Tioga County, PA

My father and two family friends own 500 acres along the Tioga/Lawrence border. They were talking to East about leasing a couple years ago but the landman stopped returning messages (we then found out about the Shell acquisition). No offers since. Are there any companies active in that area? If so, could someone provide a contact. I have tried cold calling with no success. I think they would consider using an independent landman if that's the best avenue.  They were drilling on the property next door if that impact the analysis.

Afaik, Shell was then and is still leasing through Long Consulting.  I  haven't heard back from the landman who was going to continue negotiations "next week" in Aug 2010.  Talisman did also lease in Jackson/Rutland, but aren't very active now.  Searching in Landex for this year, there are a dozen or so Talisman Memorandums recorded for Rutland/Tioga/Jackson area.  Talisman did use Elexco as their leasing agent, but I understand that they no longer are.  ERI and Talisman did cooperate in leasing and development, but I don't know if Talisman and Shell have a similar arrangement.   

If you want to deal with Shell, try the following e-mail address.  Brad.Hallam@shell.com

Cheasapeake to invest $1 billion in natural gas cars...

finally a gas company willing to invest in the future of gas.....

http://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/Chesapeake-Energy-To-Invest-...

Wow Betty that's great new. I recently read that companies are looking to power buses and/or ships the same way

I live in N.J. and a garbage collection co. just bought ten garbage trucks that are powered by natural gas. I believe they got a government grant to help with the purchase. We need more industries to think like that !!!!

David,  It would be great except that the although the news article I found indicated a pubulished date of January 17th -- Ilater learned it was originally published by the Wall Street Journal in July 2011.   But, you're right... if we want natural gas to pick up we're going to have use more than what the companies are supplying. 

I just happen to stumble onto this site I think it has some good info and thought you would like to check it out. http://docsearch.derrickpetroleum.com/search/q/tioga/company/648/

I am new here so pardon my ignorance I live in CA but own land 47  Acres in Tioga County near Morris and have received an unsolicited lease from SWEPI LP for the Oil and Gas rights I have the state of Penn on one side and the state forest on the other side in a mountainous area ( only been there once in 1972 been in family for 100 years ) I am wondering if anyone can offer some advise on lease prices.

Since I have been off line for a few months,can anyone tell me what the status is concerning the the drilling below the storage acreage claimed by  dominion in the westfield township\clymer township area?

Bill

aka Bummy

Meat and potatoes...  Any maps showing depth of Utica in gaines, pA.  Wet gas?

The Utica is reputed to be overcooked in eastern Potter County and all of Tioga County - it's definitely not wet gas there. 11,000' deep, more or less. Tough to drill to as well.

Tell that to Shell so they won't drill any more 20 million dollar holes.  It is embarrassing for them.

Shell drilled a horizontal in the Utica in Middlebury Township a couple of months ago and seemed pleased with the results.  They coiled the well and paln to put a pipeline in at some point - maybe tomorrow, maybe in 5 years; it's anybody's guess.  They put a lot of money in that hole and have LOTS of pressure from something on it.  That is alI I know.  Every Expert on this site says the same thing - no gas in the Utica in Tioga County.  A NARO representative said the opposite, stating that the Utica had a carbon value or something or other of 2, which was viable, in Tioga County.  I don't know what that "2" figure means.  Hell, maybe it's helium.

Pressure and volume are two different things - even a tiny amount of gas at 11,000' will have plenty of pressure because it's so deep. But is there enough gas in the Utica to make a $20M well profitable? Not likely.... we need to focus on the Marcellus and hope for higher gas prices!  

No problem, Josie.  I don't know if anything will ever come of it.  i've heard rumors tha Seneca was going to drill in their State Forest lands nearby, but I haven't any concrete evidence of that one.

Is 15,000 pounds a lot of pressure?  sounds like a good amount to me.  Are you trying to buy some cheap leases in Tioga County Jack?  I think the ground is mostly all spoken for, sorry.

I half wonder if some speculaters in Ohio leases are afraid the rigs will leave and come back to Pa.  I don't think they have much to worry about for a while yet.  Still, those that sleep with the devil live in constant fear I suppose.  If New York State lifted their moetorium tomoorow, it might be interesting to see if a scramble occured.  If I owned land up there, I would certainly lease it layer by layer.

