Barnett Shale

Road damage from drilling activities?

We reported this morning about another issue related to gas drilling: the damage caused by the fleets of heavy trucks required for drilling, fracing and other operations. Fort Worth has not been collecting money from gas companies to pay for damage to local roads because the Transportation Department doesn't think it can prove that specific road problems were caused by gas drilling. But it's routine for outlying counties to collect hundreds of thousands of dollars after documenting the damage.

Reader Dan O'Leary is hopping mad, and has sent numerous pictures showing the problems on his street.

Are any of y'all seeing similar problems?

Read the story here:

http://www.star-telegram.com/local/story/443988.html

Here's the view from O'Leary's window:

And here's a photo from Old Weatherford Road in Parker County, courtesy of the county commissioner's office:

-- Mike Lee

Fairmount (FW) holdouts get their reward

The few holdouts in Fairmount (FW) Southside Historic District are about to get rewarded, if they're not holding out on principle.

The neighborhood is getting the word out to what it estimates to be the "100-plus" property owners out of 1,300 who haven't signed leases yet. The association doesn't have an iron-clad hold on who's signed; it put out signs asking the holdouts to respond, and more than 100 did.

Fairmount was able to foment competition, drawing XTO Energy (with Fort Worth Energy as its agent) into a negotiation for leases that Chesapeake Energy didn't sign up with its own offer.

The Fort Worth Energy/XTO offer, supported by the neighborhood association as "less disruptive and more financially rewarding:"  $15,000-per-acre signing bonus, with lot calculations to the middle of streets and alleys; 25 percent royalty minus taxes, but with no reduction for production, gathering, transportation, processing or marketing costs; 48-month term; and a $10,000 donation to the neighborhood association for every 100 leases signed.

The environmental considerations were even more important to the neighborhood, said Patti Randle, the association's president. They include: no surface access operations, drill site at Jennings and Page, language that matches the city of Fort Worth's 600-foot minimum distance between the drill site and the nearest homes, no compressor within 1,000 feet of the Fairmount boundary, and no truck traffic within Fairmount.

"Our No. 1 issue was to have safety in the neighborhood," Randle said. XTO and Fort Worth Energy "were just really accomodating with all of it."

Like their South Side neighbors in Ryan Place, Berkeley Place, and Mistletoe Heights, which negotiated similiar agreements with Fort Worth Energy/XTO, the Fairmount association did not want a potential drill site on 8th Avenue, which Chesapeake proposes.

Fairmount was unlike those three associations in that a large number of its property owners -- led by the high numbers of landlords in the neighborhood -- signed leases before the association was able to organize.

XTO's proposed bonus stood at $10,000 as recently as October, but the company raised that to $15,000 within the last few weeks, Randle said.

David Thrapp, head of Fairmount's gas committee, said a joint South Side committee that negotiated a template agreement with Fort Worth Energy/XTO was a huge help.

"I hope we protected Fairmount," he said. "That was the whole purpose."

-- Scott

(S-T photos: Fairmount home, playing in the rain at Fairmount Park)

N. Benbrook holds out, gets lease competition

Homeowners in North Benbrook began receiving lease offers six months ago from agents acting on behalf of Chesapeake Energy, but things are heating up.

Here's the update:

• Chesapeake -- through both Four Sevens and Colt Exploration --initially offered a signing bonus of $4,000 per acre and 25 percent royalty, but told homeowners at a recent meeting that they would bump that up to $5,000 an acre, said Morris Scales, an organizer in the North Benbrook Neighborhood Association. The royalty is 25 percent and the term five years. Chesapeake has sent offers to virtually all of the North Benbrook area, except parts of Westvale, which may be due to uncertainty over drill sites, the neighborhood says. Scales says the neighborhood believes Chesapeake may be preparing to increase the bonus again.
• HTP and Associates, which the neighborhood believes is signing leases in Benbrook on behalf of Paloma Resources, has sent lease offers broadly to North Benbrook, offering a $5,000 per-acre signing bonus, 25 percent royalty, three-year term, and two-year option, Scales said. HTP also has "indicated they plan to up that to $8,000," Scales said.
• Fleet Oil & Gas, which has been trying to sign leases in the Timbercreek/Trinity Gardens/Trinity Estates neighborhoods in Benbrook, has sent out offers to parts of Westvale, Scales and Gayle Hebert, president of the North Benbrook association, said. They did not know what the terms were. A Fleet landman, who Scales said is the son of a local Italian restaurant owner, sponsored a pizza party last Saturday to try and sign leases.
• North Benbrook has also been trying to interest XTO Energy, and an XTO representative contacted the neighborhood association on Friday to ask whether it would be interested in an $8,000-per-acre signing bonus that would cover the area, Scales and Hebert said. Hebert said the response from the association's attorney was "probably not," but the neighborhood doesn't think that chapter of the story ends there. "XTO has told us they are serious about coming into the area," Scales says.
• The association has been organizing since June, after Chesapeake quickly signed up large numbers of leases in Benbrook's Pecan Valley neighborhood. The association has broken the neighborhood up into teams representing Brookhaven (220 homes), North Benbrook Central (750 homes), and North Benbrook East (375 homes), and assigned two "street captains" per street to pass out fliers, gather names and contact information, and collect the $50-per-household fee for the attorney the neighborhood plans to use, Hebert said.
• The association's attorney has also suggested that it incorporate Fort Worth's Western Hills neighborhood into the North Benbrook negotiating group for more clout, Scales and Hebert said. Representatives of the two neighborhoods were due to meet this weekend, Scales said.

Hebert said the neighborhood has been able to get homeowners to hold off from signing since Chesapeake signed up most of Pecan Valley.

Apart from that neighborhood, "I don't think even 10 percent have signed," she said Saturday, as she was walking through her neighborhood passing out fliers and tickets to the next neighborhood association meeting.

That meeting is 6:30 p.m. Nov. 27 at Waverly Park Elementary School. The meeting is open only to Benbrook East property owners (Sunset Terrace, Dunlap Addition, Westvale, and North Benbrook Addition), Hebert said. Property owners must have tickets from the association to attend. Click here for contact info.

After that meeting, the neighborhood is looking to hold another meeting to bring the Brookhaven, North Benbrook Central, and North Benbrook East groups together, possibly as early as December, Scales said.

Some of the North Benbrook drill sites are controversial. Hebert said the neighborhood is largely OK with one potential Chesapeake site off of Mary's Creek, near Pecan Valley.

But both HTP and Chesapeake, and possibly Fleet, are interested in drill sites in Palomino Estates, a subdivision in the middle of North Benbrook that is under development, Scales and Hebert said. The neighborhood has already put the city on notice that it will oppose any drilling in Palomino Estates.

"It's too close to homes," Hebert said.

It's not clear how the plans of the drilling companies would be affected by the unavailability of sites in Palomino Estates, she and Scales said. The neighborhood isn't clear on where XTO might drill from.

Leasing activity has picked up throughout Benbrook. Competition for leases has broken out in Mont Del/Country Day Estates and homeowners in Timber Creek/Trinity Gardens/Trinity Estates are trying to foment a lease battle. Colt is working leases in North Benbrook for Chesapeake and in Timber Creek for XTO.

We want to hear about what's happening in your part of Benbrook! To fill us in, please drop us an email at snishimura@star-telegram.com.

-- Scott

(S-T photos: Pecan Valley Golf Course, Pecan Valley Park)

Neighborhoods organize for leasing

The Star-Telegram published an extensive report Nov. 11 detailing efforts by Tarrant County neighborhoods and associations to organize to deal with natural gas leasing. For a copy of the story, click this link: Download neighborhoods_organize.doc

Four Sevens matches $15,000 bonus

Norm Stemple, head of the Mistletoe Heights Neighborhood Association drilling committee, sent residents an email Wednesday announcing that Four Sevens Energy has matched Fort Worth Energy's $15,000 per acre lease bonus. Berkeley residents began signing similar leases from Fort Worth Energy (on behalf of XTO Energy) on Tuesday, and Ryan Place residents are scheduled to do so on Oct. 30, followed by Mistletoe Heights on Nov. 1.

Here is the text of Stemple's note to his members:

Today (Wednesday, Oct. 24) at 5:30 PM I received a phone call from Four Sevens/Chesapeake telling me they are matching the $15,000./acre signing bonus.  The lease as sent last Friday remains the same. Verbally CHK states that the well site is along 8th Ave and the compressor is more than 1000 feet away.  However the lease states the well site is over 200 feet from any home and the 1000 foot distance is only from Berkley and Ryan Place, NOT Mistletoe Heights.

