The (F)leased perspective on hydrofracturing
Why did we sign? Partly because natural gas is a relatively “clean” fuel, so obtaining it locally seemed reasonable. Partly because the way it was presented to us made it sound inevitable and benign. Partly because the money was appealing. The Music Man came to town, and I am astonished and ashamed that we succumbed to his tune.
We never would have signed if we had known then what we now know about the pollution potential and the possible transformation of peaceful residential and agricultural areas into industrial zones. I am sure that there are many other landowners who feel the same way. We have decided to use the money we received from the lease to try to stave off this potential disaster. A new organization called “(F)leased” is forming to represent people who signed leases and wish they hadn't.
via Put hold on drilling in state | theithacajournal.com | The Ithaca Journal.
NY Responds to Oil & Gas Industry’s Tradition of Deception
“Drilling companies will not be permitted to use misleading letters and dubious legal claims to bully landowners,” wrote Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in a prepared statement. “Many of these companies use their size and extensive resources to manipulate individual property owners who often cannot afford to hire a private attorney. This land-grab practice must stop. Today’s settlement is a good first step, as Fortuna is the first company to agree to stop these practices. My office will continue to investigate the activities of other drilling companies to ensure that New Yorkers who were wrongly pressured into lease extensions will have a chance to re-negotiate their leases.”
via Fortuna used deceptive tactics – Corning, NY – The Corning Leader.
Press Release From Coumo on Renegotiating Marcellus Leases
Natural gas drilling company agrees to stop misleading tactics to unilaterally extend leases on New Yorkers’ properties
Fortuna Energy, Inc. will allow hundreds of landowners out of the improperly extended leases and will pay $192,500 in settlement
Fortune Leaseholders Can Renegotiate
Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that his office has reached an agreement with Fortuna Energy, Inc. (Fortuna) that will allow customers who were misled and ended up extending their natural gas leases with the company to renegotiate their terms.
Three power brokers take control of unleased land
Gas companies have what landowners want.
So why are they both knocking on the office doors of three men who have come to hold the keys to the bulk of the Southern Tier's multi-billion dollar natural gas-drilling prospects?
Meet the Marcellus Shale power brokers.
via Marcellus Shale: Three power brokers take control of unleased land | stargazette.com | Star-Gazette.
Marcellus Shale landowners pool information
For decades, developers of natural gas bought mineral rights in northern Pennsylvania for a few bucks an acre, and that was the end of the story – no drilling ever took place. So Ronald B. Stamets balked when a land man showed up two years ago and offered him $500 an acre for a gas lease.
” ‘Whoa, this guy must know something I don’t know,’ ” Stamets, 63, a Web developer who lives near Lake Como in Wayne County, in the state’s northeast corner, recalled thinking. “They were offering real money.”
Stamets and some of his neighbors began researching the emerging natural gas discoveries in the Marcellus Shale, a mile-deep rock formation that lies under much of Pennsylvania. He created a slapdash Web site, www.pagaslease.com, where property owners could swap their findings about leases and exploration activity.
The Web site soon got discovered, and it has developed into a library of information on the locations and terms of the latest gas leases, as well as news about potential environmental threats.
via Marcellus Shale landowners pool information on gas | Philadelphia Inquirer | 11/01/2009.
Binghamton attorney addresses gas leases
Guy noted older gas leases for companies such as Chesapeake — which offer much less per acre than newer deals — are expiring, but provisions in the contracts could keep them in place. Companies can keep the leases active by issuing an annual lease payment if circumstances beyond their control keep them from drilling.
Clients who wish to renegotiate have been sending the gas companies' lease payments back, he said. Guy said his firm had seven clients on the same road in Colesville whose leases expired last month. Battling gas companies can be expensive and drawn out, he noted.
via Binghamton attorney sees middle ground in gas skirmish | pressconnects.com | Press & Sun-Bulletin.
Pro-drillling response to enviro hazards of gas drilling
Apparently this article has been out there since July at least, but I just came across it. I’ve been waiting for some major publication to tackle this subject — sorting through the hysteria and hype of those like Damascus Citizens, while also looking beyond the bland reassurances of the gas industry.
Here it is, a good clear-eyed view. I can’t recommend this article highly enough. Excellent work, Kevin!
