Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by James Milleson on March 10, 2012 at 5:55am

Attention, to all mineral owners in the regions of Tyler and  Wetzel counties.   I am happy to report that several companies are looking to the region for development of not just marcellus but potentially a second formation.  The core results and the seismic results are pleasing and the lease bonus dollars are going higher as are the royalty %,  we must stick together so we can work a favorable lease term that does not give away the farm-just to get a few dollars more per acre.  I have always stood for the landowner and his/her rights, and the time has come to market units not just a parcel.   My groups work together to get the terms that are favorable to the region, considering pipelines, location of pad sites, water usage,water testing, water transport..roads, bridges-tax issues,estate planning, deed release, % of ownership, formations considered, storage rights, shut in clauses, disposal of fluids, pooling and unitization rights, favorable release if need be, 1st right of refusal and 115% re-sign, difference of net and gross, market enhancement.....just to name a few....we strive to get the facts out and discuss them openly in public meetings, we invite all to join us.   I have enclosed my lease,feel free to review it and send us questions.  REMEMBER there must 1st be an offer placed and then the fun begins, we will butt heads for a while until we reach an agreed contract then once agreed there will be a feeling of partnership with the leasee.  All we ask is that u slow down and think before u sign and above all have a qualified oil and gas attorney review the language of the lease with you.  IT does not matter what someone tell's u, it matters what is within the 4 corners of the document.    I look forward to a great meeting on the 24th,x plenty of updates from the 3rd annual Marcellus Midstream conference,see u at 1pm.   Jim          

Permalink Reply by James Milleson on March 10, 2012 at 5:58am

here is the lease that we are working off of for the 5 Star Group.   jim

Attachments:

• ECOL Lease form (7-21-11).pdf, 623 KB

Permalink Reply by John Dewey Polt on March 24, 2012 at 2:02pm

The lease looks excellent, Jim. Sorry I could not make the meeting today. Could you give us an update? Thanks.

Dewey

Permalink Reply by James Milleson on March 25, 2012 at 4:22am

We had another great turnout.  My voice is about gone, but that is typical for a Saturday.  I am in the office preparing for todays meeting with Dover Group, Tusc county Ohio.

I was able to talk with several folks who will be mailing or faxing in their membership forms we added 983acres and hopes of more. I only count those acres signed to consulting forms, if we add up the potential # of acres it looks to be in the 6400 range.

We presented several news worthy issues, all positive....The Marcellus Midstream conference was full of life and awesome news on the investments being made into the PANHANDLE,from Caiman to Williams transaction of $2.5billion,the Markwest pipelines into the panhandle, the Shell annoucement in Beaver county,the increase river commerce is outstanding, we also talked about the offers that have been presented and of the two formation possibilities of wet gas., the current price for bonus consideration, suggestions on HBP and lease data being made available. My in house council Tina Thomas, reminded us all on the importance of knowing exactly what we own and in what % ownership, many old deeds and records need to be reviewed.She also gave us the good advice that not all of us will see wells, we hope we will but we must 1st focus on a solid lease form, not the carrot!    As always we had many excellent questions from the crowd and were able to interact and share the most current data.

Our next meeting is the 21st of April same place and our guest speaker will be Mr.Bob Cupp from WesBanco, he will address investment&finance options to consider. This meeting is open to the public and then starting May 1st we will be in stealth mode to market.  Our local leaders have put in some long hours, working their regular job and then hitting the road to talk to their neighbors. I have to give them all the credit, the process works but it takes interaction and participation from the members, I asked all there, to do their due diligence, by talking to every neighbor that borders their land,saying as we always do ''communication or the lack there of''....will lead us to where we want to go.          Hope to see u soon.

Jim      

 

Permalink Reply by John Dewey Polt on March 25, 2012 at 4:57am

Jim,

Thanks for the update. In case you have not heard, I had an offer from Antero for $3,250 per acre and 18% gross (through market enhancement) on a five year paid-up lease. I informed some other members of our group about the offer.

I convey this to you as a starting point of reference when you begin negotiations. My wife and I have signed with you because you have a great lease document, and we believe that there is strength in numbers. I hope the word gets out and more neighbors join.

