Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Doulittle on March 21, 2012 at 9:50pm

Jami,

I sent info to you via friend request. Can help you with a lot of your questions.

It sounds like the DPS Penn Road Show is in action trolling again.......I wonder how many they snag with the Bonus and net Royalty pitch?

Maybe a better question: How do they sleep at night after celebrating their "daily catches"?

Doulittle@gmail.com

Permalink Reply by Utica Shale on March 22, 2012 at 3:44am

1. Can we be force pooled? If our property is within the unit, do we have a choice?

Technically, yes you could be Forced Pooled - in the real world probably not.

ODNR sent an email implying that they would proceed with Forced Pooling when one Driller is blocking another Driller. I do not think any residential land has been force pooled into a Horizonatl Well Production Unit todate. But, then why would you not want a Signing Bonus and Royalties????

 

2. Would contacting ALOV do us any good? 

ALOV is no longer.

Bob Rae now runs a For-Profit business called Buckeye Minerals

Also, Contact Chris Baronzzi of Harrington, Hoppe Mitchell in Salem.

HHM law firm wrote the ALOV lease.

330.337.6586

 

3. Should we try to get together with neighbors (all fairly small parcels) or just contact a lawyer and try to get a deal for ourselves?

Are you a great negotiator?

What leverage do you have as an individual ?

 

4. If our well water is contaminated during drilling, is there any benefit to having a lease or not?

A lease can/will offer you some remedy if your well is contaminated?

Did you get a copy of the Water Test results?

 

Permalink Reply by jami d on March 22, 2012 at 5:00am

We are very concerned about the potential for methane getting into our well water. We did get our water test results and also had the water tested by another firm on our own. If we do get contaminated, I wondered if signing a lease makes it more difficult (or impossible) to sue when the oil company doesn't fix the situation. Of course we'd like the bonus and royalties, but not at the expense of a company ruining our property and not properly fixing it.

 

We aren't good negotiators and obviously have no leverage as an individual. Just want a landowner-friendly lease with decent bonus/royalties. Obviously don't want to sign for $2,500 when neighbors signed for $4,000+.

 

If we are in the unit, can Chesapeake drill without us being leased?

 

Thank you for info about ALOV and ALOV lease / lawyer in Salem. At least this is narrowing down our options.

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on March 22, 2012 at 5:31am

Whether you can sue the oil company or not if you are leased will be determined by the lease you sign. Some leases have an arbitration clause where an issue must go to arbitration instead of court. Whatever lease you sign, make sure it has adequate water protection included for the landowner and use a good oil and gas attorney to help you negotiate or at least understand the contract you are signing.

No, CHK can't drill under you without leasing your land. They can't even apply for forced fooling against you until they have exhausted all attempts to come to an agreement with you which would include at the very least, offering the best deal any of your neighbors got.

Permalink Reply by jami d on March 22, 2012 at 9:33am

Thank you. Good to know.

Permalink Reply by Utica Shale on March 22, 2012 at 5:31am

1) "... and also had the water tested by another firm on our own ..."

When you had your water tested personally, did you personally handle the sample at any time? The answer must be "NO, we did not". You need a signed "chain-of-custody" of that sample for it to be valid in court.

 

2) "... If we are in the unit, can Chesapeake drill without us being leased? ..."

You cannot be "in the unit" if you are not leased.

If they drill under your land without a lease then you will get very rich.

 

3) "... We are very concerned about the potential for methane getting into our well water ..."

Of the 80,000 Oil & Gas wells drilled in Ohio can you please give us examples of which water well now have this methane problem?

 

4) "... Obviously don't want to sign for $2,500 when neighbors signed for $4,000+ ..."

Why did you not join the same group as your neighbors?

 

5) " ... but not at the expense of a company ruining our property and not properly fixing it ..."

About 2/3 of the Horz Frac Wells in Ohio have been permitted in Guernsey county, Columbiana county & Jefferson county. Have you seen any evidence of this "ruining our property" at any of these well sites?

 

 

Permalink Reply by jami d on March 22, 2012 at 9:41am

We didn't personally handle the sample because we want it to hold up in court if necessary.

 

I haven't researched the methane problem, but I know there are property owners suing in Medina County because of methane contamination. I guess it's a more shallow well, so not a valid comparison. Dimrock in Pa. and some cases elsewhere in the country. I wouldn't be surprised if there is contamination elsewhere that people are just living with or it hasn't reached the media. I know it's all human error. Accidents happen. If the well is done right, there won't be a problem. Always that "what if?" and want to make sure to be prepared for any possibilities. Want to make sure we get the right wording in our lease (as someone mentioned in a previous reply).

 

We did not join with our neighbors because we didn't know they were negotiating. They are a mile or so down the road. Where we live neighbors don't seem to communicate much. And we really hadn't thought about a lease until we were approached for water testing and the the DPS Penn guy showed up and sent us a lease offer.

Permalink Reply by Utica Shale on March 22, 2012 at 10:57am

Jami,

 Save yourself 100 hours of Lawyers fees ($20,000 = $200 x 100 hours). Tell DPS PENN, who is really just Cheapeake's landman, that you want to use the ALOV lease. Tell CHPK that you know that they have allowed thousands of your neighbors to sign that lease. Ask CKPK, WHYyou cannot have the ALOV lease, too. You will be able to sleep at night.

 

 Have a real Oil Gas Lawyer review that 15 page ALOV Lease. Make sure the Lawyer has actual Horizontal Well experience - these are not you old-style simple 1 page Vertical Well leases any more!

 

"... I haven't researched the methane problem, but I know there are property owners suing in Medina County because of methane contamination .."

 Those indivduals may be suing the wrong person ...

"We’ve conducted extensive testing on the two active gas wells in the area, and have conclusively determined that the issue experienced by the home owners are not related to those wells."

"Our findings were reviewed by the Ohio EPA and Ohio Department of Health, both agencies agreed with our conclusions. However, we suspect the issues experienced by the homeowners are caused by an abandoned well directly across from their properties."

 

 Old abandoned wells, using old construction techniques, need to be reported ODNR and plugged, immediately.

 

 

"... Dimrock in Pa. and some cases elsewhere in the country ..."

 You cannot compare drilling in other states to Ohio's record. The DEP in PA has been "asleep at the wheel". The OHIO DNR went to the PA DEP offices to educate them about O&G well safety, proper construction techniques and inspections. Proof that the water wells in Dimmock were actually contaminated by the new O&G Wells is still not proven. It may be proven that some Dimmock homeowners had wells that were bad prior to the O&G wells being drilled and they tricked their neighbors into suing for some big bucks, that now may back-fire in their faces.

 

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on March 22, 2012 at 6:13am

There are a number of "levels" of water testing. Make sure you fully understand what the initial testing covered/looked for and that those parameters adequately covers your concerns.

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on March 22, 2012 at 3:53am

DPS Penn is a land services company that handles leasing for Chesapeake so if DPS contacted you, Chesapeake most likely wants your acres.

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on March 22, 2012 at 4:23am

Very little info available from ODNR right now. The well has only been permitted for 2 weeks.

There is no plat map available at this time. See the attached well cards from ODNR.

Attachments:

• CHK Jean Ward well.htm, 11 KB
• CHK Jean Ward well.pdf, 3 KB

Permalink Reply by jami d on March 22, 2012 at 5:02am

Thank you. I found those online. When DPS Penn was here, supposedly he had a plat map with him. I thought plat maps had to be filed when the well was permitted. Do you know how long it normally takes between a well being permitted and plat maps being available online?

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