Sullivan County, PA

Thanks for the information. I am suppose to hear from Chesapeake by Friday the 2nd. I went to the field office in Towanda last week and met with the head landsman. He offered similar information but said his man in the field would have to confirm it. He presented me with a Chesapeake hat and said it was nice to meet me!

Any recommendations of lawyers in Sullivan County or vicinity that know the ropes on this and have been through some of these lease negotiations?

Lester L Greevy, Jr., Esq., Greevy & Associates in Williamsport represented us in the Sullivan/Bradford Landowners group last year. We were very satisfied witht the terms we received.

Jeff,

Thank you for the info on the lawyer!

You're welcome. Good Luck!

On Friday ( 9th) I was offered $5,000 and acre plus 20% by Chesapeak. The lease is quite different than the one offered to the Wyoming Land Group for their 40,000 acres. I reviewed the agrement with Greevy & Associates in Williamsport and countered with some addendums (spell ?). The only change of interest was the addition of the "taxes for clean and green". The lawyer said it was probably the best deal we would get at this time as Chesapeak is not paying move than $2,000 south of Laporte and not evening leasing in some parts of the county.

That sounds like good advice. Of course, when we signed we thought that our deal was the best and yours is better a year later. I wonder what the offers will be after they drill and start pumping the gas out? You may want to call the compnay that negotiated our lease with Chief and see if they are still leasing in the area. A group of us around Cherry Mills all signed with them.

Elexco Land Services, Inc.
Dale Norman
phone 570-278-3232
fax 519-686-9088
cell 716-380-0084
dnorman@aone-elexco.com

Thanks, i just left a voice mail message with Mr. Norman.

They are talking about putting wells on our neighbors on Star Road, Colley Twp, Sullivan County that is right on the border of Bradford County. That is a good sign as no permits have even been applied for in Sullivan County.

Marilyn,
You should start a discussion forum to follow the development of this potential well site. Star road is a logical spot due to its location close to current development in Bradford Co. and right in line with the proposed new gas transmission line.

Signed today with Chesapeak today.

Well Jim how did you do? Did he say anything about you getting a well?

The good news is 49 acres at $5,000/acre (120 day pay) plus a 20% royality. The bad news is it's not the same agreement as the Wyoming group. I was able to add four changes to the lease (Clean and Green taxes being the most important) but Chesapeak will not offer a full liability clause. If they (or others working for them) are not negligent they are not held responsible. Dale (Greevy & Associates) used the example of a hunter accidentlly shooting the well head. I posted no trespassing signs this afternoon! I am making arrangments with Liberty Mutual for a catastrophe policy if and when drilling takes place.
The landsman said Chesapeak was cutting back around the Laporte area and they may not even drill in the first five year term. I called Chief and they said they were not offering any more leases at this time. I left a voice mail with Dale Norman but he didn't return my call.
I think I'm going to wait until payday in February to wear the Chesapeak hat the landsman gave me!

That's right, wait till the check is cashed.

James, that a long time to wait for pay day. DId they give you a reason for a 4 month wait...I assume a bank draft.

Keith,
As I mentioned earlier we felt the tap was being shut off in our area for the near future due to the large number of land leases Chesapeake had recently acquired. In barganing I chose (with our lawyer's recommendation) to try for other concessions. I realize the 120 day period is way out there but I can live with it.

(as a side note - could you correct the spelling of "thngs" in the Sullivan County description?)

Jim

We just signed leases that were for 5750 an acre an 20% royality. There are many more parcelles to go but it looks like thats the going rate now 120 day pay is standard.

Is there any current activity in the Wheelerville area?

Has anyone heard where the new pipeline is going in the county? Some friends of mine who live along Route 220 have been getting letters from Stagecoach.

Cut and paste this link, looks like eastern edge of Sullivan Co. http://www.stagecoachstorage.com/ExternalFiles/SitesIP/stagecoach/D...

I have seen that map before. My only question is why are people along Route 220 getting letters about the pipeline. I read one of the letters myself. Maybe the company is shifting the pipeline to the center of the county.

My neighbor (we are both located off a higher point on Rock Run Road (Irish Settlement) was contacted yesterday by Brandon Miller (Chesapeake Landsman). Perhaps they are going to start leaseing more land in the Laporte area.

The rumor I heard was that they were cutting back in Laporte. However you can't be sure about rumors. I was wondering if this a second pipeline.

We just received our signed lease from Chesapeake.

I have heard that Sullivan is about to pick up.

Mike, have you heard anything about permits in Sullivan County? They performed seismic on our land back in June but we havent heard anything yet.

Can anyone tell me how to get in contact with the company landmen (not contractors) for Chesapeake? Perhaps the number for the field office at Towanda?

I am not privy to a lot of seismic scoop. I am hearing that things are going to start moving more west. I doubt Sullivan gets the $5750 type signing bonus but I guess you never can tell.

I wouldn't count Sullivan County out just yet. I heard yesterday that they are going to increase the size of the gas pipeline.

Right on the border of Sullivan/Wyoming County/Bradford County they are starting well activity. Perhaps Sullivan County will be seeing some permit action.

One can go to Landex.com and see the leases and gas line right of ways being recorded. WOW, there is alot of activity from July 2009 until current. Cherry and Colley Township and others. Looks like Chief and Chesapeake

T. Conner where in Sullivan Cty do you see pipelines? I couldnt access Landex

I had some success getting onto something with this URL:

Still wondering around on the site right now...dunno what is accessible and what is not. It goes by county, and you'll have to scroll down to get to Sullivan.

One had to go to the remote services on top, then to web data. You will get to a screen with counties on the left and options for names, book and page number, or dates. Along with options for deed, mortgages etc. Most of the lease, agreements, right of way agreements, etc are under other . One can purchase the doucments on-line. Public information when recorded. Sullivan, Bradford, and Tioga use Landex.

Thank you.

PA DEP received its first gas well permit 12/1/2009 for Sullivan County.

Keep us posted on Sullivan county activity regarding permits, pipelines, etc.

Storm water permit for wells 1 to 6. Holding pond, etc for water.

http://www.ahs2.dep.state.pa.us/eFACTSWeb/searchResults_Site.aspx?S...

Expedited E&S Stormwater General Permit 1

I have 50+ acres in Elkland Township, a couple hundred yards from the Bradford County border. The property owner (200+ acres) north me, who's land is primarily within Bradford County border, is in conversation with energy company about drilling. You can view the Bradford County Commissioner's web page, documenting gas well and pipeline information. It was last updated in May, but I just noticed it was updated again on 9 Dec. It shows the expansion of well and gas line expansion activity of the past 7 months now takes drilling and pipeline to the edge of Sullivan county. Same for Wilmot Township. Things have really nudged right to the Sullivan county border in the past several months. I suspect the expanded lines are close enough to Sullivan to allow removal of gas via horizontal wells from within our county.

Very interesting. Today I went to the courthouse with a friend to checkout our gas leases. We both had signed with Chief. Since companies buy and sell leases to one another we were hoping Chesapeake would buy our leases because they seem to be gearing up to do the most wells. Anyway when we looked at our leases we were surprised to see that Chief sold a part of our leases to others. There was quite a list of groups that had bought and sold them. Now some group named Radler 2000 Limited Partnership owns a percentage of our leases. It seems like Chief sold a portion of all the their Sullivan County leases to others. Chesapeake looks like they have kept some and sold percentages of others to Statoil.

http://cu.sungazette.com/galleries/index.php?id=306244
PIctures of new rig set up north of Hughesville and Picture Rocks right beside Rt.220 in a former cornfield.

That rig is going to put down 3 wells. One going straight down. One going towards glen wmawh and the other going in the direction of picture rocks. Rumor has it.

Wonder if there are any geologists out there who know if horizontal "wells" could possibly be used as transport-lines for natural gas, thus saving the installation of actual "main-lines" or "gathering-lines"? The comment by Duane H below got me thinking...Why would a Marcellus well have one hole going "straight down" and two going horizonal, north and south...? The idea of moving gas along underground, safe from freezing, leaks, and other things would seem to make this feasible to me, but again, I am not a geologist...any thoughts on this from the group members?

Something happened several years ago in Texas when stored gas escaped through underground cracks caused by small shifts in the earth. The gas accumulated under a town and was ignighted. I believe half of the town was destroyed. I don't remember all of the details but I saw this story on TV about a year ago.

A Marcellus Shale Workshop will be held Saturday Feb. 27 at the Sullivan County High School in Laporte. The meeting is open to the public and will last from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon. Some of the topics to be discussed will be Understanding Natural Gas Markets, Understanding Units and Royality Checks, and Managing Royality Income. Call the Sullivan County Extension Office at 570-928-8941 to register to attend.

Good New!
Received a check from Chesapeake for the full amount of our "Bonus Money" yesterday. At signing the landsman said the check would be issued in 120 days or less. It was delivered in 118 days.

Any truth to the rumor that Chesapeake is buying up all the Chief leases in Sullivan County?????