It’s long, so I broke it into 3 parts.
________________________________________________
A Broad Look At The Environmental Issues Of Natural Gas Drilling
by Kevin Lewis of The Friendsville Group
INTRO
There is a lot of concern about the environmental issues related to drilling natural gas wells. There is a lot of confusion about those issues as well. The industry prefers to withhold information and wants you to believe that everything is just fine. On the other hand, many of the environmental groups would have you believe that each new well is the start of another Love Canal episode…
via Kevin Lewis’s article on (non-hysterical) environmental hazards of gas drilling.
Drilling, Compulsory Integration Planned in Your NY County?
Mineral Resources Environmental Notice Bulletins from the DEC’s website:
Compulsory Integration Hearings
Notices for compulsory integration hearings required by subsection 23-0901(3) of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law are posted here at least 30 days prior to the hearing date.
Notices of Intent to Issue Well Permits and Spacing Orders
Notices of intent to issue well permits required by subsection 23-0503(2) of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law and notices of intent to issue well permits and spacing orders required by 23-0503(3) of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law are posted here. These notices pertain to well spacing requirements only and do not necessarily mean that permits are ready to be issued. More information regarding review of additional records related to these notices is stated at the top of each page.
Notices of Intent to Issue Well Permits
Notices of Intent to Issue Well Permits and Spacing Orders
New York On-line Searchable Database for Oil and Gas Information
Under the authority of subsection 3-0301(1)(u) of the New York State Environmental Conservation Law, the Department provides a searchable database for oil and gas information. This includes information on companies, permit applications, issued permits, spuds, wells, annual well production, well transfers, geological formations and geological fields. Prior on-line data was more limited and was generally limited to only a ninety day look back. The new on-line searchable database provides enhanced access to oil and gas data. Original well records are available for review at the respective regional offices. Any person may review these files at the respective regional office or at the office of the Division of Mineral Resources located at 625 Broadway, 3rd Floor, Albany, NY 12233-6500.
Other New York DEC Article 23 Well Reports
Pending Variances from Regulatory Statewide Spacing
via Mineral Resources Environmental Notice Bulletin – NYS Dept. of Environmental Conservation.
Landowners Getting Bigger Bucks as Shale Bidding Escalates
“This is probably the tail end of the initial leasing wave, which has lasted for more than two years,” she said. “The amount of land available now is probably pretty small, but this could be repeated as the leases terminate over time. It'll be interesting to see what happens when these leases are up in five years, since the companies will have better well-production records. I believe the companies have found that the wells are producing more than they’d expected, so this could go on for decades.”
via PA Landowners Get Big Payments as Marcellus Shale Bidding Escalates.
Gas-leased properties may need new mortgages
Berrish said attorneys for Visions have spent months researching the issue. The credit union, like others in the Southern Tier, is also waiting for the state Department of Environmental Conservation to release guidelines on drilling.
Potential environmental damage to properties could affect their future value, Berrish said.
Visions officials have come up with likely mortgage policy changes for borrowers who lease mineral rights to their properties.
Fortuna Energy Inc – Wikimarcellus
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.
Dimock in the first person: “none of us knew how much razing of our woods & fields would be involved…”
I agree with eliminating coal as a power source, but before everyone starts patting each other on the back for switching to “clean” gas, they should check its source, including my back yard. None of us knew how much razing of our woods and fields would be involved. We were told that the disturbance to our property, trees, etc. would be minimal, and that the landscrape would be returned to its original appearance. They did not say that at each drilling site, a large piece of property would have all of its trees completely removed, to the roots, and that all of the native plants would be destroyed, including wild columbines, laurels, rhododendrons, dogtooth violets, ferns and trilliums, and that all of the soil would be scraped away and replaced with gravel and sand. They did not say that the pad would resemble a cut-off volcano or flat-topped pyramid, surrounded with blaze orange plastic, or that the acreage would be full of heavy equipment on wheels, including numerous, leaky tanks. Most importantly, they described the fracking water as “sea water”, not mentioning toxic or carcinogenic water pollutants. If you have any advice for those of us on the front lines here, or know who can do the right water tests, please let us know.
leave a comment