I have reliable information that the proposed compressor for CHK will be between Baylor All Saints and MH which is much closer than 1000 feet. (See Chesapeake's response above - ed.) Restrictions on truck traffic and gas transmission lines through MH are also not included in the CHK lease. The well site along  8th Ave is NOT acceptable for our friends in Berkeley and Ryan Place. It is important to understand these environmental differences.

A reminder that the sign-up for XTO will be at Colonial Country Club on Nov. 1 This is the lease recommended by the MH Gas lease committee.

UPDATE: Click here for the full report on the Berkeley/Ryan Place/Mistletoe Heights lease deal.

-- Jim

Hold them presses...

The bidding war for leases on Fort Worth's South Side erupted all over again Monday and the battle continued into the night.

The new offer from Fort Worth Energy, which is signing leases on behalf of XTO Energy: $15,000 per-acre signing bonus to property owners in Berkeley Place, Ryan Place and Mistletoe Heights. This tonight from Dub Stocker, of Fort Worth Energy.

That offer outdoes the $12,500 offer that Chesapeake FedEx'd Monday to property owners in all three neighborhoods. The $12,500 offer outdid Chesapeake's own $11,000 offer last week, which ostensibly outdid Fort Worth Energy's $10,000 offer, although Fort Worth Energy said those two offers were essentially a wash because of differences in the way the two calculated lot sizes. The Fort Worth Energy offer of $10,000 came as part of an agreement that Fort Worth Energy and XTO negotiated with the neighborhood associations. The Fort Worth Energy offer outdid Chesapeake's offer of $4,000 an acre, which, well, you get the picture...

The spectacle also poured into the charitable giving arena, with Chesapeake on Monday offering to donate up to $75,000 to each of the three neighborhood associations based on $15,000 per 100 leases signed. Monday night, Stocker said Fort Worth Energy was matching those terms.

Fort Worth Energy and XTO had already donated $50,000 to the construction of a $175,000 playground at Tillery Park, a South Side project launched by Berkeley Place residents. Then last week, Fort Worth Energy and XTO agreed to donate up to $50,000 to the Ryan Place association, or $10,000 for each 100 leases signed. Then Chesapeake made its own $10,000 donation to the Tillery Park project. Then Monday night, Fort Worth Energy and XTO, well, you get the picture...

The Fort Worth Energy/XTO lease still contains substantial environmental impact provisions favored by all three neighborhoods.

Click here for the full Star-Telegram report.

-- Scott and Jim

(S-T photo: Berkeley Place Fourth of July parade)

More, more, more in South Fort Worth neighborhoods

The latest salvo in the battle to lease Berkeley Place, Mistletoe Heights and Ryan Place was delivered Monday by FedEx: Chesapeake Energy's latest offer of a $12,500/acre bonus, 25 percent net royalty and up to a $75,000 contribution to each neighborhood association. That's up from the $11,000 just last week. Homeowners in each of the neighborhoods reported receiving the packets Monday. Fort Worth Energy and XTO Energy had earlier reached agreement with the neighborhoods on terms of $10,000 per acre, 25 percent royalty and, just last week, a payment of up to $50,000 to the Ryan Place Improvement Association. That contract also specified several environmental and safety concessions sought by the neighborhood negotiators.

Chesapeake's cover letter says it intends to use the Eighth Avenue drill site (in the railroad right-of-way across from Elizabeth Boulevard). That's a big issue with Berkeley Place in particular. The lease also guarantees only a 200-foot separation from homes, less than the city's 600 feet minimum, which Fort Worth Energy has written into its lease. Chesapeake notes that it asks only a three-year term, compared to Fort Worth Energy's four years, and matches Fort Worth Energy's promise to keep compressor stations at least 1,000 feet from neighborhood borders.

-- Jim

Chesapeake donates $10 Gs to playground project

Now's apparently a good time to be announcing a playground project if you're anywhere in shooting distance of the Barnett Shale.

