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Ohio Landowner Wins Case Against Protégé Energy re Restoring Land

An interesting case recently decided by Ohio’s Fourth District Court of Appeals has a significant impact for both surface landowners and drillers. The case is Zimmerview Dairy Farms, LLC v. Protégé Energy III LLC and establishes, under Ohio law, that a general release of damages contract (typically signed by landowners when they lease land for drilling or pipelines) does not release a driller or pipeline company from its ongoing obligation to remediate (fix) and restore damage to a landowner’s property.
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Pin Oak Buys Protege Energy’s Utica Assets in Ohio, W.V.

Listen up landowners in Washington County, OH: For some of you, your shale lease may now be owned by someone else. Pin Oak Energy Partners, a relatively young Marcellus/Utica driller based in Akron, OH, has purchased all of Protégé Energy’s Utica Shale leases (and other assets) located in Washington and Noble counties in Ohio, and Wood County in West Virginia. The vast majority of the lease transfers are in Washington County.
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Marietta Tries 2nd Time to Lease City Land for Utica Drilling

The City of Marietta, OH has several parcels of land they’re interested in leasing for Utica gas drilling: (1) Gunlock Park, behind the Walmart complex off Pike Streeet, (2) city-owned land along Goose Run Road in Marietta Township, (3) city garage property off Alderman Street, and (4) Buckeye Park off Acme and Greene Streets, and (5) the Kroger swap (i.e. “wetlands”) off Acme Street. All five locations total 95 acres. MDN reported that because city council snoozed, they lost out on an earlier opportunity to lease the Gunlock Park and Goose Run properties (35 acres) back in May (see Delay in Leasing City-Owned Land Costs Marietta, OH Big $). The city will run a second advertisement (legal requirement) to lease all parcels, and once again, they may have some interest. If they don’t botch it this time…
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Seismic Testing Coming in July to Washington County, OH Town

Seismic testing is coming to Fearing Township (Washington County), OH starting in July. Seismic testing usually precedes drilling–so that means drilling is most likely on the way. The testing will allow drillers to “see” the best locations to place wells. So how will Protege Energy III, the company that’s hiring the testing done, go about doing the testing? No big thumper trucks along roadways for Protege. Instead, they favor drilling small holes and putting small explosive charges in the holes and recording the sound waves that bounce from the explosive charges. Protege held a community meeting earlier this month in Fearing to discuss the process and answer questions…
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Delay in Leasing City-Owned Land Costs Marietta, OH Big $

The mayor of Marietta, OH says the city probably missed the boat to lease 95 acres of city-owned land for Utica Shale drilling–and he blames city council for dithering about getting an ad placed to announce the land is available (death by committee). But perhaps all is not lost…
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Marietta Residents Generally in Favor of Leasing City-Owned Land

Seems to us, from an informal survey around town, that most residents of Marietta, OH are in favor of the city leasing 35 acres of municipal property to Protege Energy for the offered $4,750 per acre signing bonus and 17.5% royalty on any gas produced.

A sampling of reaction “around town”…
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Marietta, OH Offered $4,750/Acre + 17.5% Royalties for 35 Acres

An offer–or more accurately a pre-offer–was made at the Marietta (OH) City Council meeting yesterday that would put an initial $166,250 in the city’s coffers from leasing 35 city-owned acres along the edge of the city for shale drilling. A driller is tentatively offering $4,750 per acre as a signing bonus, plus 17.5% royalties, for land in the area. Some city council members (Democrats) expressed concerns about the potential offer, and several residents from anti-drilling groups in attendance also added their drivel 2 cents.

Here’s more of the details about the offer–the driller who’s making it, when the drilling would begin, and what was ultimately decided as the next step at yesterday’s meeting…
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