Natural Gas Wells

[Wayne County Hose]

There has been a major gas company leasing up land here in northeast Pa for the purpose of drilling gas wells. Some around here welcome it with open arms, while others do all they can to stop it. Does anyone out there have any first hand experience with these leases, and with the environmental impact? Some in the beginning got $250 an acre for about a 6 year lease to the gas rights. Now, there are offers of $1250 an acre and I am hearing possibly higher. We are hearing a lot of "stories" of what is happening around the country with these gas wells. We don't know what to believe. There is also a group around here taking out newspaper ads with what "could" and "may" happen. I know these wells are already in certain areas, anyone know anything?

 

[MMagis]

We've had a lot of wells drilled in my area in the last 7-8 years. We've had two drilled on our farm. Really no problems to speak of. They didn't clean up the last site quite as well as the first, but that was the only real problem I had the whole time. Still, they did a decent job. Make sure you are very clear how you want the area to look afterward. They typically will work very hard with you to make sure your happy. At least that's been my experience.

 

[Bird]

No personal experience, but there's sure been a lot of gas well drilling going on in this area recently. Some of the cities and some school districts are letting them drill on their property to get that income. And as you said, some residents complain about noise, traffic, possible safety hazards, etc.

 

[MMagis]

I guess I could also mention that our last one was drilled within 200 yards of my house. Nothing between the rig and me but open air. I was surprised how little disturbance it was. If I wasn’t outside I couldn’t tell it was there. It was also drilled within 75 feet of my personal gas well, which had me more than a little worried. They assured me it wouldn’t cause any problems, and so far they’re right. I think more often than not, people just like to complain. To me, the positives outweigh the negatives.

 

[KAB]

Here is an article about some problems http://www.wkyc.com/news/rss_article.aspx?ref=RSS&storyid=84673. Like any article it only looks for the problems not the positives. I can tell you that there are a lot more wells in this area than problems that have happened. But you should have access to some of that bad, just remember that there are a lot more good.

I should also note that if I had property that would qualify for a well... well... there would be a well.
Kurt

 

[Bird]

I think more often than not, people just like to complain.

Yep, and from what I've seen in the news, it appears to me that most of the complaints are about the "potential" problems; not actual or existing problems.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Yep, and from what I've seen in the news, it appears to me that most of the complaints are about the "potential" problems; not actual or existing problems.

And that's a problem. I don't want to say if I support them or not, as I am just looking for what has happened in other areas with these gas wells, good or bad. But one thing I can not stand is the fear mongering. There is a serious "potential" problem in everything we do. When I was a maintenance manager, we used to do risk assessments. What could potentially happen, what was the worst case result, and the probability of it happening. These people lead you to believe our water will be ruined and that the gas company leaves the landscape looking like the Mars landscape.

 

[MMagis]

Since you brought up water quality, it reminded me that my neighbors also expressed concern about their water as well. I told them I would ask about it, so I did. My contact told me that in 30 years he only knew of one occasion where it effected someones water, but if it happened they would drill a new well for that person. There were no problems, but it was nice to know and made the neighbors feel better. As for the landscape, I suppose all companies are different. But, on our farm they did a very good job of putting things back the way they were. All top soil is moved to one pile and put back on top when done. Our last well was drilled in the middle of the soy bean field, on the side of a hill. They dug out a roughly 100 yard square work area, but now you would never know they were ever there, other than the pipe coming out of the ground.
On the negative side, they cut and pulled up 300 yards of metal gas line. I already had it shut off at the well, but they never asked anything about it. Plus, that gas line is still in the field. I can make use of it, but I don't like pipe left laying in a crop field. That was our second well. I had no problems with the first well.

 

[EastTexFrank]

Realize that we are talking about 2 or 3 different companies here. The "Operator" is the company that buys the lease and controls and is responsible for the exploration and production. They in turn usually hire the "Drilling Contractor" to physically drill the well for them under their supervision. There will also probably be another "Contractor" that builds and reclaims the well locations, again, under the supervision of the "Operator". So, if you have any problems with damage, trash, how the location was left, etc., contact the operator. He already has contracts in place with his "contractors" on how the job will be done and what standards and criteria will be met. If anything breaches your agreement with him, he legally has to fix it.

Usually, and this is a VERY general statement, the larger the operator, the less problems you are going to have because they just don't want the hassle of dealing with irate landowners and they usually have more resources to fall back on. Having said that, get everything you want and expect in writing and agreed to before signing anything. It's a lot easier for both parties if everybody concerned knows exactly what is expected of them before the operation starts.

 

[chetorba]

I am in NE Pa (Hallstead area) and have ben approached by companies about leasing my property for gas exploration. It sounds like easy money so I was leary. I contacted my friend who is a lawyer. He read the agreement and advised me not to sign the lease. The company was offering $250 per acre for a five year lease. As he put it, what you give up in property rights is no where close to the the $250/acre that they pay you.

The lease grants the gas company the right to take over your land. They can build roads, run gas lines and put well heads. The only limitations are the state regulations which limit how close the can put a well to a dwelling. The lease is automatically renewable by the gas company.

My understanding is that these leasing companies are in a race to lease blocks of land because whoever signs up the most acreage in a square mile area "wins" the right to drill in that area. If you land is within the designated square mile block, you are entitled to the royalty payments for all the wells with the drilling area whether or not you sign a lease agreement


This web site has alot of good information:

Bureau of Oil and Gas Management