Chesapeake Energy announced Wednesday it's donating $10,000 to the Friends of Tillery Park, the non-profit that's building a new $175,000 playground at Tillery Park, just off Forest Park Boulevard in South Fort Worth's Berkeley Place neighborhood.

Friday morning at the park, Chesapeake handed over a mock check to the organizers, with the real thing due to arrive shortly. The $10k put the organizers over their $175,000 fundraising goal for the playground; the surplus goes to future planned phases that include new fencing, landscaping, disabled-access sidewalk, and a pavilion. Volunteers spent five days last week (photo above) bringing the playground off the ground, and will complete the project Friday and Saturday.

Chesapeake made its announcement the same day it was sending fresh lease offers to property owners in Berkeley, Mistletoe Heights, and Ryan Place. It's competing for the South Side leases against XTO Energy and its agent, Fort Worth Energy, which earlier donated $25,000 apiece to the Tillery Park project. (Ryan Place also confirmed Thursday that XTO and Fort Worth Energy have agreed to donate up to $50,000 to the Ryan Place association, based on the numbers of property owners who sign their leases. Click here for the story.)

Jennifer Tayag, president of the Friends of Tillery Park, said the neighborhood buzz about the energy companies' contributions has been favorable. "They feel these companies are being good stewards by giving back to the communities where they make their living," she said.

The Friends of Tillery Park are still looking for volunteers to finish their build. Click here to volunteer.

And click here to read our previous posts on the Tillery Park project.

-- Scott

More on XTO vs. Chesapeake bidding battle

Here's the latest take from the Mistletoe Heights Neighborhood Association on Chesapeake Energy's new lease offers to the neighborhood. Chesapeake and its agent Four Sevens are competing against XTO and its agent Fort Worth Energy for leases on the South Side. This is an email from Norm Stemple, head of the neighborhood's gas drilling committee, to property owners:

Recently many of us in Mistletoe Heights (including myself) have received an offer from Four Sevens Energy to lease the gas under our property.  In the next week or so you should be receiving a lease from Fort Worth Energy which has been approved by the MH gas lease committee.  As chairman of the MH gas lease committee I urge you to wait and compare the two leases.  It is the opinion of the gas lease committee that the Fort Worth Energy lease provides, in writing, the following key environmental safeguards that are not addressed in the Four Sevens lease.

1) drill site must be over 600 feet from any home in MH

2) no truck traffic associated with drilling on any streets in MH

3) compressor must be over 1000 feet from any home in MH

4) no gas transmission lines through MH

5) noise level is limited to specified decibels above ambient.

Three minor differences include:

a) mineral rights owner makes no warranty of title

b) royalty payments not reduced by "delivery, processing or marketing costs"

c) shut-in royalty is $25./acre instead of $1./acre

In comparing the two leases please consider the safeguards as listed above as very important.

-- Scott

Chesapeake ups bonus offers to Ryan Place, Berkeley

Chesapeake Energy and Four Sevens, which are pursuing leases on Fort Worth's South Side against the XTO/Fort Worth Energy group, have increased their bonus offers to property owners in Ryan Place and Berkeley Place. Blogging the Barnett Shale reported last night that Chesapeake increased its offer to Mistletoe Heights property owners.

Property owners in all three neighborhoods began receiving the new lease offers from Chesapeake and Four Sevens in the last few days.

The offer: $11,000 per-acre lot bonus, 25 percent royalty  reduced by a portion of production expenses, four-year term, no surface access operations allowed. The offers also include a provision establishing a minimum 200-foot distance between the well and the nearest "barn or house."

The Berkeley, Ryan Place, and Mistletoe Heights neighborhood associations negotiated agreements with XTO and Fort Worth Energy calling for a $10,000-per-acre lot bonus, 25 percent royalty not reduced by production expenses, four-year term, and no surface access operations. All three agreements contained significant environmental language regarding, for example, placement of wells. Click here for more on Mistletoe Heights' response to the Chesapeake offer.

Chesapeake has scheduled community meetings for property owners of all three neighborhoods: Oct. 18, 25, and Nov. 1, 8, and 15 at University United Methodist Church. XTO/Fort Worth Energy has scheduled an Oct. 23 meeting for Berkeley homeowners, Oct. 30 for Ryan Place, and Nov. 1 for Mistletoe Heights, all at Colonial Country Club.

-- Scott and Jim