A great deal of good information along with baseless opinion and alot of mis-information, can be had for free here and on many other sites dealing with this subject. Remeber this site is read and monitored by people worldwide, i would hesitate to show my ignorance in the way many people have done here, over the past year, not naming names.

Many of you would be better served if you asked less questions seeking to be handed priceless pearls of information, and better off to sift your own sand and come up with your own answers and conclusions.

ALOV is a good group of people that have done a tremendous service to all people involved in this shale play across several states, and not just to the members of the four or five different groups this past year and a half or so that they have gotten lease deals done, for they, the landowners, for a mere $60 application fee coming from their pocket.

ALOV has not been good with holding our hands and keeping us up to date on the process step by step, but they have delivered, each time the best money deal, AT THE CURRENT TIME, and by hands down the most even handed lease language i have examined from the  28 years off and on that i have been involved  with in the O&G business, both as an employee, a student, and having many close friends that have made this business their career. The lease language is not perfect but had ALOV never been established, the chances of any landowner ever being treated fairly, would be very questionable at all, say what you will!

 ALOV set the bar and other's rode in on the coat-tail's and then worked from there to try to differentiate themselves and attain better terms.

The Trumbull county group of landowners signing with BP this week, i believe contain both ALOV members, at $60 a head, and the spin-off, for profit group, Buckeye Mineral, at a percentage of their "Bonus Money". The lease is again not the perfect, give-all to the landowner, but do try to come up with a better lease, and get a company to sign it, then come talk to me and show me the paycheck.

The Bonus Money and Percentage of Royalty is less than many incuding myself would like, but to turn it down would have resulted in what next for us, to start over in the process, to wait for a well closer by to be drilled and put into production?  This would be ideal if we had the time to wait, if your not one in great need for the money at this time like so many of us are.

I believe it being BP and not Chesapeake, we will be unitized and drilled earlier than some, but we will still be waiting for pipeline, and other infrastructure.

I for one did not just sit by and wait for ALOV to deliver me a miracle. I was actively educating myself more on the subject and marketing my property, by making calls to the different company's and asking around. I was not coming up with anything better.

The leasing prospects had stalled, not because of County Lines and Geology, but over Money, bottom line. The O&G companies were and still are, posturing, its all a big game to them, and a money game. They do monitor this site and the other forums like this, to check our temperatures and guage our desperation for new working capital, meaning CASH and willingness to deal.

The thing about the shale play is this, the paydirt is pretty much there across the right depths, the whole thermal maturity and TOC zone, maybe in different quantity or across the oil, to wet-gas and oil, to mostly dry gas range, but their will be very few truly dry holes, unless a driller really screws up.

The drilling has been done so far pretty much the same way they drill every new play. They drill the first well in an area that shows good promise,then if its good, they drill another nearby and see if they can get the same result, then try to determine the extent of the play, the furthest reaches, then they try to determine the sweet spot's, and fill in and connect the dots with more well's.

The county lines come into play because of local politics, unemployment levels, and other economic factors. They are in the business of spending the least to aquire the leases AND get a free hand with all of the acreage, to do with as they please.

 Because of the internet and other resources, we landowners have done a better job educating ourselves on the play, than maybe some other generations had been able to do in the more traditional plays in days past, no discredit intended to them. We worked hard to get the fairest treatment we could get and not have the O&G company's walk away from the negotiating table. HORSE TRADING is an art form, if you can't negotiate from a position of strength, you will most likey get taken.

As always i wish the best of luck and good fortune to all my fellow landowners in this area and others.

This will be a big shot in the arm for our economy but we must hold these company's accountable and remain vigilent that they run a clean operation, we must stand up to them on each and every point, and hold them to the task, for the sake of all and the next generation as well.

Please also keep this in mind, and Mr. Rea reminded us of this fact; THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA is the only country in the world that has established itself to allow it's citizens the right's to the riches of the land both above and below their feet on the land they hold.

God Bless this country, its citizens, and the Men and Women who have given so much to make us and keep us free, and protect our interest's around the world.

 I, my wife, and most recently, my eldest son, as well as all members of my lineage past and present( to my knowledge) have served this great nation. I know many of you have as well, Thank You for your service.

Also God Bless our Founding Fathers, who had the Vision, the strength, the gut's, to establish such a system of self-government.

Now we need to remeber this at the voting booth, and vote, every one of us without exception or excuse's, to keep this right to all this that we have worked for and our freedom's, which seem to erode more each passing day, because no one wants to make waves, just go along, it's easier. This has to stop, or we may find that we no longer have rights to this new found wealth.

Signing off now, Respectfully, Jim

Respectfully, Jim