It wasn't 15,000 psi. I've already got more acreage than I need, and I don't buy leases. I just try to be helpful when I know something others don't.

It doesn't matter Jack.  I am probably leased to eternity and not very profitably either.  I didn't quit my day job or buy a yaht on the promise of big royalties.  I was just having some Friday night fun with you.  If the shoe I provided doesn't fit, you'll have to go barefoot like the rest of us.

The land owners of the well were told 15,000 psi by Shell.  Maybe Shell told you something different.  Would you share with us?  It is dark out here on the wellpad of dreams.

Nobody outside Shell can give you firm data like that, but if the pressure was that high anyone at Shell who passed the figure along to a landowner would have been fired on the spot. I'm just trying to suggest that it will take a lot to shift attention from the Marcellus to another formation in the current price environment even if Shell can sell some gas there. And the Utica is a much more expensive shale to produce, which doesn't help either. Things could be worse, of course - your acreage could be next door in Potter County!

Oh let's not insult the Potter County boys and ladies! You and I can trade insults. Who knows, Potter County may beat us all in value before the dust settles.  I have said most of what I have to say on this site already.  Frankly, if any damn fool who has not leased yet signs the first lease tossed across the kitchen table, after he has read my comments, Fang fang's comments, and other land owners -even the fire brand Frank Dux, that land owner deserves the swindle he or she gets.  Some of the really crooked clause should be obvious by now.  No one should sign a lease without a compatent lawyer.  If the land owner doesn't like the lease, toss it back across the table.  The gasco will keep coming back.

I'm pouring a wee dram and going to bed now Jack.  Make the last comment and you can win on April 5th.  Is it still April 5th in PA?

Essentially, agree with Jack Young.  In the first quarter of 2013, SWEPI SPUD 9 wells in Tioga County, down from 41 in the first quarter of 2012.  Not only Tioga County is down:  last first quarter SWEPI SPUD 9 wells in Butler and 5 in Lawrence, 0 this year.  

The DEP no longer includes well depth in their public reports, but there have been weels drilled to Utica depth in TC.  But until we see signs of permits for separator stations and ethane pipelines, it's unlikely commercial quantities of NGLs have been found. 

 Jack why do you say the presure was not 15 thousand psi. which is also how deep it was drilled?

Pressure and depth are correlated, but it's not a 1 to 1 relationship. We know that the Utica is roughly 11,000 feet deep there, but you'd need to know the pressure/depth ratio that's common in the Utica to be able to estimate the pressure. Even then, pressure and volume aren't correlated, and pressure alone doesn't tell you what a well might produce. 15,000 feet was the length of the hole, but part of that was horizontal. That's not the pressure. 

 Jack 15 k was the depth of the vertical it was in the TBR they targeted and they hit it.

 300-400 feet thick and trenton black river.

http://www.marcellus.psu.edu/images/UticaThickness.gif

Paleface, if you subscribe to PA-IRIS you can see the detailed permit application for Shell's Utica test. The vertical depth to the Utica is roughly 11,000'. The TBR is just above the Utica, so it would be shallower, not deeper.

Jack, what does IRIS cost these days?  iirc it was $5,000 + annual charge, but the price is no longer on the DCNR website.  Also, I've read that, while it's supposed to include well completion dates, the data is incomplete. 

I can't remember what I paid last time around - it's less than it used to be, I know that. Regarding well completion data, some operators have always been slow to provide it, and others don't report all the numbers you'd like to have, saying they're "not available". That being said, it's the best source for accurate data.   

http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/oil-gas/publications/Tech_Asse...

I take exception to the "accurate" part; it is DEP data after all. (grin)  But likely worthwhile to most for whom it's a business expense.  Thanks.

 Jack do the gas companys release the log suite info to the DEP?  Thank You

They certainly used to when the logs were much less complex. I haven't been to a PA Geologic Survey office since horizontal drilling started, however, since the new logs are too complex for a layman to interprete. The DEP and the Geologic Survey have a ton of good information, but I'd rather wait to see production than try to outguess the experts who can actually understand the log data. I have several vertical Marcellus logs here in my office, and those can be tricky enough - lots of color and shading, not the old Gamma, Caliper, Density etc logs that used to be the top of the line.

