Determining who owns and who has the rights to develop the oil and gas and other minerals underlying real property is complex.
Whether you are purchasing real property to build a home or as an investment, are a real estate developer purchasing property to construct a commercial building, or are acquiring rights either by lease or purchase to develop the oil and gas and other minerals underlying a property, your ability to do so can be significantly limited by others that may have an interest in the oil, gas and other minerals. That is why Critchfield and its affiliated title agency, Heartland Title Agency, LLC, maintain a trained and experienced staff of attorneys and para-professionals available to assist you and to give you piece of mind that your intended use of real property is not limited or prohibited by the rights of others. Our services include conducting extensive examinations of various public records, mineral certificates of title and drilling opinions of title. We also work with individual property owners to negotiate oil and gas and other mineral leases and to resolve disputes when they arise.
Representative matters and services:
- Represented a large group of landowners in the negotiation of oil and gas leases in the Utica Shale
- Provide drilling title opinions for a national oil and gas producer in the Utica Shale
- Provide drilling title opinions for local oil and gas producers all formations
- Provide mineral rights opinions for local real property investors
