner ( tax payer ). Once you have all of the records, start reviewing them looking for any rights or assignments for coal and/or minerals. It is time consuming and you need to read each line carefully. Once you have done your research present your findings to an attorney for their review. An attorney can advise you as to whether assigned rights are valid or whether they can be vacated. In simple terms it appears to come down to....did the owner of the mineral rights pay taxes on the value of the content.....and is there an heir identifiable...

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on September 2, 2011 at 7:17am

I did my own research at the courthouse and also went through the "Affidavit of Abandonment"  process on my own. I am in a different situation than most because one of the partners in the land I own worked for an attorney for quite some time writing things like that and also spent some time in county government drafting legislation. Basically it cost me two days off work traveling to Belmont county to spend the day in the Recorder's office digging out old deeds plus the cost of posting the legal notices in the local paper. If you don't have that background, you can still dig out the old deeds yourself and present that info to a competent attorney. If you don't, the attorney will just send a paralegal to do the research and charge you for it. Even if you pay an attorney to do everything, any money you do spend on attorney fees you will get back when you deduct them from your tax liability. You can pay it in taxes or pay it to an attorney but either way you WILL pay it out. I'd rather pay a local businessman (attorney) than pay the government. At least the attorney will probably spend that money in the area helping the local economy rather than sending the money to Washington in taxes where it will surely be mis-spent.

Permalink Reply by TonyMik on August 20, 2011 at 7:37am

Unsolicited contracts in mail. Pleasant view mgmt llc. 5 yr lease 2k / acre and 15% for small tract. BUT...read the fine print....for the purposes of this agreement as containing xxx acres, whether actually more or less, AND including ALL contiguous, appurtenant, submerged, or riparian lands OWNED OR HEREIN AFTER OWNED by LESSOR

Be careful what you sign.

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