Barnett Shale

Keller neighborhood wants in on Colleyville's action

As the competition between drilling companies invades the quiet burbs of Northeast Tarrant County, there are some in that area hoping to get a piece of the hot action.

A new group, known simply as the Hidden Lakes Gas Committee, has formed to represent the interests of 1,735 homeowners in the Hidden Lakes subdivision of Keller. Hidden Lakes is a new community of about 10 villages all built around the Sky Creek Ranch Golf Course.

Over the weekend, several homeowners reported getting a new offer from Colt Exploration, representing XTO Energy, for a per-acre bonus of $10,000 and royalties of 25 percent, said Deb Gatzke, secretary of the Hidden Lakes Gas Committee.

According to the group's website, it's the same offer that Sky Creek Ranch Golf course signed in late March. It was a 4-year deal. "XTO's drillsite is 14.3 acres west of Davis, just across from where Precinct Line meets Davis," according to the site.

The $10,000 bonus is higher than XTO's earlier offer of $6,500 an acre to Hidden Lakes residents, but it's still not at the $18,500 level that was offered last week to the CAMRA, Pool Road Coalition and West Colleyville Gas groups in nearby Colleyville.

Hidden Lakes bumps up to CAMRA's western edge. Gatzke, who attended a CAMRA leadership meeting last night, said she would like to get her group in with CAMRA but may not be able to do that right now.

"I doubt they're gonna grow far enough west to include us," she said.

The boundaries of Hidden Lakes are roughly Shady Grove Road on the south, Keller Smithfield Road on the west, 1709 on the north and Davis Boulevard on the east.

Here's a link to the group's website.

If you want to join the Hidden Lakes group, you can send an e-mail to gaslease@hlhoa.com.

--David Wethe

(Archive photo: Sky Creek Ranch Golf Course)

Dale goes after leases in NE Tarrant County

  Here's the full story from S-T staffer David Wethe on Dale Resources' pitch to neighborhood groups in Colleyville, Southlake, North Richland Hills, and Keller for leases. The offer could apply broadly to people in Colleyville and Southlake. Don't have a lease offer from Dale? Read this story to find out more on what you can do to find out if you're eligible.

Here's S-T staffer Adrienne Nettles' story from earlier this week on the Southlake City Council's consideration of changes that would allow drilling closer to homes.

Pictured is a map of drill sites that Dale Resources says Chesapeake has secured in the affected Northeast Tarrant County area. Dale reps handed the map out to neighborhood leaders at a meeting Tuesday night.

-- Scott Nishimura