Is a Gas Well Going In on Your Property? Know Your Rights.

Is a Gas Well Going In on Your Property? Know Your Rights.

With the huge uptick in gas drilling we’ve seen in the last few years, chances are better than ever for West Virginia landowners with country acreage that a gas well could be drilled on their property. Things can get particularly tricky for surface owners who don’t also own the mineral rights and therefore have no say in whether a company can come onto their land and drill. Under West Virginia law, if the mineral owner leases the rights to drill for gas and oil under your property to a developer, that company has the right to set up and drill on your surface for the minerals under lease. But what you, as a surface owner, do have is the right to be paid for the use of your land.

West Virginia Code § 22-7-3 obligates the oil and gas developer to pay the surface owner compensation for things like lost income or expenses from interference with prior, dedicated uses of the land; damaged or destroyed crops; damage to water supplies; cost of repair of personal property and the diminution in value of the property after the land is reclaimed. In 2019, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals held that “a mineral owner or lessee does not have the right to use the surface to benefit mining or drilling operations on other lands, in the absence of an express agreement with the surface owner permitting those operations.” Syl. P. 2, EQT Production Company v. Crowder, 241 W.Va. 738, 828 S.E.2d 800 (2019). These laws provide a surface owner with real leverage to negotiate a surface agreement that a driller needs to lawfully operate on the surface.

There are several considerations that can impact the value of a surface owner’s agreement, and successfully negotiating such an agreement depends on the individual factors that make up each unique situation. But if you find yourself in a position where a driller needs a surface agreement from you to operate, it can often be helpful to consult with an experienced gas and oil law firm to further explore your rights.