Mineral Rights
In 1916 Congress passed a public lands act containing a general reservation of valuable minerals in the lands, reserving “all the coal and other minerals in the lands” in all lands patented under the Act. And Colorado, like most other western states, recognizes separate ownership of the Surface Estate and the Mineral Estate and the distinct private property rights associated with each.
Often, different parties own the surface and the subsurface, commonly referred to as Severed or Split Estate lands. The different ownership may have been created through the reservation of the minerals to the government when the lands were originally patented, or may result from a decision by a previous landowner to separately sell or lease the subsurface mineral interest.
Because each party has rights associated with the ownership of their respective estate, individual as well as oil and gas companies that have purchased or leased mineral rights are entitled to exercise their property rights to develop the resource.
Colorado law recognizes that access to the mineral estate from the surface estate is necessary in order to develop the mineral interest. The law provides for access to the mineral estate by allowing subsurface owners "reasonable use" of the surface estate. Surface and mineral interests are created or transferred through private party contracts, including deeds and leases.
In most areas of the West, including our area of Las Animas and Huerfano Counties, real estate properties may or may not have minerals included with the purchase of the property. For the most part minerals have been either sold, leased or retained by previous owners and are not passed with the purchase of the property. This is called a Split-Estate where the Surface Rights are sold separately from the Mineral Rights.
Since the late 1990's, Oil and Gas Companies have been drilling for Coal Bed Methane or Natural Gas in many areas of Las Animas and Huerfano counties. As a result real estate agents, like ourselves, have had to get educated concerning the potential effects for property owners.
Adobe Gold Properties is a company that provides full disclosure to our customers and deal with the facts such as these straight up and honest so as to help you make the best decision for your family and your future.
If we can't answer your questions concerning the Methane Gas Well drilling in this area, we will try to find out for you. But most of all we will encourage you to contact the gas companies directly and or do research to find the answers that you need to make your decision. Most likely you will not find this information on other local real estate web sites as it is a hard subject to discuss before you see how beautiful our properties really are. And the good news is that many people are not concerned with the gas well drilling but this is a personal preference. And the gas companies have helped our area in many ways including better roads and road maintenance as well as being one of the largest employers in the area. The taxes from coal bed methane drilling have made a large inpact on our local county governments revenues also.
Frequently Asked Questions:
If I don't own the minerals with my property can a gas company come onto my property and drill a gas well?
Answer: Yes they can if they have the minerals leased. The well spacing is regulated by the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission and currently well placement is 5-6 wells per section. A section is approximately 640 acres or 1 square mile. Currently the gas companies like to place their wells about 2000 feet apart but this could change. Mineral owners feel that they have just as much right to their minerals as you do to the surface just as you might if you owned the minerals.
How much space do they use for a well site?
Answer: approximately 150-200 feet by 200 feet. In this area there are two coal basins with one being the Raton Basin and the other the Vermejo Basin. They run at different depths with one above the other in some cases to depths of about 2000-2500 feet. In some areas the gas companies will put two wells on a well pad to access each coal bed. The fact that they drill both on the same well site is good news and better than having a well in another location on your property.
This is a well site with only one well drilled to one of the two formations. In most cases there will be another well just like this on the same site or well pad.
What are the Gas Wells and why are they drilling them?
Answer: This area has long been known for its coal production but coal mining was shut down in the early part of the 1900's. Methane Gas is a natural by product of Coal as it decomposes. The gas companies are able to drill a well into these coal veins and extract the gas from them then compress this gas and transport it in pipelines for use in our homes and businesses as Natural Gas. President Bush has created incentives for coal bed methane so that our country will become more energy independent.
How long will the Coal Bed Methane Gas Wells be in Las Animas County?
Answer: They tell us the life of a gas well is about 20 years. But if you look at the facts 20 years ago they didn't have this technology or at least it wasn't used much until recently so in 20 years new technology could emerge. So we expect the gas wells to be here for a long time. The only thing that could affect this gas production is if its not profitable to continue doing so, right?
Will the gas companies pay for surface damages?
Answer: Yes most do pay at least a one time fee of $2500 to the surface owner at time of drilling and this is paid for each well. Property owners can also get paid for any pipelines that may run along or across their property too.