OT-oil and gas lease

I"m sure that there are some on this sight that have had some experience with the oil and gas leases. I live in Bradford Co. PA, there is a lot of activity in this area lately, seems they think this is a hot spot for natural gas drilling, there have been some very good wells drilled so far. I have not signed yet but neighbors around me have, I have 32 acres and the going price for a lease is around $2,800 pr acre and 17% royalties. If I dont go for a lease and they drill on land next to me I wont get paid for the gas under my land. I don"t think that my rugged mountain land is very accesable to a drilling operation, so I am not worried about them drilling on my land, but the farm next to me looks like a possible drilling sight. Anyone have any info or advise on this topic. Thanks in advance.
Tom

Last I knew they have to have a certain acreage sized lease before they can drill on it. I also remember something about not being able to suck the minerals from beneath a non-leased property. This is all hear-say, but my guess is they are trying to scare you into signing. I would contact a lawyer who is versed in mineral rights befor you do anything.

I'd work out a lease, that is if you are the mineral owner, cause you'd be amassed by where they put wells if you don't let'em drill on your land .If you do let'em hills,cliffs or mountains won't stop'em. Besides there is a benefit(besides $$$), if you sweet talk'em in to it, you might be able to get a gas line layed to your house to heat your house and run stoves, ovens all that. Look at your neighbors lease documents and see if its doable for you(you can combine parts to make one), that is if some else doesn't own the minerals. Just try it, it ain't as bad as the press makes it out.

Rights of Adjoining Landowners in PA
The oil and gas confined in the gas and oil bearing sands of a farm belong to the one who holds the title to the farm. However.....it is also recognized, both as a question of fact and law that oil and gas are fugitive in their nature, and will seek any opening from the earth's surface that may reach the sand where they are confined. A landowner who drills on his own land at such a spot ought not to stop his neighbor from developing the oil and gas on his farm. Still, every landowner may locate wells wherever, reguardless of the interests of others. The wells can be distributed over the whole farm or be located only on one part of it. In fact, the landowner may crowd the adjoining farms to draw oil and gas from them. The neighbor can do nothing to stop this except protect his own oil and gas by taking advantage of oil and gas resources himself.

see also: http://naturalgaslease.pbwiki.com/

Trust me when i tell ya that there is no place that they can not set a rig up on . When i worked the oil patch i built drilling locations and when we would go out and look at a new well location there were times that i would say to the fieldman you got to be kidding me , you want me to build a road thru that and up over that and you want the hole on that side of the hill where a mountain goat could not stand . After building some of them in places that any sane man would never put a dozer nothing bothers me , just put the seat belt on and have at it She will either stay on her tracks or fall over . Get your lease BUT just don't sign with out checking with a mouth piece that knows oil field leases and have what you want spelled out first.

Sounds like good money to me. Others know more than me, and every state could be diferent, Here the state sets a well spacing of like 20, 40, or 80 acres. If your land is within that acreage, you get your share of the returns. No drilling across the fence and robbing you. 2800 dollars? I just sighed for 30 per acre.

out in no mans land thay have to have 640 contiguous acres to drill but you can sign a lease with provisions that no access road or such can be builty on your land. It sometimes takes up to a year to put the land back to the way it was.

I'm thinking $2,800 an acre plus 17% royalty would scare me to the point where I'd have nightmares about not being able to find a pen in the house that would write, and the guy would lose interest and leave before I could sign up.

I'm just outside of Painted post, NY. That's a little more than they have been paying around here.
If it's Fortuna, they're good people, been very good to the comunity. They'll try to get it as cheap as they can, but you can negotiate the price with them.

i'm a little east of you in broome co, ny. there is a ton of information and links in pagaslease.com and pressconnects.com . we are in a hot area and gas cos are signing and drilling. have any contract you sign reviewed by a GAS attorney because the company lease will have stuff in it you can't live with. we are forming a coalition to increase our bargaining power.

I"m in Bradford County PA as well, and as yet have not signed....... and probably won"t sign. There are way too many unknowns for me. It is well published that the shale contains uranium and the water used to "frac" it becomes contaminated and must be run thru an appropriate wastewater facility. There are none here that can handle the radioactivity.

As for the landscape? I"ve seen where they moved mountains, etc. Hilly terrain will not hinder them. In Chesapeake Energy"s Stockholder"s meeting, the CEO stated that there are some challenges to be overcome and the infrastructure, including the landscape, would be just another hurdle to climb.

Land grabbers are double talking and offering deals like they are Vegas card dealers. Doesn"t sound to me like there is any honesty or reputation, and I don"t deal with those kinds.

Once you sign, any improvement or alteration they make to your land, entitles them to re-up for signed rate +$5 for an additional term. If you"ve signed, and they like your land, you"re locked. Having told many for so long that their land was worth $5 an acre, and many signed, they are in like Flynn.

There are very few actual freedoms we have in this country anymore. Land ownership is one I will not part with for any amount of money. If I"m wrong...... I"m out a million dollars. If I"m right... I have my house, my land and my self-respect. Those 3 are worth more to me than a million dollars. Just my opinion.

Some of the residential neighborhoods around Ft Worth Texas are now at $25,000 an acre for signing plus xx% of minerals.

Early signers here rec'd much, much less.

Some of the options on the early signers expired before they got around to drilling and I believe they are getting more this time around.

South and west of DFW airport $23,500 per acre plus 25% of minerals.