Lease & Royalty Payments 46 - Marcellus Drilling News

NY Landowners Sue Inflection Energy over Force Majeure

February 20, 2012February 20, 2012

A group of 18 Tioga County, NY landowners have sued Inflection Energy to overturn Inflection’s “force majeure” claim to extend the lease on their collective 1,200 acres. A force majeure clause is written into most gas lease contracts. It means a driller can automatically extend the length of the lease if there are unforeseen events that hinder the terms of the contract—in this case commencement of drilling—from happening.

Triad Hunter Buys Leases for 15.5K Acres in OH Utica Shale

February 17, 2012February 17, 2012

Magnum Hunter’s subsidiary company, Triad Hunter, has just closed on a lease deal to take possession of 15,558 gross (12,186 net) acres in Ohio’s Utica Shale. The deal is for $2,037 per acre, or $24.8 million total. The seller has not been identified and according to the press release the seller may have more acreage to sell to Triad Hunter if they can clear up problems with title to some of the additional property.

Potential Cracker Plant Site in WV Leased for Drilling

February 15, 2012February 15, 2012

One of the possible locations for a new ethane cracker plant in West Virginia is a 1400-acre parcel of land owned by Bayer Corp. located on the border of Marshall and Wetzel counties. Ahead of an announcement on a cracker plant, Bayer has decided to move forward with leasing the New Martinsville plant for shale gas drilling to Gastar Exploration in a deal expected to net Bayer $30 million over 30 years.

Antero Pays Record Rates in Eastern Ohio Utica Lease Deal

February 13, 2012February 13, 2012

prices going higher The Utica Landowner Group of eastern Ohio has just cut a deal with Antero Resources for what is believed to be the highest amount paid yet for a lease deal: $5,900 per acre for a signing bonus, and 21 percent royalties. The deal covers land in Belmont, Monroe and Noble counties in Ohio.

Anadarko Offers $3K/Acre + 17.5% Royalties for Utica Lease

February 7, 2012February 7, 2012

Coshocton County in eastern Ohio requested Utica Shale lease offers for 436 acres of county-owned land no longer being used for any other purpose. There was only one offer put on the table, by Anadarko. Under the five-year lease offer, the county would receive a $1.3 million signing bonus ($3,000 per acre) and 17.5 percent in royalties.

Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Washington County Commissioners to Vote on Modifying Gas Lease

February 2, 2012February 2, 2012

Commissioners for Washington County, PA will vote today on modifying an agreement they have with Range Resources to allow drilling for gas at a county-owned park. The revisions will limit how much time Range has to complete drilling and extracting natural gas, and it also ups the royalty percentage.

Broome County | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | New York | Talisman Energy

Broome County, NY Landowners Get Big Payment from Talisman

January 25, 2012January 25, 2012

New York landowners in Broome County will receive millions in lease payments this month from Talisman Energy—$5000 per acre (they’ve already received $500 per acre). The landowners belong to the Friendsville Group, a landowner coalition that signed a deal with Talisman in 2009. Most of the Friendsville Group members are landowners just over the border in Pennsylvania, who already received their full $5,500 per acre payments two years ago. The New York members had to wait—either until permits were granted, or January 2012.

Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Westmoreland County | Williams Production

Drilling Deal Between Williams & Municipality in Western PA

January 19, 2012January 19, 2012

The Latrobe Municipal Authority in Westmoreland County, PA (near Pittsburgh) is negotiating with Williams to lease 236 acres of municipal property for $2,500 per acre with 15 percent royalties on any gas produced. Latrobe is also talking with landowners who own adjacent property hoping they can pool enough land together to present Williams with 800-1,000 acres, including the right to drill on an eight-acre parcel owned by Latrobe located next to their wastewater treatment plant.

Correction: Exxon Buys 25K Acres of Utica Shale Leases in OH

January 11, 2012January 11, 2012

Two days ago MDN reported, based on copies of paperwork filed with Monroe County, Ohio, that Exxon Mobil via its subsidiary XTO Energy had acquired 13,200 acres of Utica Shale gas leases from Beck Energy (see this MDN story). It turns out there’s more to the story.

MDN received a copy of an additional purchase agreement between Beck and Exxon for another 7,627 acres, for a total deal between the two companies of 20,827 acres of leases in Monroe County. The new/second agreement appears to be property held by Beck with delayed rental payments—that is, property where there is currently no active drilling.

Exxon Buys 13,200 Acres of Utica Shale Leases in Ohio

January 9, 2012January 9, 2012

Exxon Mobil, through it’s subsidiary XTO Energy, recently acquired just over 13,200 acres of Utica Shale leases from Beck Energy Corp. in Monroe County, Ohio. A copy of the Bill of Sale, dated Dec. 20, 2011, is embedded below, containing a list of all the parcels in the transaction. Terms of the purchase are not disclosed in the document. Neither Exxon Mobil nor Beck Energy have disclosed the price and terms of the deal.

Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | New York | Norse Energy | Statewide NY

Norse Energy Sells Some of Its NY Acreage/Interests

January 3, 2012January 3, 2012

Norwegian gas driller Norse Energy has sold off some of its leased acreage in Central New York State, along with a slice of future royalties in acreage for which it retains control. The complicated deal to an unnamed buyer for $26.7 million is to sell all interests in 22,700 acres, and various rates of royalty interests on other leases that Norse retains (see the press release below).

Norse will retain control of 160,000 leased acres in New York, of which 110,000 acres are located in the Marcellus and Utica Shale play areas, in the hope that New York will soon release final drilling rules that will allow it to tap into shale gas in the state.

Butler County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania

School District Near Pittsburgh Receives $628K Lease Payment

December 23, 2011December 23, 2011

The South Butler School District (Butler County, PA) has just finalized a lease agreement with XTO Energy to lease 167 acres of school-owned land for $628,000, or $3,760 per acre, plus an 18 percent royalty on any gas produced. The deal was approved by the school board back in September (see this MDN story).

The final terms of the deal just adopted have been changed since September. Previously, the district was promised $3,750 per acre that would be paid “should natural gas be extracted.” Under terms of the final agreement, the district has already received a $628,000 payment, $3,760 per acre, up front.

Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

NARO Says Marcellus Land Grab in PA is Over for Landowners

December 19, 2011December 19, 2011

In a wide-ranging article talking about the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania, and how it is maturing, we get this bit about landowners’ prospects in signing new lease deals from a National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) rep:

Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Range Resources Reduces Lease Offer to North Strabane Twp

December 14, 2011December 14, 2011

North Strabane Township (Washington County), PA reports that Range Resources has lowered its offer to lease 141 acres of township-owned land.

Belmont County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Utica Shale

OH Landowner Group Seeks Driller for 45K Utica Shale Acres

November 28, 2011November 28, 2011

The Smith-Goshen Landowners Group in Belmont County, OH currently has 600 members and 45,000 acres of Utica Shale land available for lease. But they’re taking it slow and looking for a lease that will guarantee the safety of their farms and water supplies, according to Larry Cain, chairman of the group. They’re also looking for an even better deal than other landowners in Belmont County recently got from XTO Energy (a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil).

Landowner Coalition News | Lease & Royalty Payments | Ohio | Trumbull County

Huge OH Landowner Group Close to a Lease Deal for 80K Acres

November 20, 2011November 20, 2011

The Associated Landowners of the Ohio Valley (ALOV) landowner group in eastern Ohio met on Saturday for an update on negotiations with energy companies to lease what may be the largest tract of land offered by a single landowner group in the entire Marcellus and Utica Shale plays. A deal is not yet done, but the president of ALOV, Robert Rea, says they may well have a deal done in the next several weeks.