Inconsistencies and ambiguities in the Ohio Dormant Minerals Act, Ohio Revised Code § 5301.56 (the “ODMA”), set the stage for legal battles that are just beginning.  Oil and gas operators may get caught in the crossfire.

Operators need to be aware of at least one glaring inconsistency in the current version[1] of the ODMA that sometimes makes it difficult to determine who owns a mineral interest that has been severed from the surface estate.  This inconsistency could render a lease meaningless, and make a lessee a trespasser, if the lease is not signed by the right party. 
Continue Reading Contradiction In The Ohio Dormant Minerals Act