Some OH Landowners Get $5,800/Acre While Neighbors Get $4/Acre
A cautionary story for landowners comes from Columbiana County, Ohio. Some landowners, like Patrick and Jill McNicol, own land encumbered by old gas leases going back fifty years they knew nothing about. What does it mean? They’ll get $4 per acre for their land (and no royalties), while their neighbors will get $5,800 per acres and 12-20 percent royalties.
Is there any recourse for the McNicols? Maybe.
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Last week Chesapeake transferred 90 percent ownership of their 9,000 Utica Shale leases in Columbiana County, Ohio to their French partner Total in return for $2.03 billion. Back in December Chesapeake did an initial deal with Total for a 25 percent ownership stake in Chesapeake’s Ohio Utica Shale leases for 10 Ohio counties. This latest deal does not grant Total 90 percent in all 10 counties, so the question is, why Columbiana in particular? In two words: headache relief.
Chesapeake Energy is partnering with M3 Midstream and EV Energy Partners to build a new $900 million natural gas processing complex with facilities in Ohio’s Harrison and Columbiana counties by the middle of next year. The facility will be the largest of its kind in eastern Ohio, providing a place for Chesapeake and other drillers to process natural gas and the all-important natural gas liquids. French energy giant Total, a 25 percent joint venture partner with Chesapeake in the Utica Shale, also has an option to participate in the project.
News of Chesapeake Energy’s major oil discovery in eastern Ohio’s Utica Shale prompted officials in Columbiana County to renegotiate their about-to-be-signed lease with Chesapeake. It was a smart move for the county—netting them an additional $255K: