Our Main Goal: To educate our neighboring property owners so they may obtain the safest, most prudent gas lease possible.
- January 4, 2010
2009 has been a very interesting year. It started out a little slow. We saw some leasing activity in the spring and then again later on towards the end of summer when the NWPOA property group in Wayne county signed a benchmark lease with Hess. This was followed shortly by an even higher lease between the Friendsville group north of us along the New York state border and Fortuna for a $5,500/acre sign on bonus and 20% royalty. Which was shortly followed up with the Wyoming County Group lease with Chesapeake for $5,750/acre and 20% royalties? Payments to members in these groups are being made and should soon be completed, except where problems exist with deeds etc.
So what about us? We feel leases that are being offered in the area can be improved on and we recently sat down and talked with a representative from EnCana who has taken a 75% interest in Whitmar. These were introductory talks in which we agreed to continue further talks and meet again next month. We also have been communicating with several other companies and feel that more competition for leases in our area will lead to better leases for our group.
Why are we cautiously optimistic about what 2010 will bring to our area?
?The economy appears ready to rebound.
?Gas Companies completing large lease acquisitions and starting new fiscal years will have resources available to pursue additional lease holdings.
?Natural Gas prices have increased from the $4.00 to the $6.00 range.
?Larger Companies like EXXON/Mobil are buying into the shale gas plays.
?Federal legislation should promote the increased use of cleaner Natural Gas.
?Several gas wells will be drilled in the area in 2010 which should provide critical information about the Natural Gas potential in our area.
?Our members have become better informed about important gas leasing issues and the importance of sticking together to get the best lease possible. As a result our groups committed acreage continues to increase.
December 29, 2009 In December we had more gas companies contacting our group asking for more information about the acreage in we are negotiating for and requesting maps. The mapping requests meant that we had to update our data base so we could present a more accurate map. We moved to a joint data base with the rest of the northern townships in Luzerne County. Currently we have deleted the properties from the data base that did not have a CCLOC agreement and for those in our Ross Twp group an SWRTPG membership form. November 20, 2009
Our leadership committees have been having weekly, or sometimes several times a week, for the past month. The negotiating team has in discussions about our property area and there is high interest in working with our group to obtain a profitable lease for all parties. October 13, 2009
There are many rumors that Chesapeake has withdrawn lease offers in Luzerne and surrounding Counties.
We believe there is nothing that we could have done to prevent this from happening and that it impacts our entire area and all groups.
This appears to be a last minute change in policy on their part and it is not the first time we have seen companies do this as a negotiating strategy.
We do expect that they will be back again before long offering leases.
We are still in communication with Chesapeake and other energy companies and plan to keep all options open.
- October 3, 2009
WE HAVE NOT BEGUN SENDING OUT LEASES YET!!
If you get a lease from Chesapeake please let them know you are a member of the SWRTPG and that we are in negotiations with Chesapeake for you.
We have negotiation meetings scheduled for next week and we will let you know the facts soon.
Other companies are out there pushing hard trying to get you signed up before we complete our deal.
Be very careful with what you sign!
- October 1, 2009
Currently there is a large backlog of membership forms for Ross Twp, Columbia Coalition and other townships in Luzerne County to process. PLEASE make sure to include your NAME, TOWNSHIP AND COUNTY ON ANY FORMS OR INQUIRIES. PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR ACREAGE WITH ANY FORMS.
Please submit one copy per parcel of the paperwork. We are seeing duplications of paperwork that had previously been sent in.
We are cautiously optimistic, that we will be able to close a deal that will provide the best protection for the environment and the landowner. WE ARE CAUTIOUS BECAUSE LAST YEAR EVERYTHING FELL APART EVEN AFTER MANY PEOPLE SIGNED.
Let's look at a few facts.
1. Chesapeake is very busy completing the 37,000 acres of Wyoming County leases.
2. When they are ready, probably next week we will meet and start working on a lease.
3. We get one chance to do this right. We will not be rushed into a bad lease.
4. Decisions made during negotiations are made with the input and oversight of our entire leadership group of _12_ members representing the various areas of the coalition.
5. Many landowners who did rush into signing leases and agreements the last year wish they had a second chance to make that decision over again.
6. We are doing this to help our members not for personal financial gain.
7. We will work to get a lease with the best protections for you and your property and the best financial returns that we can.
8. We have invested our own resources and time to inform and educate you so that when the time comes you can make the best decision for yourself and your family.
A Few days ago some of your leaders met with a Vice President of Land for Chesapeake and observed the signing of leases for the Wyoming group.
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September 24, 2009:
The Columbia County Land Owners Coalition is having an important, members only up-date meeting on Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 6:30 pm at the Benton high School. This will be a split meeting with no exceptions to the time slot for county you belong to;
Columbia County 6:30-7:45 pm
Luzerne County 8:15-9:30 pm
For people that live outside the area or those that cannot make the meeting, notes will be placed on our web site a day or two after the meeting. E-mailings will also go out.
This will be a meeting for members only who have signed a commitment letter with the coalition. If you have not turned in a commitment letter you can download a copy at www.columbiacoalition.org or fill one out at the meeting (you will need parcel numbers with you). Any questions about the commitment letter only, please e-mail me: bruce@columbiacoalition.org. If you need to fill out a commitment letter at the high school please come a little early.
I will only be responding for questions at my address at bruce@columbiacoalition.org as time permits.
I will also, in the future only be giving out the password or any information to members that have signed a commitment letter.
Understand this is a closed meeting...no commitment letter, no access, and Luzerne at Luzerne time only!
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September 20, 2009
We are actively working on a lease for our membership.
New changes and discussions are taking place every day.
Numerous property owners both in and outside of Ross township have sent in e-mails and requests from our web site Forms Page to join our group, update information or confirm that we have their property in our data base. With so many requests we are behind in getting back to everyone. If you have included your e-mail address we will reply to your inquiry. Please be patient.
Please check out our news page. As you can see the value of working with a group has paid off for the counties to our north. We are working to provide the same value to our members with a lease that will provide both monetary value and that will be best for our members and the environment.
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As you are probably aware, over the last few months there has been increased interest in our area for the leasing of your mineral rights for the drilling and exploration for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale.
Our group has been in existence since April of 2008 when we became aware of this interest. We formed our group (see our web site at www.rosstwpgas.com) to protect the area we live in, and to educate the residents of Ross Twp. about the issue and what you can do to protect yourself. If you are already a member, you know all this and that we are lead by an executive committee of nine volunteers.
We have recently entered into discussions with a well-known gas company that is very interested in our area. This will be discussed at the next SWRTPG general meeting. The meeting is on Tuesday September 15th , 7pm, at the Sweet Valley Church or Christ.
This will be a members only meeting.
If you are not a member, or if you have already signed your mineral rights away (including very recently), you will not be able to attend the meeting. If you still maintain your mineral rights, and are not a member, you can sign a SWRTPG “Agency Agreement” and a “Columbia Coalition Commitment Letter” that night and attend the meeting that follows. Please bring your property information with you. A tax receipt or a copy of your deed would suffice.
This company will probably follow the standard business practice of going door to door to sign you up. Their representative has already told us that they will offer a group like ours better terms than they will offer individual land owners. If you are approached by a gas company land-man, don’t be rushed to sign anything.
Please check the web site regularly, and bring your questions to the September 15th meeting.
The South West Ross Township Property Group,
Executive Committee
********************************************************* WE ARE IN ACTIVE DISCUSSIONS WITH A VERY REPUTABLE GAS COMPANY. IT IS EARLY IN THE PROCESS BUT THEY HAVE OFFERED DISCUSSIONS ON SEVERAL ITEMS OF INTEREST TO OUR GROUP. AN EXAMPLE WOULD BE TIERED OPTIONS FOR PAYMENT: 1. HIGHER PAYMENT LOWER ROYALTY, 2. MEDIUM PAYMENT $MEDIUM ROYALTY, LOWER PAYMENT $HIGHER ROYALTY. EACH LANDOWNER COULD CHOOSE THE OPTION THAT WOULD BE BEST FOR THEM. MORE INFORMATION AT OUR SEPTEMBER 15 MEETING New information July 7, 2009
New information August 23, 2009
The Northern Wayne County Property Group, NWPOA, announced today that their Steering Committee has entered into a Letter of Intent with Hess/Seneca and has in turn recommended it to the membership.
