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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on October 6, 2011 at 7:31

Ken, you will need a conveyance of some sort whether a deed or a donation that can be recorded in the public records of the appropriate Clerk of Court.  Yes, energy companies check title to determine to whom they will offer a lease.  Everyone who owns an undivided interest in a mineral tract can negotiate their own lease,  They do not have to act in concert.  It doesn't matter if they sign with different companies.

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Permalink Reply by Hopeful About Natural Gas on October 6, 2011 at 16:00

There can be advantages to everyone signing with one company.  But, sometimes that's about as easy as herding cats.

 

You have come to the right place at the right time Go Haynesville Shale is the only blog with a big collection of both professionals, landowners and people who own mineral interests.  You can find accurate info here.

 

If you poke around the site you will find information about how to negotiate a lease - what to look out for. There are a zillion details, but most leases are fairly straightforward. Each company will negotiate with each individual minerals owner.  If the owners are united then one person may be designated to negotiate for them.  Usually the owners are not united or may not even know each other. Spend some time looking around the site.  There is a whole section devoted to negotiating a lease.

 

-HANG

 

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Permalink Reply by Henry on October 7, 2011 at 0:46

Ken,

Make sure you have advice from an experienced oil and gas attorney before you, or your family members, sign any lease.  The company will offer you their "standard lease" to sign.  That lease is biased in the favor of the company.  A good attorney will provide an Addendum (often called an "Exhibit A") with language that will provide protections for you and your land, get you more money, and reserve your deep rights.  It is well worth several hundred dollars for this legal advice, even if you have only several acres.

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Permalink Reply by The_Baron on October 7, 2011 at 8:32

No.

There is no automatic document. The property will need to be probated and a Judgement of Posesion issued by a judge to formally transfer interest. This will be recorded in the courthouse. In leiu of this, during the leasing process landmen will discover (quite often really) that the owner has died and there is nothing in the courthouse transfering property.

 

When this happens the landmen will then do his best to track everyone down and try to file as much as possible to give as clear title as possible, such as affidavits of heirship.

 

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