Comment

Comment by Jeremy on September 16, 2011 at 8:51am

Tom,

With all due respect I understand your position but it is exactly why we will have little chance of getting to $5,000 with this mentality.  I can't go it alone and if you all defect from the group there is no chance to drive it to the $5,000.  Being in a solid group is what brings the negotiating power.  I wouldn't dream of getting a company to give it to me alone.  If so many feel great about signing for less it screws those of us that believe like me that the acreage is worth $5,000.  Honestly I think it's probably worth more than that but getting a group to hold out for the necessary time to drive it above that will never happen.  Case in point, your comments.  Again, I respect that.  It is your personal opinion just like I have mine.  I know there are others that feel as I do but I don't know that there's enough of us to persuade a group that is willing to sign for the lesser amounts.  I actually could care less what Belmont or any other county gets.  My $5,000/acre price is based on researching this for the last 3+ years and my personal experience having leased land in WV on the cheap.  If the maps they have are correct wet/dry gas, feet to the shale, etc then there will be different prices for the different areas and that is understandable.  But who knows until they actually put more bits in the ground?!  If they were right all the time then they'd never hit a dry hole.  To be honest, I think Des knows we could get to the $5,000/acre if we stayed unified as a group.  However, I think Des also realizes there are too many of you that won't hold on.  And remember, Des is a valuable resource and probably has more knowledge of the industry than most of us but just because he thinks $5,000 is the top end, doesn't mean it is.  I don't think we will ever truly know what the top end is because we will never have a group that's gutsy enough to hold out even longer (1-2 years). I bet you that if this play is anything like they expect then a 40,000 acre group that holds for a year or two could get amounts that would shock us all.  But again, it won't happen and we'll never know because it sounds like we can't even get people to hold another 60 days.  To me it's rather foolish.  In my opinion Des will make enough either way so I don't know the incentive is there for him to push the group to hold.  Here again, I'm not trying to degrade Des.  I like Des and I think he's done well by us all but I firmly believe there is more that could be done and there will be money left on the table if we don't hit the $5,000.  I do appreciate your feedback and I do respect your opinion.  I just wish everyone on here had followed this the last 3 years like I have and weren't in such a rush.  We have one chance to get it right and in my opinion we're not heading in that direction.  Respectfully, Jeremy

Comment by Jeremy on September 16, 2011 at 4:09am

Finnbear,

I'm sorry to hear that but I understand as well.  I told him last night that I knew he had my email because I had communicated with him several times via email and I never received the email for the meeting either.  I guess we will all have to try and keep each other informed.  I will say he has been good about getting back to me though.  I sent him an email this morning and he actually called me back to respond.  There are a lot of positives with Des but there are truly some things he could do better as well. 

Comment by Finnbear on September 16, 2011 at 4:00am

I have sent Des numerous emails and called numerous times asking that he put me on his list so I can stay in the loop. I have NEVER received a blanket email update from him. I have only twice in the past 6 months received any reply from him and this was only after pestering him by phone and email for a few days. He's going to have to do better than that. What he's told you we need to do has already been done - over and over.

Comment by Jeremy on September 16, 2011 at 1:59am

I wanted to post this separate in regards to the communication with Des.  I asked him about the relatively poor communication and expressed concerns of many of you on this forum about his lack of communication.  He said he does have a master list of emails and phone numbers and the best way to stay up to date is to get on his email for when he sends out a blanket email to the group.  He also said he is literally getting so many phone calls per day that he just cannot return them all as it is not humanly possible.  To get on his contact list you need to email him with your name, email address, phone number and mailing address.  We're not allowed to post emails on this website so you will have to send me a message and I can get you his email if you would like.   I hope that helps.

