Being a surface owner with another operator’s well drilled and situated on my residential property, as well as an owner of an oil and gas exploration company, I am keenly aware of the surface owners position and experiences associated with a gas well. Over the years, I have found that a key to avoiding disputes is one thing– COMMUNICATION.
In West Virginia, we experienced a nearly 20 year lull in drilling activity during which time there was an in-flux of many, new out of state residents purchasing comparably cheap, low taxed property for retirement and recreation and those remaining residents gradually forgot what was involved in drilling new oil and gas wells. Questions and concerns frequently arise when owners of residential property in suburban and rural areas discover that oil and gas operations are being conducted or considered in the vicinity and they suddenly discover that ownership includes two distinct sets of rights, or ‘estates’, the surface estate and the mineral estate. To be totally honest, if I wasn’t aware of this division or ‘severance’ of ownership and their associated rights, I would share those concerns and potentially be upset if a drilling company came to me out of the blue and informed me they intended to drill on my retirement property.
Since a gas well may produce for 50 years or more, Reserve recognizes that our relationship with the surface owner is instrumental. Reserve strives to communicate with the surface owner and involve the surface owner in the positioning of new wells and access roads. Because of our corporate and affiliate structure (i.e., our companies complete most of the work with a direct line of communication to management), we are more responsive to land owner concerns than most oil and gas companies. Although it is indeed our goal for this section to answer many of your questions, we also understand that you may have questions and concerns from time to time and I welcome you to contact our Land Department at any time.
Sincerely,
David A. Freshwater
President
