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OGA 9: Panel Discussion – Community Engagement

Panel V: Community Engagement: Are we losing the Public’s confidence?

  • Winning the public perception battle: What is the current perception and how can positive change
  • Connecting with local communities – employing local workers, donating to local charities, finance community projects
  • Employing effective transparency to manage adverse events
  • Judging the importance of social media in connecting with the community and stakeholders
  • Forced pooling/unitization – how to make the case
  • First impressions count: are your landmen helping or hurting your company’s reputation?
  • Connecting with your leased landowners – keeping the lines of communication open and operating
  • Maintaining good relations with surface rights owners who don’t own mineral rights
  • Dealing with anti-drilling groups and protesters in a professional and positive way

Moderator: Alex Grant, Conference Producer, Oil & Gas Awards
Speakers: Brittany Thomas, Coordinator External Affairs, Cabot Oil & Gas
Sarah Barczyk, Manager, Community Relations & Stakeholder Outreach, NiSource Midstream Services
Dan Weaver, Public Relations, PIOGA
Stacey Brodak, Manager Community and Media Relations, Noble Energy
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New Video: Women of the Marcellus

MDN is really pleased to share a new video highlighting how Marcellus Shale development is impacting families in Pennsylvania. While many know about the economic impacts and consumer savings made possible by shale gas, this video highlights the personal stories of three families whose lives have been made materially better because of Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania.

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New Marcellus Shale Co-op Created for Local Governments in PA to Share Information and Experience

Jesse White, Pennsylvania State Representative for the 46th Legislative District, which includes portions of Beaver, Washington and Allegheny Counties, has formed a new Marcellus Municipal Co-op for local PA governments to band together as they tackle the tough issues of local zoning ordinances and laws to deal with a very active drilling industry within their borders. The purpose is to share information so each local government does not have to “re-invent the wheel.” The knowledge and hard work from one municipality with regard to Marcellus drilling issues can be shared with other municipalities.

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Binghamton Natural Gas Summit: Video Interview with Bryant La Tourette

At the Binghamton Natural Gas Development Summit held on March 18 at the Binghamton Regency Hotel, Marcellus Drilling News had the pleasure of speaking with Bryant La Tourette, Vice President of the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY), the organization sponsoring the event. Bryant is also the president of the Oxford Land Group, a landowner coalition in Chenango County, NY. Bryant unveiled the brand new JLCNY website at the Summit. In our interview, he briefed MDN about the JLCNY and it’s mission, and told us a bit about the new website.

The JLCNY is made up of 37 member landowner coalitions from 17 counties in New York State. In all, there are 800,000 acres and 70,000 people represented in the combined 37 member coalitions. Bryant said to think of the the JLCNY as “the next Farm Bureau,” referring to the American Farm Bureau, an advocacy group for farmers and others who work in agriculture, to give them a voice. In the same way, the JLCNY seeks to give a voice to landowners who want to profit from their land via natural gas drilling.

The new website, which can be found at //jlcny.org, provides information for landowners from the very beginning stages of signing a lease through receiving royalty payments and beyond. Bryant points out, however, that the site will be particularly helpful as a resource for landowners who have already signed. For those landowners, it will answer the question, “What comes next?”