Comment by Jeremy on September 16, 2011 at 1:45am

I went to the meeting in Fairlawn last night with Des.  Here are my opinions on his meeting.  The lease seems pretty good overall although it is not finalized yet.  Here's some numbers he threw out as hoping to get for sign on bonus and royalty: Monroe $4,200-$4,500, Belmont $5,200, Guernsey he said he was hoping for something more but I didn't catch the amount.  All with 20% royalty.  Here's something I wish all you in Monroe to consider seriously: I spoke to Des after the meeting and told him how I was hoping for the $5,000/acre amount.  Des told me he thought $5,000/acre would probably be on the top end for Monroe but he also said he thought we could probably get it if we were willing to wait a couple months (he actually said 60 days).  I asked him why in the world wouldn't he go that route then. ( I don't know about you but if I can get another $500-$700/acre just for waiting another couple of months I would do it in a heartbeat.)  He agreed with me that it would be well worth waiting but then he said try getting 300 landowners to agree to wait.  Well, I'm thinking that if all of us here in Monroe are educated enough and Des thinks there is a fairly good chance of getting the extra just for waiting 2 more months then I can't understand why anyone in this county would be foolish enough not to wait.  Des says Monroe is worth a bit less than these other counties to the north because the maps right now indicate we might not have as much "wet" gas as opposed to the dry gas.  But I have a few points of contention with that.  One, they haven't drilled enough to know what really is down there (at least not to my knowledge).  Maybe when they start drilling more in Monroe they find more wet gas and oil than anticipated.  Time will tell.  Two, in PA a large group signed for $5,750/acre and that was for targeting dry gas in the Marcellus.  No mention of wet gas or oil production being a factor.  Three, in Monroe county we have the potential for a double play in both the Marcellus and the Utica.  We're going to get one shot to lease this and I hate to see us sell out too cheap.  Four, if you've been at least following the posts on the website you see that the bigger boys are buying this stuff from each other for $6,000-$8,000/acre and as I recall from a forum I was on last year stuff in PA or WV sold between some of the companies for over $10,000/acre.  And one more thought - If Des is as good as he says he is and he truly has 38,000 acres in Monroe to offer than in my opinion he should be able to use his negotiating skills to get us that amount.  I would love to hear your feedback.

Comment by Shower Bath on September 15, 2011 at 7:30am

The first article is Chesapeak CEO defending the industry - not much new there. The second article down is about the Hess lease acquisitions and the dollar per acre they paid. Landowners with their mineral rights should consider those values when negotiating/signing.

http://www.mineralweb.com/news/

Randy

Comment by Monroe Co Landowner on September 15, 2011 at 7:27am

Could not attend, her meetings.

Comment by Thomas Hall on September 15, 2011 at 7:11am

Shirley, thanks for that info. They have a good looking website. Was anyone at that clinic the last two days?

Comment by Monroe Co Landowner on September 15, 2011 at 6:41am

Looking to prove there is strength in numbers, former Ohio Rep. Jennifer Garrison recently opened a law office in Marietta to assist landowners interested in oil and gas leases.

Garrison said during her time in office she watched as oil and gas exploration boomed and began expanding to southeast Ohio.

"There are landowners being approached about leasing opportunities all the time and from what I've seen the most successful vehicle for getting the best value and protection is joining a landowner association," Garrison said. "A lease is the law of your land and it is extremely important to know what you're signing. Everyone should seek legal advice through an association or an attorney."

Garrison, who was an attorney before becoming a legislator, said joining a landowner association makes a deal more attractive to a larger corporation. Those who join the group agree to allow for the exploration of deep minerals on their properties in exchange for upfront cash and a percentage of the profits, if the resources are developed.

Garrison said her new practice, called Southeastern Ohio Landowners Association, will focus solely on forming landowner pacts for area residents

Comment by Thomas Hall on September 15, 2011 at 6:37am

Charles, the groups name is Southeastern Ohio Landowners Assoc. (Not affiliated with Southeast Ohio landowners Assoc. That's a diffrent group.) and the name of his actual company is Ohio Land Consultants. Hope that clears up some of the confusion about the names.

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