Cutting out the middleman
In the early days of the Marcellus/Utica, landowners often formed groups to negotiate lease terms on behalf of all members. It's a smart move as it tends to deliver better lease terms --- more money for a signing bonus, better royalty rates, and better language in the contract. In fact, MDN got its start when editor Jim Willis noticed a group of 300 landowners (many of them farmers) in nearby Deposit, NY, signed a lease deal with XTO Energy for $90 million (see this story). It made more than one millionaire! Some of the leases signed by landowner groups years ago are now expiring and in one case --- in Marshall County, WV --- group members are once again shopping their land as an entire block, looking for drillers who will give them the best terms.
