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.

(more…)

In an effort to provide a community forum where divergent and frequently noisy views can be aired, Breathing has solicited articles from property owners who are considering signing natural gas leases or who, after months of deliberation, have completed the signing. There have been difficulties and I had to decide whether or not to publish an anonymous post. In the end, I decided a wide-ranging discussion of the issues facing our communities is more critical than identifying our author who fears for her job if her name is released. I hope her obvious concern for the land and our cultures is sufficient to set minds at ease. She’s known to me. She’s not a figment. She’s not greedy and she’s not oblivious to the dangers posed by drilling – and cited to regularly by Breathing. Hers is an important voice that sheds light — whether or not you agree with her conclusions.
(more…)

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.”

(more…)

Force majeure allows lease extensions when a gas company is prevented from fulfilling its lease obligations by unexpected or unforeseen incidents not under their control.

In these cases, gas companies claim, the unexpected incident is the lack of the generic environmental impact statement for Marcellus drilling.
(more…)

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.

(more…)

During September, 2009 a report appeared about about a pending appeal before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in the Kilmer vs. ElexCo case. A Susquehanna County judge had ruled that ElexCo, et. al. had not been liable when the plaintiff, Kilmer, charged that defendants had failed to pay him the full 12.5 percent royalty required by Pennsylvania law. The defendants, ElexCo, et. al. argued that the lease allowed the company to deduct certain costs and expenses first before paying the royalty including assessments, taxes, and transportation. The plaintiff had appealed the lower court ruling to the Supreme Court. The report noted that the case was being closely watched by other oil and gas companies in the state who might have similar kinds of legal exposure.

(more…)