They are roughnecks, and they are bringing a new dimension to the region’s demographic as drilling crews migrate from places like Texas, Oklahoma and Louisiana to pursue the gas-rich Marcellus Shale under the Twin Tiers.

In Athens Township, Pa., Chesapeake Energy and Nomac Drilling are planning a 180-bed gated compound to house their crews when they’re not pulling 12-hours shifts, seven days a week, on derricks being erected throughout the countryside.

Many are expected to show up in Broome County next year, after New York finalizes a regulatory overhaul to accommodate the intensive type of horizontal drilling used to tap the Marcellus.

This weekend, many of the 700 or so land owners who were at Black Walnut to lease their land got a significant indication of the potential of the Marcellus play.

The land owners formed a group to negotiate leases of their land with Chesapeake, a major gas industry player, and they reached a collective deal that fetched $5,750 per acre for drilling rights on their total of 37,000 acres, with more money to follow in the future in the form of royalties.

“God has put the Marcellus Shale underneath our property,” said Lines-Burgess, a spokeswoman for the group. “We are about the luckiest people in the whole world right now.”

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September, 2009 found Fortuna striking a deal with the ”The Friendsville Group” consisting of 600 landholders in Susquehanna and Bradford counties, Pennsylvania and the New York county of Broome. The company was to pay $5,500/acres on a five year lease with right to extend the lease for an additional three years. Royalties were to be 20% on production. The total deal amounted to $165 million for drilling rights to 30,000 acres in the three counties. C. Warren Trainor, a Philadelphia attorney, represented The Friendsville Group in the negotiation. Update, September 17, 2009: Despite The Friendsville Group having accepted Fortuna’s offer, [[Chesapeake Energy]] made a counter-offer amounting to $5,750/acre, 20% royalty and only a 5 year lease with no right to extend for another three years. A Fortuna spokes person indicated that despite the counter-offer, the company remained confident that it would still be able the to lease their minimum contingency acreage for the deal to go through which was 20,000 acres. Apparently, members of the group are at liberty to lease to whomever they choose.

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