Old leases may not work for horizontal drilling. What do you think?

In my neck of the woods there are a lot of old clinton wells and land held by production.  Some of these leases read a drilling unit is at least 40 acres but less than 65 acres.  Some have an unitization clause that reads it can be more than 80 acres but not more than 90 acres.  It would seem to me that these would not be compatable with horizontal drilling into the Utica Shale.  Will these not require any drilling company interested in drilling the Utica or Marcellus Shales to have to rework the lease?  Will this not give the land owner a chance to also work for other changes in the lease?  What do you think?

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Paul Martinelli on October 11, 2011 at 6:49am

I believe so.   If the old lease terms need to be "adjusted" , then I think that all terms of the old lease are fair game.

 

I don't see why having a new lease altogether would be out of the question. .....treat the acreage as if no lease exists.  I'm sure O/G companies would not agree.....the feel they got deep rights via these old leases for free and won't want to pay. These old leases were written long long ago.....it is a new ballgame.

 

Well guess what.....we all want something in this world......nothing is free.

 

 

Be interested to hear what others have succeeded in getting in this situation.

 

 

 

 

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on October 13, 2011 at 4:07am
If you have a lease that you believe can be adjusted due to its wording, I know an attorney who has done this successfully here in OH.
Permalink Reply by Paul Martinelli on October 13, 2011 at 4:18am
I am interested in the Atty. Name.  I am looking to adjust existing lease....it is way too 1 sided.
Permalink Reply by Paul Martinelli on October 25, 2011 at 2:14am
Finn....can you send me the Atty. contact information..... I was just offered $200 per HBP acre to ammend the old lease.  way to low......90% off.
Permalink Reply by Finnbear on October 25, 2011 at 5:39pm
Private message just sent.
Permalink Reply by Chris Irwin on October 28, 2011 at 12:30am
I am interested in the attorney's name as well.  I have 98 acres tied up with old leases.
Permalink Reply by maria armes on November 4, 2011 at 7:19am
Please message me the attorney's name as well.  My sister's property had been unitized without her as current landowners signing the contract many years ago.   How are they getting away with doing this?  The well that was on her land was capped and then the other one that her land is tied in with is not on her land and only holds a small percentage of her acres and the majority of the acreage tied into that well is on ajoining properties.  They have been denied by Chesapeake.  This is injust and I am fighting for her.  How can they ( the gas company) change anyones old contract without contacting the current landowners?????
0i7okn54zwbdoPermalink Reply by 0i7okn54zwbdo on February 1, 2012 at 3:29am

It doesn't matter if they hold one of her acres or all of them.  If she signed one lease for all of the property then the entire lease is HBP.  

Permalink Reply by Finnbear on February 1, 2012 at 4:17am

Unless she used good legal counsel who included a Pugh clause that only allowed her producing acres to be HBP and required the rest to be released.

Permalink Reply by Beef Farmer on January 31, 2012 at 4:55pm

I have a lease on some of our land that the maximun unitization is 40 acres.  I would also like that attorneys name, Thanks

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