Dewey

Permalink Reply by Tom Hart on March 31, 2012 at 5:18am

Just another landman/middleman.

I don't understand why people are so impressed by a lease you wrote up that favors the owners so much that it'll be nearly impossible to "sell" to a gas company. What happens when these people sign up assuming they'll get everything in your advertised lease and in turn you are only able to strike an agreement that has only 10% of what your advertised lease included. You're just getting people on the hook using your advertised lease, once they sign they're at your mercy to reach final lease terms. They have no opportunity to control or participate in debating the final lease terms.

You're misleading people with this glorious lease while locking yourself into making money off all these people no matter what the final lease looks like.

The absolute biggest hazard to drilling is spoiling our water supplies. Anyone that allows a well to be drilled within 1500 feet of their water well is asking for trouble (especially if there is a old shallow oil well in that same area), this is why the new WV code mandates water testing within 1500 ft of a well. There is no remedy in a lease that any gas company will commit to that will restore water supplies. I don't understand why anyone would trust you to push that issue above anything alse and all the other appropriate prioities in the lease negotiations. Doesn't make sense.

This is why I would never consider signing up with you.

Google H.B. 401 people, educate yourselves. Remember you're dealing with a salesman, aside from making money, his prioirities aren't the same as yours!!

 

 

 

 

 

Permalink Reply by John Dewey Polt on April 1, 2012 at 4:11am

Hello Tom,

Good points. Well said, but who better than a salesman to sell your lease? We all act, for the most part, when money is involved, in our own best self-interests.

We, the group, can vote to accept or reject any offer. I, for one, would like to give Jim a chance to further every landowner's chance of getting a good lease. Most of the leases that I have seen tendered by the oil/gas companies are one-sided also; their side.

I would rather confront this issue united with my fellow landowners, than go it alone. The oil/gas companies love to divide and conquer. I would rather ask for a whole loaf than settle for the crumbs the oil/gas companies have offered.

All I really know is "Mountaineers will always be free." 

Permalink Reply by Tyler Landowner on April 2, 2012 at 1:06am

Mr Hart,

You certainly are entitled to your own opinion. And I wish you well, but I’d like to respond to a couple of things that you said.

First, we’re not convinced that the gas companies will reject our lease. As a matter of fact, our consultant has negotiated leases very similar to this one for landowners in Ohio, with very few changes.

Second, our consultant has told us already that our first proposed lease will be rejected. We already know that. But that is where the negotiations begin – with our proposal, not theirs. There will be some give-and-take in the process.

Third, in the give-and-take of the negotiations our consultant comes back the landowners and gets our input. The negotiations don’t take minutes or hours – they take days or weeks. It is a process where the landowners are involved.

Fourth, we are not at our consultant’s mercy because he has to bring the agreement back to the landowners group for us to vote on it. He doesn’t make the final decision, we do.

Finally, those of us in the group have confidence that by putting our acreage together and using a knowledgeable consultant we’ll be able to get a better lease than if we do it by ourselves. It has worked over and over again in the past - we believe it will work again for us!

Permalink Reply by Tom Hart on November 20, 2012 at 5:56am

The best most secure approach is to work with your surrounding mineral rights and property owners in clusters of at least 700 to 1400 acres (anything larger will just slow down the process via introduction of so many competing priorities) using a local attorney with a good reputation and some established exerience in dealing w/ leases. The attorney fees can be a flat fee that is payed by the group in proportions to the areage held by each in the total leased acreage. It's best to work w/ folks you know, knowing how they behave will lead you to better decisions and interactions.

 

Permalink Reply by Rodger King on April 25, 2013 at 6:36am

Jim,

I own a 1/2 interest in 85 acres in Tyler County, WV and would like to attend your next 5 Star Landowners meeting.  Will you have a meeting in late May or June?  My property is south of Middleburg near Wick, WV.  I was approached by Wishguard last year but haven't heard from anyone since then.  I live in Florida and am trying to plan my trip to WV to accomplish as much as possible in one trip.