Some regions in northeastern Ohio are seeing modest increases in oil and gas drilling and production activity. Here are a few considerations for landowners who may be interested in participating:

1. Is your property under lease? 

If you are unsure, a first place to check is with your county recorder’s index, under the name of the property owner. Any leases should be listed, as well as any lease releases.

Depending on your county, you may be able to print copies of documents from the index.

2. Is your property in an existing oil and gas production unit?

A unit declaration should be recorded with your county recorder, indexed under the owner’s name. The Ohio Department of Natural Resource’s well finder website is a valuable tool for locating your property and any permitted wells on or nearby.

Each well’s reported production information is updated quarterly under the well summary tab and the summary also includes reference to maps that show parcels included in a unit. A lessor can quickly compare the reported production with any royalty statements received.

3. Would you know how to respond to an offer to lease or buy your oil and gas rights?

Offers are being made by both actual production companies and brokers wanting to acquire rights to “flip” them over to production companies.

Landowners need to determine who they are dealing with and carefully decipher the fine print, as sometimes there are conditions included that result in rights being tied up for little or no consideration.

There is usually room to negotiate, and a landowner’s due diligence should include researching activity in the area and consulting with experienced legal counsel.

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Alan D. Wenger is an oil & gas lawyer in Youngstown, Ohio, and chair of the Oil & Gas Law Practice Group at HHM.