What You Don’t Know CAN Hurt You
Royalty Owner’s Group Warns of Proposed Changes in
Leasing, Surface Owner’s Rights
W
hether you are a mineral owner, a surface
owner, or both, it pays to stay up-to-date about
oil and gas issues in West Virginia. New legislation
proposed by the oil and gas industry could, if passed,
negatively affect your rights as a landowner and your
pocketbook as a mineral owner.
The West Virginia Royalty Owner’s Association has
been holding a series of meetings around the state to help
educate the public on several important issues. Two such
meetings have already taken place in Wheeling and in
Tyler County. According to WVROA, recent changes in
language and terminology within the oil and gas industry
are particularly worrisome to industry watchers. The
term “forced pooling,” which automatically put a bad
taste in the mouths of anyone outside the oil and gas
industry, has been done away with, perhaps, some would
say, in the hopes of fooling the public into thinking the
controversy has gone away. Not so, says WVROA. The
new term for forced pooling is “lease integration,” and it
has reared its ugly head once again.
Along with the changes in terminology, the oil and
gas industry is pitching some legislative proposals that
would make robber barons look generous. According
to WVROA’s Christine Davis, recently proposed
legislation would make it extremely simple for