Oil and Gas leases, Good thing or Bad Thing?

It often happens when purchasing country property that you may find that there is an oil or gas lease on the property. Now you have to decide if that is a good or bad thing. As with many things there are several issues to consider.

The biggest drawback is that the oil or gas company usually has the right to come onto your property when they want, drill wells, dig pipelines etc. If you are using your ground just for pasture or even crops maybe that’s acceptable to you. Most people who want to build a home on their land would not like an drilling company being able to do that. So what are the options?

1) The most common thing we find is that the lease is a very old one probably purchased by Grandma and Grandpa and the oil or gas company has been out of business for many many years. This is pretty easily handled by doing an affidavit of non production, and for about $25 or so the lease goes away and there is no further issue.

2) What if it is an existing lease that is recent? Well if the company has never drilled a well most (I said “most”) of these leases expire if they don’t produce anything within a certain time often one to three years. If that is the case then you take the steps mentioned in item 1 above.

3) What if they are currently producing oil or gas? Well now is the time you want to find out who gets the mineral rights if you buy the property. If the buyer gets the mineral rights well then you also get the royalties, which normally amount to 1/8 of the production of either gas or oil and that can be lucrative. But often when selling producing land the seller will want to retain the mineral rights. So if that’s the case then you have to decide if you want the land badly enough that you are willing to forego the royalties and accept the fact that the oil or gas company can drive on your property, drill new wells, place pipelines etc.

4) The most frustrating scenario is to find that there is an existing oil or gas lease, but you don’t see any signs of activity on your ground so you think you vacate the lease by doing an affidavit of non production. But then you find that while the 40 acres you want to buy is free of any activity the drilling company has a lease that covers several sections of ground and all they have to do is have some production on any of that ground and they still have rights to all of it. Including the ground you want to buy.

If you are in the midst of purchasing ground like this and have any issues there are several attorneys who are specialists in oil and gas leases and I’d suggest you contact them. If you are in the process of wanting to buy ground and just have some simple questions please feel free to contact us at 913-837-4665 or email us at info@RuralKC.com

Time to Vaccinate your Horse

Hello fellow horse people. This week I am going to blog about Spring Health Tune Up for Horses. Vaccinations, parasite control, conditioning and hoof and tooth work should all be on the spring health checklist of horse owners. The best disease protection is a good vaccination program by a veterinarian. Most vaccines require an initial injection followed by a booster within 4 to 6 weeks for maximum protection. Horses should be excercised only lightly for 3 to 5 days after vaccinations as they may be stiff and sore.

Because vaccinations require some time to take effect, the horse will not have immunity immediately after a vaccination. Allow two weeks after vaccination before exposing the horse to othe rhorses that may be carrying a disease.

Combined vaccines that include coverage for up to five of the most common equine diseases reduce the number of "shots" a horse needs. The most popular being-Eastern and Western Encephalomyeltis, Influenza and Rhinopneumonitis and Tetnus.

Don't forget West Niles as well.

Horses should be checked for internal parasites and dewormed as needed. A deworming program may be continual or periodic. If drugs are rotated, families of drugs-not just brand names-should be changed.

Please remember as the weather gets nicer and you want to ride, your horse has been cooped up all winter and is not conditioned to ride yet. Horses should be started slowly and build up to maximum performance. This most generally take 4 to 6 weeks. Excercise under saddle at least four time a week. Having a horse in the best physical shape possible at the start of the season goes a long way toward preventing lameness or health problems later.

Horses should receive a dental exam once or twice a year.

Trimming of feet and shoeing may be needed. Most horses need reset about every 6 weeks to avoice excessive changes in hoof length or shape. Let me know if you need that name of a good farrier. I have several.