Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Sara A. Worsham on August 27, 2010 at 10:40am

It is possible and I have seen this in other areas, but in the Marcellus area, the prices to take a lease are so high that it is unlikely. If leases were going for $50/acre then you might see more of this. Also, there is definitely an ethics issue with purchasing in an area that you have "insider" information on and it is looked down upon in our industry. Most landmen work for brokerages and if the broker found out that the landman was purchasing in an area of interest, it would be grounds for termination- at least in companies that I have worked. If you believe that a landman is giving false information, I think it would be important to speak with his/her higher ups because he/she would be misrepresening the broker and client, which is completely unacceptable.

Permalink Reply by Lynn Wigglesworth on August 27, 2010 at 11:01am

The landmen I've talked to (2 from East, 1 from Chesapeake) pushed me to sign a lease, not sell. They talked mostly about how 'now is the right time' to sign. But I suppose anything is possible.

Permalink Reply by William Ladd on August 27, 2010 at 1:49pm

I was not saying that it was or was not taking place Sara. What I was getting at was Landmen are knowlegeable at looking up properties and gathering information about the owners. And if landman should run across a piece of property that was desireable, not so much for gas leasing perhaps but for some other purpose.

Say like an older person or even a young person who had no idea of what mineral rights were. A landman came and in his very early conversation discovered this fact and says no more about . He also has discover the owner was thinking of selling it. Landman has a few dollars squirreled away of his own. So he uses his employers time to make a deal to buy the property for himself with the thought of reselling it for a huge profit or maybe building himself a home sometime in the future.

Bill L.
aka Bummy

Permalink Reply by Ann Ticopa on August 28, 2010 at 1:29pm

Not long ago, I was making the point to a landman that my surest bet financially would be to sell the property to a speculator. It's my primary (only) residence so I'd get to keep more of the money. He did ask that I let him know if I decided to sell. I didn't take it as a serious "offer". What I think would be more likely would be a referral. That is, a landman would have an arrangement with a realtor to let him/her know about anyone interested in selling their property. Not unusual for delivery people and the like to do that sort of thing. I got rid of a dead car that way. The junk yard picked it up promptly with no hassle and the delivery guy got a few dollars.

Permalink Reply by paleface on August 28, 2010 at 10:49pm

Bill do you think this happened to somebody you know of?

Permalink Reply by William Ladd on August 29, 2010 at 7:42am

Hi John! It has not happened to anyone that I know of. It was just a passing thought that I had. I go back to these posts and reread them every few days, And when I do read them a second time there is usually something that "sticks out" that I did not see before.

With all the wheeling and dealing and swapping, buyouts of leases, it occured to me that there would or could be the possibility of it happening. As far as I know, no one else here has mentioned anything about this kind of dealing going on.