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Background

More than a mile beneath parts of Pennsylvania lies a mostly untapped reservoir of natural gas.

Geologists and energy companies have known for decades about the gas in the Marcellus Shale, but only recently have figured out a way to extract it from the thick black rock about 6,000 feet underground.

Now gas drillers are looking to lease local land in an attempt to find and remove the gas, whose value increases as energy prices soar.

In January 2008 leases were being signed for values near $100 per acre. By May that value had increased to over $2000 per acre.

With lease values changing so rapidly, landowners are unsure at what price to accept a lease offer.

Kenneth L. Balliet, a forestry and business management educator with the Penn State Cooperative Extension, recently took a trip to Fort Worth to see the economic impacts of those deposits. He said leases are being signed for $18,000 per acre in areas where production has proven strong.

Though there are only about 20 wells in Pennsylvania so far, Balliet expects local production to eventually rival Texas’ Barnett Shale. He said a gas company confided it plans to spend $1 billion this year in leasing agreements in Pennsylvania.

That kind of investment could mean a big boost to the area's economy as a whole.

Primary Author

Rory Sweeney
rsweeney@timesleader.com

Natural Gas Leases - Marcellus Shale

Latest Headlines

August 15, 2008

Luzerne County landowners waiting in natural gas boom

TUNKHANNOCK – While Wyoming County landowners are heavily involved in the regional natural-gas boom, almost all Luzerne County landowners are out of luck, at least for now.

August 14, 2008

Wyoming County landowners sign brokered gas-drilling lease deals

TUNKHANNOCK – A packed Tunkhannock Area High School auditorium buzzed on Wednesday evening with one topic: natural-gas lease profits.

August 11, 2008

County eyes gas drilling potential

Luzerne County is now looking into whether it can cash in on the natural gas windfall that’s hitting the region.

August 7, 2008

Gas lease workshop to deal with money issues

The temptation to just sign could seem irresistible. With a few strokes of the pen, some people in the region are being offered the chance to completely change their lives with natural gas leases.

August 3, 2008

Groups eye hauling well wastewater

In addition to anticipated jobs and profits from natural-gas drilling, water usage should increase as regional operations get under way.

July 24, 2008

Columbia County group offers gas drilling lease negotiator

ROSS TWP. – For a limited time, landowners looking for a natural-gas drilling lease have a commitment-free offer to get a low-cost lease negotiator.

July 14, 2008

Gas wells a mixed blessing on property

The opportunity won’t come to most Northeastern Pennsylvania landowners, but those offered a natural-gas well will face life-changing effects, both positive and negative.

July 2, 2008

Gas leasing explored once more Notes from the Countryside With Mary Felley

Gas leasing! When I first wrote about this in May last year, lease prices were “up to several hundred dollars an acre.” When I did an update in December, prices “as high as $800” were said to be offered. Now $2,500 an acre is thought to be a reasonable price. Who knows how high it may go? Statewide, speculation about the most promising part of the Marcellus Shale is being directed solidly toward northeastern Pennsylvania.

June 25, 2008

Gas lease offers could jump if early wells productive

LEHMAN TWP. – Natural-gas drillers seem to be taking “a wait-and-see attitude” right now, according to Ken Balliet, a Penn State Extension director well versed in gas-lease issues.

June 25, 2008

Study: Gas royalties will help all of Pa.

STATE COLLEGE — With energy companies rushing to lock up rights to suddenly valuable deposits of natural gas, royalties earned by Pennsylvania landowners will ripple through the broader state economy, according to a Penn State University forecast.

June 14, 2008

State, gas drillers discuss water, land protection

HARRISBURG – Reacting to regulation violations and some activities by companies exploring for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, state environmental regulators on Friday held an unprecedented summit with gas drillers to define expectations for water and land protection.

June 13, 2008

Gas drilling could aid clean water

The state is contending with a multibillion-dollar water-treatment problem, and the growing gas-drilling industry might be part of the solution.

May 30, 2008

Gas lease interest leads to owners holding on to land

Listings for land are virtually nonexistent in northern Luzerne and Wyoming counties, thanks to landowners hoping to cash in on natural-gas leasing rights.

May 24, 2008

Gas leases lucrative for schools

There are school superintendents who would drool over the windfall Bill Bush received around January. But Bush, the superintendent at Elk Lake School District, is looking for an even bigger payday.

May 21, 2008

OUR OPINION - Before making the deal, scrutinize gas lease offer

MOST CONSUMERS HAVE heard the cautionary phrase, “caveat emptor,” or “let the buyer beware.”

May 20, 2008

Citizens prep for area gas lease rush

With lucrative natural-gas lease offers coming to Luzerne County, landowners are beginning to pool their land, resources and knowledge to score the best deals possible.

May 16, 2008

Tunkhannock joins gas-lease group

TUNKHANNOCK – The Tunkhannock Area School District will join a landowners group that is uniting to negotiate natural-gas leases.

May 15, 2008

Natural gas boom coming

TUNKHANNOCK – Experts believe the thick Marcellus Shale that stretches deep underground from Kentucky to New York, including parts of Luzerne and Wyoming Counties, has the potential to produce as much natural gas as similar shale deposits in northern Texas.

April 2, 2008

Rendell to allow gas drilling in state forests

HARRISBURG — Despite opposition from environmentalists, the Rendell administration will give exploration companies thirsty to capitalize on sky-high natural gas prices new territory to drill in Pennsylvania’s state forests.