Compressor station payments ?? HELP

Mark West has been calling me about a compressor station they want to build on my land.  They want 30 ac. and said they would only develope 10-13 ac.  Does anyone know what that is worth to me.  sounds like a pretty big facility...  do they make much noise ???      HELP....    Guernsey co.  millwood township..

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Permalink Reply by Cindy Loy on August 25, 2013 at 6:31am

I'm new enough to not know squat about monetary compensation, but noise-wise, I guess the key word here is Compressor. Compressors are noisy and one that takes up 10-13 acres is bound to make a lot of noise.

Just a quick google on "compressor noise" though shows that there are ways to make them a lot quieter.

Compressor noise comparison video

I'd suggest you just research it as much as possible online - there are a lot of sites that deal with the subject. And watch the terms of whatever agreement they offer. Make sure the construction will include sound proofing so you, and your neighbors, won't be blasted out of your beds at night or have your peace and quiet disturbed.

Permalink Reply by Bob Byler on August 25, 2013 at 7:47am
Shell built a big 3 compressor unit 300 yds. from our mt. cabin in N. Pa. (Neighbors land.) They had offered it to us but we declined. 3 yrs. ago their offer was $16,000 for 15 ac. (Same as a well pad) and $1,500 per yr. rent.

Noise isn't bad. All 3 huge compressors are now running. Sounds like a distant diesel truck idling. The mufflers on them are immense. Compressors are enclosed in well insulated buildings for sound proofing.

Beware though, they cleared all 15 ac. in the nice pine forest. 8' chain link fence surrounding it. Retention basins, rip-rap stone, tanks, trucks, roads & activity daily, every day for the next generations. I personally would not allow it. They promised the neighbor a well pad in that area which swayed him. Only prob. is......now they have "changed their mind." No well pad! :)

Your Q....."what is that worth to me?" That depends on your financial situation but be informed. It's not like a well pad or pipeline where when they're finished, activity nearly ceases. This will be ongoing activity until the gas stops flowing.

My simple recommendation....DO NOTHING WITHOUT A OGM ATTORNEY to make sure you are fairly compensated.
Permalink Reply by Frank Walker on August 25, 2013 at 10:22am

Held

Here's my take:

You don't say if you live on or really near to the land.  If you do, unless you are destitute, there is no amount of dough I would take to get a compressor station dumped on me.

Exception:

If they're gonna built it anyway on a neighbor's land really close by, that's different.  You might as well get some benefit because you're gonna see the downside anyway.

If you don't live on or near your land, and provided you don't care about your neighbors, go for it and get as much money as you can.

With compressors it's not the audible noise.  That they can suppress.  With compressors it's the low frequency stuff that can drive people nuts, even cause illness over time.  It's called "infrasonic" noise.  You don't hear it;  you feel it.

Will there even be infrasonic noise escaping the station?  It depends a lot on the local soils, whether they will conduct the noise or not.  Some soils with dampen and mitigate infrasonic.  It also depends on how well the compressors themselves are isolated from the ground upon which they rest.  But you get two (or more) giant compressors operating at very nearly the same RPM and the beat frequency is very low, but with output very powerful.  The "beat frequency", BTW, is the very small difference in rotational speeds of the compressors.  It might only be a few Hertz . . or even less!

Permalink Reply by The Hiker on August 25, 2013 at 3:21pm

When we lived in Northern PA, we looked at a piece of really nice acreage, intending to build on it.   We parked at the property, turned the car off and started to look around.   Within a few minutes, we both looked at each other and said "what's that"?  Very low frequency thumping, thumping, thumping....just barely audible....Actually, it was felt, not heard.   We drove around looking for the source, and yep, you guessed it.  A compressor station.   Frank knows what he's talking about.  We didn't buy.

Permalink Reply by beetle on August 25, 2013 at 2:36pm

All good points....but dont forget the smell. I live near 3...all Mark West. One in paticular stinks. I had a friend from NY that wanted info and pics of the gas activity in this area and we were pulled over looking at one from about 1/4 mile away and could smell it. Even had a Mark West truck pull up and asked "do you smell that?" My answer.."smells like hell".  He shook his head and drove off.

