West Virginia Mineral Rights were discovered in 1859. This happened when large oil and gas fields were found near and over salt domes. Since then, West Virginia has experienced quite a bit of growth within the mineral rights and oil and gas royalties business.
The Marcellus Shale
As one of the largest shale formations in the country, the Marcellus Shale Formation underlies parts of multiple states, including West Virginia. The Marcellus Shale contains roughly 84 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. An initial natural gas well was drilled in 2003, but production really picked up 2008 when companies began to use hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling.