feel abandoned--

Feel like I have been left in the dark! Does any one  know anything about Aubrey and any drilling? I NEVER hear about any activity concerning his company(AEP). I first signed on with Shell, then Shell sold out to AEP and that has been that. Does anyone else, that has their lease through AEP, know ANYTHING about what is going on and when there might be some drilling starting?

The other companies are so much ahead of AEP! You are always hearing about this well and that well or company but never anything about Aubrey's AEP company doing anything. Am I the only one hooked up with AEP? I never see anyone else asking questions about AEP). ---------Fell like the lone ranger!

Thanks for any info you might have.

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Permalink Reply by William K Watkins Jr on September 2, 2014 at 9:46pm

AEP is getting ready to frac existing well they purchased in the Hess deal. Have also constructed pad on an XTO lease in Union twp ,Belmont Co. 

    I hope their well completions are as good as the paint job they have put on existing equipment they have purchased.  It is really first class.

Permalink Reply by nc man on September 3, 2014 at 12:08am

William-

Where is the well located that AEP purchased from Hess?

The property where my mineral rights are, is located(I don't own property, just mineral rights)  north of Rt. 22 , west of Skull Fork Rd. Is this well you refer to near there?

Right now have had to hire an attorney and file a "Notice of Preservation". The K&R Conservation  LLC(who owns the land)., has claimed my mineral rights as theirs, even though I signed with Shell in 2011 and then AEP bought Shell's leases.

I am keeping my fingers crossed we can get this legal move reversed in our favor. My Dad owned the mineral rights since the 50's but sold the property to coal co. in 1966.

Thanks for your input above!

nc man

Permalink Reply by Dexter Green on September 3, 2014 at 2:28am

"My Dad owned the mineral rights since the 50's but sold the property to coal co. in 1966."

Depending on which interpretation of the ODMA the supreme court chooses you may in fact not own your mineral rights. 

Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on September 3, 2014 at 10:53am

http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2014/08/gas_riches_at_stake...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The Ohio Supreme Court took up a pair of cases recently that each address disputes over who owns mineral rights for property in an area of Ohio thought to have rich natural gas reserves.

The two cases both involve disputes centered on application of the Ohio Dormant Minerals Act, which addresses who controls mineral rights when no activity has occurred with regard to them for 20 years.

Ultimately the Supreme Court's decisions will settle who reaps the profits from extracting natural gas and other resources from the land.

Both cases are from Harrison County, an area in Eastern Ohio west of  Steubenville.

What do you think? Should the state tighten up laws covering the transfer of mineral rights so that they remain attached to the property?

One case involves owners of a 128 acres who appealed to the Supreme Court hoping to regain control of mineral rights they say have sat dormant for at least 20 years.

The mineral rights were sold decades ago, and a surviving heir of the buyers is battling to keep those rights. Lower courts ruled in his favor, saying enough requirements for action were met to keep them from reverting to the landowner.

The other case questions whether leasing mineral rights constitutes a transaction that can restart the 20-year clock in the Dormant Minerals Act. A drilling company that leases mineral rights on 80 acres is seeking to preserve its rights.

Harrison County is part of an area thought to hold large quantities of natural gas and oil.

The area in Ohio's Utica Shale formation for tapping those resources appears to be somewhat smaller than first thought, but wells that are producing have prompted companies to scramble to handle the billions of cubic feet of gas that have been found.

One energy company executive who spoke at the Ohio Oil and Gas Asso... earlier this year said then that natural gas production in Ohio's Utica and Pennsylvania's Marcellus shales are turning the nation's northeast region from an importer of gas to an exporter.

The two cases were among several the court heard recently. No decision is expected immediately. After lawyers present their oral arguments before the court's justices, it can take weeks or even months before rulings are announced.

Permalink Reply by nc man on September 3, 2014 at 11:55am

Phil,

And to think, I started this discussion weeks back and was worried AEP would never drill on the property, where I thought we had the mineral rights, to only  find out we have lost them to the landowner!

I wish now, that was my only worry! Hope the Supreme Court will rule for the mineral rights owners.There is still hope for owners of  just the mineral rights!!

Phil!, how can I thank you enough for the site you just posted for me and everyone else in the same situation and your never ending help to all of us with the sharing of your knowledge.

Much appreciated!

nc man

Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on September 3, 2014 at 12:15pm

The title "I feel abandoned" ended up having a double meaning.  I wouldn't give up yet.  Good luck!

Permalink Reply by evan on September 3, 2014 at 2:09pm

Like Philip said don't give up.  I went through a situation kind of like you but a little different. First you need an excellent law firm to look into this . I think you have a really good chance.  They will have excellent attorneys working for them and Aubrey will be involved but you have alot on your side also.  

Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on September 4, 2014 at 3:04am

http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/ohio-supreme-court-hear-mineral-ri...