 Jack did the wells turn out as the indicators suggest with the logs you have ? Thank You

That's not an area where we have acreage, so I've never looked at that part of the county much. But we had a swap arranged once for OGMs at Arnot that fell through, and I remember being very favorably impressed by what I learned at that time.

And the wells I had logs for all turned out fairly poorly despite nice thick sections of Marcellus. There's so much more to these things than just the amount of shale and whether it's dry or wet that I'm just not going to try to outguess the experts. The old shallow well logs were easy - these new ones are so loaded with data that it's really hard to even show graphically.

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20130412_West_Chester_firm_la...

https://api.ning.com/files/rRUWEC*XQHxkTo*jU58oU0NZxsLnMWcncyRjnimv...

I just wanted to let you know about an upcoming Seminar Series through the YPE called Energy Industry Training Series- It’s 12 part series, although you can just attend one or two if you like. The first Seminar is in June, and gives a complete overview of both the Marcellus and Utica plays.

You can learn more here!

http://ypepittsburgh.org/?page_id=591

First of all, all this marcellus shale, OGM's and such is all new to me. Bought my property...3.45 acres...in 2010 with OGM's. Live 1/4 mile from the Chappell site on Ridge rd. Middlebury Twp.in Tioga, County. Site was constructed in 2011 with one well currently fracked. Researched and found out that we missed the unit by about 200 yards.

Recieved a letter from SWEPI 2 weeks ago that our lease is eligible for renewal. Shell remins interested in evaluating this area for oil/gas development and offer to renew the lease for a 5 or 10 year term. They are paying $300 per acre as a bonus consideration for a paid up, 5 year primary term renewal lease and 1/8th royalty on oil/gas produced.

Now, knowing that 2 years ago property owners were being offered up to $3k per acre, my question is, should I accept or tell them to go pound sand? I realize "the boom" is over and Shell is the only company in the area, so no competition. Should I take what I can get...because a little something is better than nothing....or wait for a better offer? If I don't accept their current offer, should I call them and inform them, or just ignore the letter? Will they even come back with a counter offer? Is there a "time limit" to respond?

This is all new to my wife and I. I don't want to screw this up. I'm sure I will have plenty more questions in the days ahead. Thanks......Dave

Northeastern Shale Joint Venture

We are a Joint Venture Oil & Gas partnership whose partners possess extensive experience working and drilling in the Marcellus . We are seeking to work with landowner(s) or group of landowners that meet the following criteria;

1.  Landowners must NOT be under existing oil & gas leases.

2.  Must collectively or individually own 400 acres or more of contiguous land(s) in Tioga, Bradford or  Susquehanna County (west of interstate 81 only).

3.   Have a interest in having the land’s Natural Gas resources developed in a safe and expeditious manner.

Our operations are guided by the following policies:

We develop gas production only in a safe manner consistent with environmental preservation and post-drilling reclamation.

Unlike our competition we do not drill simply to hold leases. We will develop the unit(s) with only one goal in mind, attaining maximum production, safely and expeditiously.  

If the unit’s geology and location are strong, we offer the highest royalties in the industry.

Individuals or groups that meet these criteria and share these goals should respond by email to NSJV at Marcellusshale14@gmail.com.  Your response must include all parcel numbers, corresponding acreage, owner’s names as well as contact information of the key landowner or proposed designated representative of the group .  Information provided will remain confidential pending our assessment of the acreage.  Replies will be made promptly by one of our key executives, not by agents or third parties. 

We look forward to hearing from you.

Northeastern Shale Joint Venture

What is the status of HBP on older East/Shell leases?  a lot of acerage now held by Shell under HBP and shut-in payments has not been touched in 4 or 5 years.   i seem to remember someone who was involved in the composing of these leases back in 2006 saying that a limit was put upon the number of years the lease was good for without actual production in the addendums.  if Shell is going to mothball large sections of the county, maybe the HBP should be re-examined to see if Shell can truelly hold this land without doing a thing indefinitely.  Anyone ot there know more about these addendums or had a lawyer look at them in the past? 

I'm surprised that nobody has commented yet on the big Shell-Ultra deal - http://www.marketwatch.com/story/shell-divests-us-onshore-gas-asset...