Have you been turned down for "free gas" because you did not have the mineral owner's agreement?

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Some surface owners believe that just because you have a gas well on your property you have a right to free gas. That is not true. There was a time when some companies gave surface owners free gas who did not have a right to it. That right has to be reserved in a lease from the mineral owner to the driller, or in the deed that severed the the ownership of the surface from the ownership of the minerals. If you have a question about free gas rights — if you are denied free gas or a driller turns off your free gas — please call us and we can give you a few minutes of a lawyers time to try to determine you rights.

The rest of this web page deals with one reason why companies deny people free gas — sometimes when an existing free gas well has gotten old and lost its pressure and the surface owner wants to switch to another well.

If the lease that you believe established your right to free gas was signed before the ownership of the surface was separated from the ownership of the minerals/oil and gas, then it is best if the deed that separated the ownership of the surface from the ownership of the minerals stated that the free gas went with the surface. However, WV-SORO believes that even if the deed was silent on that, the surface owner should get the free gas without having to find the mineral owner or owners (and there could be a bunch of them). If you are in this situation and got turned down, let us know. We may be able to help you.

If the lease that gave the right to free gas was signed by the mineral owner after the ownership of the surface and the ownership of the minerals was separated, you may be in a more difficult position. However, if you have been turned down for free gas for any reason, call or e-mail WV-SORO and we will give you what advice we can.