Introduced Version
House Bill 2138 History
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Key: Green = existing Code. Red = new code to be enacted
H. B. 2138
(By Delegate Manypenny)
[Introduced February 13, 2013; referred to the
Committee on the Judiciary then Finance.]
A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by
adding thereto a new section, designated §36-4-9b, relating to
permitting mineral owners and producers to negotiate a new
lease under certain conditions; requiring mineral leases to
state with specificity when they end; and prohibiting leases
to be held in perpetuity.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended
by adding thereto a new section, designated §36-4-9b, to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 4. COVENANTS.
§36-4-9b. Restrictions on length of mineral leases.
__________Notwithstanding the provisions of section nine-a of this
article:
__________(1) Either the mineral owner or the mineral producer may
renegotiate the terms and conditions of a lease that is held
through fractionalized development in the event the minerals being
extracted have not been in full production for five continuous
years or after five years for acreage that has been held only by
one or more production wells in a unit that does include that
acreage;
__________(2) All leases for the extraction of minerals must state with
specificity when, or under what conditions, the lease terminates.
If it is determined that a lease is ambiguous or unclear, its
termination date shall be read in a light most favorable to the
mineral owner; and
__________(3) Mineral leases may not be held in perpetuity.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit mineral leases
that are held through fractionalized development to be renegotiated
in the event the minerals being extracted have not been in full
production for five continuous years
after five years for acreage
that has been held only by one or more production wells in a unit
that does include that acreage
. The bill requires that
leases for
the extraction of minerals to state with specificity when, or under
what conditions, the lease terminates. The bill also provides that
leases may not be held in perpetuity.
This section is new; therefore, it has been completely
underscored.