 

 

 

Permalink Reply by Frank Walker on August 25, 2013 at 11:55pm

We absolutely do need the stations.  They don't have to be far away.  It is possible to design a compressor station in such manner to where it's not a negative for anyone.  Problem is the cost to do so, and the lack of legal framework (i.e., laws)  to force expenditure so the design job gets done right.

When you have a compressor station, it becomes a question of "who pays".  In my view, the people buying our NG should pay.  The NG should sell for a price that allows the gas companies to afford building the compressor stations properly.  The difference in price would not be much at all between that price and what it is now.

The alternative is to have compressor stations' neighbors pay.  When the station is designed so as to emit odor, or infrasonic, or even audible noise, values of surrounding homes and land fall and remain down.  That's a form of payment that does not fall on the shoulders of those buying our NG.  It falls instead on us.

Good law would force compressor stations to be designed properly and, yes, that would mean they cost more to build.  But virtually all the additional cost would be one-time expense which could be amortized over many years.  And the stations could be located in the best, most strategic, locations because they would not burden neighbors and nobody would mind having such a properly-designed station close by.

Sadly, only the government can provide an answer to this.  We need law that sets tough standards.  Absent that, all the gas companies will understandably design the stations in the least expensive manner possible.  They are in competition with one another, after all.  Without a common, high, compressor station design standard, it becomes a "race to the bottom".  And we end up paying, not those buying our NG.

Permalink Reply by Rob Rotz on August 26, 2013 at 1:59am

Wow this is very educational.  most comments are negative.  I do have a meeting with Mark West on Wed. at noon and i will bring up these points.  Does anyone know how payment for such a facility is figured ?  It would have to be a conciderable amount for such a disturbance of the area.  Any info would be very helpful.  i do agree with Rick that we do need these structures to get the drilling moving along.....

Permalink Reply by Jed Clampett on August 26, 2013 at 4:16am

Evaluate what they offer, they probably want a right of way to build the station, but you will still own the land.   You will loose all use of that land, but continue to pay taxes (and probably loose any clean & green, etc tax breaks).  If they don;t want to buy the land for a very good price( for you), demand an annual rental in addition to the initial easement payment.  Make sure the rent is tied to inflation. Otherwise in 25, 50 or 100+ years your decendants will consider you a fool for renting that land for so little.  

Permalink Reply by Mark Allen on August 27, 2013 at 3:36am

Ask the locals who they use for consulting.  There is a local guy, that has been assisting landowners since 1999 in that region. I believe his company helped several folks reach deals with the E&P and pipeline folk.    

Permalink Reply by Tim Tarr on August 26, 2013 at 4:36am

  I am less than 2 miles from 2 large compressor stations. 2 different types 1 for utility (residue) gas and very large wellhead (gathering). they are both new.

Both are closer than I 70 but I hear more  from I 70 than compressor stations.  Neighbors' (1000 feet away) lawn mowers and tractors make much more noise and more often. Even traffic down Township Road (also 1000') make much more noise (tires on rock not loud engines).There are occasional (2-3 times a year or less) pressure releases that are loud. As far as low frequency noise I've heard that about Wind Power and other places where no cause can be found.

I've never "smelled" anything from them. Could be wind always blows everything in different direction. I do get an occasional wiff of B.S. (pun intended) from neighbor's pasture though.

After construction there hasn't been that much traffic. Where the additional traffic mostly comes from is the new drilling pads related activity.

How much an acre?

I wouldn't sell unless it was an awful high figure. But that's Me and my attachments.

From what I've seen usually goes for about 2.5-3X current values. Farms have sold around me for about $3500+ an acre and MWE has payed $10,000 per acre.

If you're not too attached to your place, make them buy the whole thing and buy land somewhere else.

                                            Be sure to keep those O&G rights !! 

 

Permalink Reply by Tim Tarr on August 26, 2013 at 4:58am

Forgot to say to take a "road trip" and visit some stations of same size and design.

Just remember they can always expand that stations size. That is why they want those "extra" acres. Once you sell it's their land and they'll do whatever they wish. With permits of course. Just because you don't sell someone else probably will. MWE usually has at least 3 other options.

Permalink Reply by Rob Rotz on August 26, 2013 at 6:03am

Here's the problem with that, i have 350 ac. and a new house. Im not sure what kind of money it would take to look at one of those stations or to move on.  i think they want to put it in my best deer hunting spot... 

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