The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1955-09-22
Play 1t Safe

For the protection Of our community, I feel COM
PEELED to re-stae the possible effect upon land
who sign the Unit Operation Agreement that is be
ing used here in the Accident by the firm Of Snee
and Eberly
If you sign their agreement it will give to them the
right to pay you royalty on only a small part,
at all, of your land, in productive well is
drilled within the pool It will tie up all your land for an
indefinite period of time extending many years into the
future and long there is well anywhere in the
pool 1t is virtual blank check giving them all the adj
vantages. There is limit to the amount of land they
take into the pool In they have taken in
up to twelve hundred After they drill if they
strike gas they throw out part all your land,
they can pay you royalty only a small number of
your and call that In POOL and throw out the
remainder of your land and call that "Ou POOL The de-
cision is with Them you do nothing about it if you
sign their agreement Bear in mind that the land that
they call Out Pool will be tied up for long there
is well anywhere the vast in the pool which
they still increase to still greater after you
sign their agreement.
1t may be desirable to pool our land with that of our
neghbors in order to make up enough land to drill upon
if get the right kind of agreement The agree
should stpulate the number of to be taken
into the pool 1t should require them to pay royalty
all the land covered by the agreement in produc
tive we'll is drilled But under the type of agreement
they trying to get to sign could have five
hundred acres of land and after sign their agree
men they could take in only few acres I'm Pool or
even none at all and yet hold the entire five hundred
acres as long as there we'll any place the lands
which they have tied up together under their untitled
agreement This is not fair contract and after signing
it man could easily be defrauded out of his rightful
share of royalties and out of his normal rights to lease
the portion of his lands bearing royalties to another
company to drill upon. The main purpose however, is
to tie your land down and prevent other drlers from
getting in
In order to compel the signing of their one-sded
agreement they have recently set their drilling rig up
only short distance from land owned by man who has
refused to sign They had Nine Hundred Acres signed
up in the pool without his land but instead of keeping
a safe distance away they drilling close that
if gas is found his property will suffer damage from
drainage. Yet if he signs their agreement, they will
have the power throw out part all of his land and
if they do so he will have Even if they keep
all his land in he will be forced to share with num-
Der of acres they decide and his percent of the royalty
from the well would probably be insignificant NOW,
IT is OBVIOUS THAT WE NEED LAW TO PRE-
VENT THEM FROM FORCING OUR LAND OWN
ERS INTO SIGNING A INSTANTANEOUS CON-
TRACT. The law should keep them a safe distance
from our boundary line until they have made salts
factory agreement Mutual trust is not the right answer
so long as they try to force people into signing
sided agreements People who would do that cannot be
trusted In the absence of any law the surest way to
protect ourselves is by keeping off of one
sided contracts If they threaten to take your gas any
way if you don't sign way will be found to help
CLIFFORD FRIEND