Posted on 02/17/2011 6:55:34 PM PST by Army Air Corps
LYNN AND TERRY COUNTY, TX (KCBD) - Advanced methods and technology have oil companies interested in drilling throughout several counties in our area. Land owners are receiving offers to lease mineral rights to the companies, and many of them are seeing big offers.
Geologists think there is oil and natural gas in large shale formations underneath Hockley, Terry, Gaines, Dawson, and Lynn counties, and they want to get it out. If they're right, the economy of communities in these counties could change forever.
"I don't think I'd have an opportunity in 3 or 4 lifetimes to see this," Bill McGowan said. He handles leasing agreements between oil companies and property owners.
Farming is what drives the economy in towns like Brownfield but there's new business in town. Big business. The same can be said about Tahoka and O'Donnell in Lynn County. "There's big smiles on everybody's faces," said Lynn County Clerk Susan Tipton.
Oil and gas company representatives from across the country are in offices like Tipton's, scouring property records to find out who owns mineral rights to areas they're interested in leasing. They negotiate a price per acre and royalty payout in a contract.
None of the oil companies would talk to us on camera, but Tipton says they've told her advancements in technology made companies look to drill. "This has always been there. It's very deep underneath Lynn County but they have found a way to extract this oil and gas in an economical way," she said.
An economical way for oil companies means big dollars for landowners. "I have personally worked on more than 6 million dollars in oil and gas lease bonuses in the last 3 months," McGowan said.
Advancements in technology including hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling worked in similar projects throughout the country. "That shale in other places has produced oil and gas," McGowan said.
McGowan gave us an example of how lucrative the business could get if they can extract oil. "If I own 100% of minerals under that land and lease it for a 1/5 or 20%, and it makes 100 barrels per day; that's going to pay me $45,000 a month."
Ryan Smith said he started getting offers in January and they've continued to go up. "First offers were $75 to $150 an acre and 3 to 4 times that is where we're at today," he said.
Some landowners have hundreds of acres that companies are taking a growing interest in.
"They told us it could be anywhere from 3 years that they would be searching these land records," Tipton said.
"I think we'll see our first well drilled in May or June. I think we'll know by the end of the summer how good, bad, or indifferent it's going to be," said McGowan.
Ping.
I am sure that the Federal Gov. will think of a way to shut this down.
And our Attorney General will take them to court.
Texas Ping.
Where is that bunch claiming there is no drilling going on??????
Good for them!!!
Good news, my wife has 87 acres with 100% mineral rights in Cochran county. Here’s hoping. Thanks for posting this.
More power to y’all!
There is no new drilling in the Gulf. Land based drilling hasn’t been stopped by our marxist assclowns yet.
The land based drilling industry is booming.
Just don’t tell obama. He won’t like that and will have to shut it down to please the saudis.
NEVER sell your mineral rights.
Not everywhere.
Judge Grills Feds on Pulling Drilling Leases"A federal judge on Wednesday questioned Interior Secretary Ken Salazar's justification for canceling 77 drilling leases sold by the Bush administration around national parks in Utah."
Well that is just salazar being salazar. As AG in Colorado, he did his level best to run all exploration companies out of the state. That’s why obama picked him.
Do you realize we have had oil and gas from shale formation in production for quite a few years now?
Yes, my point being that this administration is doing all that it can to crush business and especially, oil and gas production.
Yeah, you definitely have a good point.
Let there be no doubt!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.