What if your Deed and proposed or executed Oil and Gas Lease do not accurately reflect the proper acreage of your property?
Several of our Oil and Gas lease clients have obtained surveys of their properties indicating that their parcel contains more acreage than reflected in their Deed and the Oil and Gas Lease they are offered, or their lease they have already signed. When this discrepancy occurs, we offer the client the legal service of preparing and filing a “Corrective Deed” reflecting the additional acreage.
If the Landowner has a gas lease offer pending, the recording of a Corrective Deed should guarantee that the Landowner is paid a complete up‐front per acre bonus for their entire acreage, as opposed to incorrect lower acreage listed in their gas lease offer.
If the Landowner has already signed their Oil and Gas Lease but now has determined by survey that they own more acreage than contained in their executed gas lease, the Landowner should act immediately to file a corrective Deed reflecting the appropriate acreage. Once the Corrective Deed is filed, the Lessee (Gas Company) must be formally notified and provided a certified copy of the recorded Corrective Deed. A Landowner may then have the opportunity to amend their gas lease to reflect the appropriate acreage. If the gas lease is amended to reflect the increased acreage, the Landowner can receive the benefit of royalties for their entire acreage now listed in the Amended Oil and Gas Lease.
Filing a Corrective Deed may result in a significant increase in the Oil and Gas Lease bonus payment and may have a lasting impact on future royalty payments if the property is subsequently involved in a unit or pool of gas production. If your Oil and Gas Lease does not reflect your entire acreage of your property, contact us today to learn more about our Corrective Deed services. Attorney Doug Clark is Pennsylvania’s Landowner Lawyer, and he can help you.
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