Recent offers in and around Arlington

I did a little digging around to see what were some of the gas lease offers which some areas and neighborhoods in and around Arlingtion had received.   Here are a few of the offers that have been reached so far (sorted from earliest to most recent):

       AREA/GROUP                 SIGNING BONUS     ROYALTY 
PANTEGO/WEST ARLINGTON            $15,000/ACRE        25% 
DALWORTHINGTON GARDENS            $15,311/ACRE        28% 
WOODLANDS WEST (ARLINGTON)        $15,500/ACRE        25% 
UNITED NEIGHBORS (ARLINGTON)      $15,850/ACRE        25% 
SW ARLINGTON PROPTY. OWNERS       $16,850/ACRE        25% 
PLEASANT RIDGE UNITED (ARLINGTON) $16,850/ACRE        25%

Notice the upward trend of the signing bonus.   This is a positive sign for our efforts as well.   Please check back later for more updates.   Alternatively, you can sign up to get updated via email by clicking the link in the upper left column.  Or you can plug the RSS feed into your feed reader.

Nearby ‘United Neighbors’ group strikes profitable deal

A nearby coalition of homeowners called ‘United Neighbors’ is on the verge of signing one of the highest gas lease offers in the Barnett Shale leasing activity. Last week this group of neighbors reached a tentative deal with Dale Resources, LLC for $15,850 per acre.

Some other concessions they were able to agree upon were a 25% royalty and a primary term of 3 years with a 2 year option. One very favorable result of their discussions was that the bonuses and royalties will be determined based on the homeowner’s lot size and will also factor in the acreage to the center of all abutting public streets and easements.

The contract will also call for a larger buffer area surrounding the drill site. There will need to be 600 feet between residences and drilling areas, which is over and above what the city ordinance calls for.

These provisions highlighted above as well as others in their contract like the expanded environmental compliance provisions, point up the fact that the residents of the United Neighbors have reached a very favorable and lucrative agreement.

Money is a good thing, but it’s not the only thing

Many residents who have formed neighborhood groups to deal with energy companies seeking drill sites have found that by negotiating as a committed bloc of homeowners they’ve been able to obtain bonus and royalty terms higher than they could have possibly obtained as individuals. And that’s a good thing!

However, while financial terms are normally the primary concern of most negotiations, they aren’t the only areas of the contract where concessions can be obtained. Many neighborhoods have lobbied for and received concessions regarding safety issues, environmental considerations, and much more.

I am posting links to gas lease contracts that other neighborhoods in Tarrant county have drawn up with energy companies after successful negotiations. Those who are interested can read through them and see the outcome of their talks are spelled out in the terms and conditions of the contract. (Note: unless otherwise indicated the following contract links will take you directly to the PDF or Word document. FYI.)

Tanglewood (Fort Worth)

Berkeley Place/Ryan Place (Fort Worth) [from Blogging the Barnett Shale]

Mistletoe Heights (Fort Worth) [from Blogging the Barnett Shale]

Pantego and (some adjacent portions of) Arlington final contract [website]

I’ll update with more as I receive them.

Wanna know what’s going on in nearby neighborhoods?

Blogging the Barnett Shale is a great resource to find out what other neighborhoods in Arlington and Tarrant county are doing to come together for the purpose of getting a better deal for their mineral rights. They also provide updates on negotiations between neighborhoods and leasing/gas companies.

Many of these neighborhoods are just like ours, with no formal neighborhood association but nevertheless determined to come together to strike a great gas lease deal. Read what some of these neighborhoods are doing and get inspired!