Ohio Supreme Court to hear mineral rights case

Wednesday, September 3, 2014 by Kristy Foster Seachrist

CALDWELL, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court announced Sept. 3 it will hear a court case that could send ripples across the state when it comes to the question of who may own the mineral rights to a piece of property.

There is no court date set, nor any other details available, as of presstime.

The case will decide who owns the mineral rights under 42 acres in Noble County.

The issues revolve around the 1989 version of the Ohio Dormant Minerals Act and the 2006 version of the same law. This is the first case to go to court over how the versions intersect and what it means to the surface owner and the mineral rights owner.

Background

Jon Walker Jr. filed a lawsuit against John R. Noon in 2012 in an attempt to get the mineral rights to the property. Walker owns the surface rights.

According to court records, Noon purchased the property in 1964 and when he sold the property in 1965, he severed the mineral rights from the surface rights and maintained the mineral rights. In 1970, the property changed hands two more times.

Then, in 2009, Walker purchased the property. In December 2011, Walker sent a notice of abandonment of mineral interest to Noon.
But in January 2012, Noon filed an affidavit and laid claim to preserve his mineral interest.

In April 2012, Walker filed a complaint for judgment. He requested the trial court rule that he is the lawful owner of the mineral rights.

Walker claimed in the court records that the mineral rights merged with the surface rights in 1992 by the way of the 1989

Ohio Dormant Mineral Act

He claimed Noon abandoned his interest in the mineral rights when he failed to stop them from expiring.
Meanwhile, Noon filed a mineral preservation notice with the court in the spring of 2012.
The Noble County Court found that Walker did own the rights and denied Noon’s motion to keep his mineral rights.

Court of Appeals

Noon then filed an appeal with the Seventh District Court of Appeals in April 2013. Noon died after filing the appeal. His daughter, Patricia Shondrick-Nau, was substituted in the case since she is the executor of Noon’s estate.

The Seventh District Court of Appeals ruled April 3 that Walker does own the mineral rights since Noon reportedly didn’t develop them since 1964.
Shondrick-Nau appealed the decision to the Ohio Supreme Court May 16.

Ohio Dormant Minerals Act

Ohio’s Dormant Minerals Act, which is part of the Ohio state law, provides a surface owner with the opportunity to gain title to previously severed mineral rights if those rights have not been “used” during a specific 20-year period.

The 2006 version of the Ohio Dormant Minerals Act specifically applies to any mineral interest, defined as a “fee interest in at least one mineral regardless of how the interest is created and of the form of the interest, which may be absolute or fractional or divided or undivided.” The 1989 version of the statute did not define the interests subject to abandonment.

The 1989 version of the Dormant Minerals Act has been described as a “use it or lose it” statute: if the mineral-interest owners did not “use” their mineral interests during a 20-year time period, they automatically vested in the surface owner.

The 2006 version of the Dormant Minerals Act says the surface owner must adhere to a multi-step process to accomplish the merging of the surface and mineral interests. The surface owner must confirm that the oil and gas mineral interests have not been used within the previous 20 years.

In addition, the federal court in Columbus has asked the Ohio Supreme Court to examine the issues in the case because justices are waiting to make a decision in a separate, unrelated federal case, based on the Ohio court’s decision.

The case is gaining interest because the decision could impact so many landowners since the Seventh District Court of Appeals covers Belmont, Carroll, Columbiana, Harrison, Jefferson, Mahoning, Monroe and Noble counties, which are all involved in shale exploration.

About the Author

Kristy Foster Seachrist lives in Columbiana County raising sheep and horses. She earned her degree from Youngstown State University and has worked in both print and broadcast journalism. You can follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/fosterk96.More Stories by Kristy Foster Seachrist
Permalink Reply by nc man on September 4, 2014 at 3:25am

Phil,

This sounds exactly like our "story"!! Doesn't look good for us but all I can do is to think positive!

Just not understanding why Shell "found" us to be the owners of the mineral rights in 2011 and had us sign the lease and paid the signing bonus to us.

The only reason we can figure that out is the landowners filed the "Affidavit of Abandonment" in Harrison County instead of Guernsey, where the land is located and that our mineral rights are on. Hope that will make a difference in our ruling.

Thanks, again, for sharing this article. Where do you find all of these?

nc man

Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on September 4, 2014 at 3:35am
Permalink Reply by nc man on September 4, 2014 at 3:48am

Phil,

Sorry but am not finding or understanding what you are referring to, as far as this link, you just sent. More info, please.

nc man

Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on September 4, 2014 at 3:59am

ShowerBath has an excellent Current Events thread:

http://gomarcellusshale.com/group/ohio/forum/topics/current-events-... 

He always posted the latest news.  It is where I found the article from Farm and Dairy.

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