Several occurrences have been reported to me this week where a landsman has told a landowner that their neighbor has signed a lease with them when in fact they have not. If the reason that you are signing a lease is because you were told your neighbor did, you might just want to verify with your neighbor that the information you were told is correct.
10 questions you should ask yourself before you sign a lease
1. Has an attorney versed in oil and gas leases reviewed the lease for me?
2. Do I understand in detail exactly what I am signing?
3. Am I being pressured to sign this lease, forcing me to skip over things on this list?
4. Am I OK with the terms and financial aspects of the lease or will I regret signing it later?
5. Am I signing this lease just because my neighbor did or a landsman claims they did?
6. Can I make out better if I wait?
7. Can I afford to wait?
8. Does the lease protect everything I want protected?
9. What would my dad say?
10. What does my property owner group think about this lease?
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New information June 23, 2009
6/9/09 Friendsville group leasing update
http://thefriendsvillegroup.net/
Landowners' latest gas deal worth millions 3500/20/6.5
We have learned that the lease term is 8 years not 6 ½ years.
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*********************************************************September 20, 2009We are actively working on a lease for our membership. New changes and discussions are taking place every day.Numerous property owners both in and outside of Ross township have sent in e-mails and requests from our web site Forms Page to join our group, update information or confirm that we have their property in our data base. With so many requests we are behind in getting back to everyone. If you have included your e-mail address we will reply to your inquiry. Please be patient. Please check out our news page. As you can see the value of working with a group has paid off for the counties to our north. We are working to provide the same value to our members with a lease that will provide both monetary value and that will be best for our members and the environment.***********************************************************
*********************************************************September 20, 2009We are actively working on a lease for our membership. New changes and discussions are taking place every day.Numerous property owners both in and outside of Ross township have sent in e-mails and requests from our web site Forms Page to join our group, update information or confirm that we have their property in our data base. With so many requests we are behind in getting back to everyone. If you have included your e-mail address we will reply to your inquiry. Please be patient. Please check out our news page. As you can see the value of working with a group has paid off for the counties to our north. We are working to provide the same value to our members with a lease that will provide both monetary value and that will be best for our members and the environment.***********************************************************
*********************************************************September 20, 2009We are actively working on a lease for our membership. New changes and discussions are taking place every day.Numerous property owners both in and outside of Ross township have sent in e-mails and requests from our web site Forms Page to join our group, update information or confirm that we have their property in our data base. With so many requests we are behind in getting back to everyone. If you have included your e-mail address we will reply to your inquiry. Please be patient. Please check out our news page. As you can see the value of working with a group has paid off for the counties to our north. We are working to provide the same value to our members with a lease that will provide both monetary value and that will be best for our members and the environment.***********************************************************
We are currently involved with pursuing a lease on several fronts.
1. Primary - We are working with Columbia County Coalition in leasing activities per our group vote last July. DURING NEGOTIATIONS WE MUST PRESENT TO THE GAS COMPANIES A LIST OF HOW MANY ACRES AND HOW MANY LANDOWNERS ARE INCLUDED IN OUR GROUP.
ONLY THOSE LANDOWNERS THAT HAVE COMPLETED A COLUMBIA COUNTY COALITION COMMITMENT FORM WILL BE INCLUDED IN THESE NEGOTIATIONS. PLEASE COMPLETE A CCLOC COMMITMENT FORM IF YOU WISH TO BE INCLUDED.
2. Secondary – The Ross Twp leaders continue to contact gas companies about our group. We have had several meetings with gas companies and continue to schedule more.
ONLY THOSE MEMBERS WHO HAVE COMPLETED AND SUBMITTED THE SWRT Property Group Agreement Form WILL BE INCLUDED IN THESE NEGOTIATIONS.
If you are not sure if we have received your commitment forms please click on the Contact Us tab, complete the information, and click on the Submit button at the bottom. We will check our data base and let you know if we have your forms.
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We CAN NOT reveal the company names or the lease terms during negotiations. We learned last fall that it is extremely counterproductive to do so. We ask that you continue to have faith in your leadership to negotiate the best deal on behalf of all of our members. We are not paid leaders; we are not getting any compensation from our members or any gas companies. We are not requiring you to give up any royalty percentage to us or a percentage of the lease amount.
If the effort we are making does not fulfill your requirements and you wish to pursue a lease on your own or wish to sign and pay someone else simple let us know and we will remove you from our list.
