With millions of gas and oil leases in the U.S., some landowners are learning a costly lesson about the standard leases they signed. Industry officials insist the documents are written to protect the landowner, but a New York Times review of more than 111,000 leases, addenda and related documents obtained through open records requests tell a different story.
Fewer than half the leases include compensation to landowners for water contamination after drilling begins, Ian Urbina and Jo Craven McGinty of The New York Times report, and only about half of those include payments for damages to livestock or crops. Most leases give gas companies broad decision-making rights regarding tree removal, storage of chemicals, building roads and drilling. Few leases describe the environmental and other risks that federal law requires companies to disclose. Average leases are for three or five years, but two-thirds of those the Times reviewed "allow extensions without additional approval from landowners."
Urbina and McGinty report disappointed landowners in Pennsylvania, Colorado and West Virginia have spent hundreds of dollars monthly on bottled water or maintaining large tanks of drinking water in their front lawns. Thousands of landowners in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Texas, who claim "they were paid less than they expected because gas companies deducted costs like hauling chemicals to the well site or transporting gas to market," have responded by joining a class action lawsuit, Urbina and McGinty report.
Some industry officials say landowner criticism is misguided. A spokesman for the Pennsylvania company Cabot Oil and Gas responded to inquiries about waste pit cleanup on a Pennsylvania site by saying "the company's cleanup measures met or exceeded state requirements." Landmen, drilling company employees who pitch leases, say they don't mislead landowners. "Everyone I know who does this work is on the up and up, and most of the bad actors that there may have been before are no longer in business," Mike Knapp, president of Knapp Acquisitions and Production told the Times. Knapp added his company's leases ensure landowners get replacement water if needed and he encourages landowners to visit existing drilling sites before signing a lease. (Read more)
In response to increasing interest and concerns over mineral rights leasing, Athens County, Ohio attorney John Lavelle offered to draft a "landowner friendly" lease, like the one he used for his own properties, which he leased to Cunningham Energy based in Charleston, W.Va. He offered his services to other Athens County residents interested in contracting with the company, Sara Brumfield of The Athens Messenger reports. The New York Times has also published "A Layman's Guide to Lease Terms" to help landowners considering leasing.
Fewer than half the leases include compensation to landowners for water contamination after drilling begins, Ian Urbina and Jo Craven McGinty of The New York Times report, and only about half of those include payments for damages to livestock or crops. Most leases give gas companies broad decision-making rights regarding tree removal, storage of chemicals, building roads and drilling. Few leases describe the environmental and other risks that federal law requires companies to disclose. Average leases are for three or five years, but two-thirds of those the Times reviewed "allow extensions without additional approval from landowners."
Urbina and McGinty report disappointed landowners in Pennsylvania, Colorado and West Virginia have spent hundreds of dollars monthly on bottled water or maintaining large tanks of drinking water in their front lawns. Thousands of landowners in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Texas, who claim "they were paid less than they expected because gas companies deducted costs like hauling chemicals to the well site or transporting gas to market," have responded by joining a class action lawsuit, Urbina and McGinty report.
Some industry officials say landowner criticism is misguided. A spokesman for the Pennsylvania company Cabot Oil and Gas responded to inquiries about waste pit cleanup on a Pennsylvania site by saying "the company's cleanup measures met or exceeded state requirements." Landmen, drilling company employees who pitch leases, say they don't mislead landowners. "Everyone I know who does this work is on the up and up, and most of the bad actors that there may have been before are no longer in business," Mike Knapp, president of Knapp Acquisitions and Production told the Times. Knapp added his company's leases ensure landowners get replacement water if needed and he encourages landowners to visit existing drilling sites before signing a lease. (Read more)
In response to increasing interest and concerns over mineral rights leasing, Athens County, Ohio attorney John Lavelle offered to draft a "landowner friendly" lease, like the one he used for his own properties, which he leased to Cunningham Energy based in Charleston, W.Va. He offered his services to other Athens County residents interested in contracting with the company, Sara Brumfield of The Athens Messenger reports. The New York Times has also published "A Layman's Guide to Lease Terms" to help landowners considering leasing.
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