Barnett Shale

Fielder Park group backs much-improved lease

Bernetta Glasser of central Arlington's Fielder Park Gas Lease Negotiating Group reports that the organization is supporting an offer from Carrizo Oil and Gas for $15,000 an acre and a 25 percent royalty. She says lease signing started Thursday.

The Fielder Park group's experience is a shining example of how neighborhood cohesion can earn more favorable lease terms for landowners. Carrizo's first offer in July, through its agent Cheaha Land Services, was $1,200 an acre and 23 percent royalty. The competition escalated when Chesapeake Energy and its agent, Western Production Co., entered the fray.

The Fielder Park group's email address is briarwoodestatesarlington@yahoo.com.

Update: Click here for the full Star-Telegram story on this deal.

-- Jim Fuquay

(Photo: Fielder Park)

Chesapeake, Western boost Fielder Park offer

Western Production, acting as agent for Chesapeake Energy, has raised the bidding in central Arlington and Briarwood Estates, reports the Fielder Park Gas Lease Negotiation Group. Western is offering $6,000 an acre and 25 percent royalty, reports Bernetta Glasser, head of the group, which represents about 180 property owners. Carrizo Oil and Gas and its agent, Cheaha Land Services, started the leasing battle with an offer of $1,200 an acre and 23 percent. Glasser said her group has a meeting planned for Thursday evening. She can be reached at briarwoodestatesarlington@yahoo.com.

-- Jim

Fielder Park area gets some competition

Bernetta Glasser, head of the Fielder Park Gas Lease Negotiation Group in central Arlington, reports that Chesapeake Energy has commenced leasing efforts in the area, boosting lease offers.

Carrizo Oil & Gas, which has the University of Texas at Arlington gas lease, and its agent, Cheaha Land Services, started working the central Arlington region, including Briarwood Estates, in July.

The initial offer: bonus of $1,200 an acre and royalty 23 percent. The group got that up to $4,000 and 23 percent and continued talks. Now Carrizo has boosted the deal to $5,000 and 25 percent, Glasser said, to match an offer from Chesapeake and its agent, Western Production Co.

She's been impressed by Western's willingness to actually refer landowners to her group, which is up to 177 properties, including some commercial holdings. Glasser said the Fielder Park Gas group, which includes the area north of Park Row and west of Fielder, attended a meeting Sunday of the Heart of Arlington Neighborhood Association, which is working to bring together various groups into a common bargaining unit. Talks are continuing. Glasser can be reached at briarwoodestatesarlington@yahoo.com.

-- Jim

(photos: Fourth of July celebration and football practice, Fielder Park)

Arlington's Briarwood Estates pushes for better terms

Briarwood Estates in central Arlington, which originally was offered leases carrying a $1,200 per acre bonus, has negotiated that up to $4,00 and a 23 percent royalty in talks with Cheaha Land Services and Carrizo Oil, which has the contract to drill on University of Texas-Arlington property. Talks are continuing.

-- Jim

Fielder Road Baptist Church considers gas lease

Check out Paul Bourgeois' report in Friday's Star-Telegram for more on the gas action in Arlington:

• Fielder Road Baptist Church says it's talking to a gas exploration company about drilling on its big central Arlington campus. Executive pastor Michael Wierick says the welfare of church members and the church's neighbors are of foremost importance. The church has a preliminary feasibility study underway, with results expected back in a few weeks. "We have 1,200 homes around our church and we want to make sure it's good for the community," Wierick said. He declined to identify the drilling company or say how much the church might benefit financially. The most likely well location would be a large parking lot on the eastern edge of the property, between the church office building and the Arlington Independent School District administrative offices, he said. He also said a well might not be possible, given the city's ordinance that requires a 300-foot buffer between a well and other buildings.
• The Arlington Council is considering doubling the setback requirement to 300 feet, although some wells might be allowed closer if the drilling company gets approval from at least 60 percent of property owners.
• The South Davis Neighborhood Association says homeowners are being offered lot bonuses that total between $500 and $700, plus 20 percent royalties. The neighborhood is bounded by Fielder Road, Cooper Street, Pioneer Parkway, and Park Row Drive. Charla Hawkes Price, a Realtor who lives in the neighborhood, said lot bonus offers are averaging $3,000 per acre. The neighborhood is organizing an Oct. 15 meeting to discuss what to do next. Carrizo Oil & Gas, which recently signed up a well site at the University of Texas at Arlington, is a primary player in central Arlington leasing.

Click here to read Arlington's gas drilling ordinance.

Click here to read the details of UTA's deal with Carrizo and a Q&A from university officials.

-- Scott

(S-T photo: EggFest, Fielder Road Baptist Church)