Geologist to speak at next gas coalition meeting
NEW BERLIN – Much has been written, discussed and belabored concerning the quantity and quality of natural gas pockets within the Marcellus Shale, but the Marcellus isn’t the only layer of ancient earth that’s rich with the highly desired energy source.
Just exactly how many layers, or plays, within the natural gas industry are beneath us? How much can each layer produce? And, which layers are the gas companies really after?
The answers to those questions and more will be offered up at the second public meeting of the Central New York Landowner’s Coalition at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 14 at the Unadilla Valley High School. Petroleum Geologist Don Zaengle, a member of the Elmira-based law firm of Chris Denton, the Coalition’s counsel, will make a presentation and answer questions from landowners about their mineral rights.
Zaengle recently joined the Southern Tier’s natural gas leasing go to firm after working for many years in exploration, development and production for oil companies, such as Shell Oil. He holds a master’s degree in geology and a bachelor’s of science degree in geology and water resource management.
Hundreds of landowners in Chenango, Broome, Madison, Otsego and Delaware have signed leases with gas companies since new horizontal drilling technology and the country’s focus on finding alternatives to high priced oil helped to put the Marcellus on the radar.
Experts predict that the Marcellus could contain several hundred trillion cubic feet of natural gas and is twice the size of the Barnett Shale in Texas. Natural gas companies first began employing new horizontal drilling technology in the Dallas/Ft. Worth region a few years ago. Once the technique was proven successful, leasing offers to landowners in the region went from $2,000 an acre to $25,000 plus royalties of up to 25 percent.
According to Todd Barnes, a member of the steering committee of the Central New York Landowner’s Coalition, local property owners who have leased their land have unfortunately done so “without a lot of protection or understanding the number of layers or gas plays beneath them,” he said.
The group, which started in May, has gathered 565 landowners who represent 68,000 acres of land in Chenango and neighboring counties. While attorneys are currently putting the final touches on a lease, new registrations are still being accepted. Once the lease is completed and accepted by all, the group will contact companies to market the benefits of partnering with them. Barnes said some natural gas concerns had already expressed an interest in bidding.
The Coalition is committed to education, conservation and negotiation, Barnes said. “This has been our goal since we began. We are making sure that when we come to the table, all of the 68,000 registered acres we have mapped will be pleased and satisfied with the work that has been done by volunteers who love their lands and protect their interests in their lands because we are all neighbors.”
The potential environmental hazards associated with drilling range from contaminated drinking water, stress on local water sources and treatment facilities and damaged roadways.
“We are coming slowly,” Barnes said of the Coalition’s progress, “but we’re making sure we are going to get all of our addendum’s to protect our environment.”
Barnes said he is still waiting for answers from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation about what water sources the companies plan to tap into locally and where waste water will be disposed of. “We still don’t know,” he said.
He also said he is concerned about spacing legislation and where DEC permitted gas wells are eventually drilled within a leased unit of land.
Barnes said most of the land in western New York, Pennsylvania have been leased. “There’s not a lot of easy pickin’s left,” he said.
According to the Chenango County Planning and Development Department, fewer landmen have come into the County Office Building recently to request property maps and other information. “I’m not hearing a lot here,” planner Rena Doing said. “In fact, somebody made the comment that they (the landmen) were now heading to Pennsylvania.”
Just exactly how many layers, or plays, within the natural gas industry are beneath us? How much can each layer produce? And, which layers are the gas companies really after?
The answers to those questions and more will be offered up at the second public meeting of the Central New York Landowner’s Coalition at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 14 at the Unadilla Valley High School. Petroleum Geologist Don Zaengle, a member of the Elmira-based law firm of Chris Denton, the Coalition’s counsel, will make a presentation and answer questions from landowners about their mineral rights.
Zaengle recently joined the Southern Tier’s natural gas leasing go to firm after working for many years in exploration, development and production for oil companies, such as Shell Oil. He holds a master’s degree in geology and a bachelor’s of science degree in geology and water resource management.
Hundreds of landowners in Chenango, Broome, Madison, Otsego and Delaware have signed leases with gas companies since new horizontal drilling technology and the country’s focus on finding alternatives to high priced oil helped to put the Marcellus on the radar.
Experts predict that the Marcellus could contain several hundred trillion cubic feet of natural gas and is twice the size of the Barnett Shale in Texas. Natural gas companies first began employing new horizontal drilling technology in the Dallas/Ft. Worth region a few years ago. Once the technique was proven successful, leasing offers to landowners in the region went from $2,000 an acre to $25,000 plus royalties of up to 25 percent.
According to Todd Barnes, a member of the steering committee of the Central New York Landowner’s Coalition, local property owners who have leased their land have unfortunately done so “without a lot of protection or understanding the number of layers or gas plays beneath them,” he said.
The group, which started in May, has gathered 565 landowners who represent 68,000 acres of land in Chenango and neighboring counties. While attorneys are currently putting the final touches on a lease, new registrations are still being accepted. Once the lease is completed and accepted by all, the group will contact companies to market the benefits of partnering with them. Barnes said some natural gas concerns had already expressed an interest in bidding.
The Coalition is committed to education, conservation and negotiation, Barnes said. “This has been our goal since we began. We are making sure that when we come to the table, all of the 68,000 registered acres we have mapped will be pleased and satisfied with the work that has been done by volunteers who love their lands and protect their interests in their lands because we are all neighbors.”
The potential environmental hazards associated with drilling range from contaminated drinking water, stress on local water sources and treatment facilities and damaged roadways.
“We are coming slowly,” Barnes said of the Coalition’s progress, “but we’re making sure we are going to get all of our addendum’s to protect our environment.”
Barnes said he is still waiting for answers from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation about what water sources the companies plan to tap into locally and where waste water will be disposed of. “We still don’t know,” he said.
He also said he is concerned about spacing legislation and where DEC permitted gas wells are eventually drilled within a leased unit of land.
Barnes said most of the land in western New York, Pennsylvania have been leased. “There’s not a lot of easy pickin’s left,” he said.
According to the Chenango County Planning and Development Department, fewer landmen have come into the County Office Building recently to request property maps and other information. “I’m not hearing a lot here,” planner Rena Doing said. “In fact, somebody made the comment that they (the landmen) were now heading to Pennsylvania.”
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