Western suspends leasing in Ridglea, Ridgmar

Western Production Co., which has been trying to lease portions of the Ridglea North and Ridgmar neighborhoods in West Fort Worth since the summer, says it's suspending leasing in those neighborhoods because it can't secure a drill site. Secondarily, a substantial amount of opposition by neighbors to its proposed drill site "reinforced a bad vibe," says Mark Gordon, landman for Western. "It didn't help the situation."

Western has signed up about 250 leases, "ballpark," in both neighborhoods combined, Gordon said. The company is still obligated to honor its commitments to people who have signed their leases and sent them in, he notes. The company has been mailing bonus checks, property owners in the neighborhoods report.

Western also will still accept leases from property owners who send them in, and pay out the bonuses, Gordon said. "We will take them," he said. "But we're no longer in the active pursuit" of leases in those neighborhoods.

And "the reality is, beyond the bonus," property owners who have signed up won't see any future benefits unless Western is able to secure a drill site, Gordon said.

He said Western sought first to purchase its proposed site on Calmont Avenue west of the neighborhood, then lease it, but wasn't able to strike an agreement with the owner. "It was the price," he said.

There's a dearth of drilling sites in that area, he said, and he added that Western knows of no others that are available that could reach the neighborhoods. "There are no other alternatives," he said.

Western started sending offers in August to Ridglea North, said Jerry Lobdill, a Ridglea North owner who ultimately led opposition. Western quickly improved the financial terms first to a signing bonus of $3,500 per acre and a 20 percent royalty, and then to $4,000 per acre and a 25 percent royalty, he said.

But the sticking point for Ridglea North -- bounded by Interstate 30 on the north, Bryant Irvin Road on the east, Camp Bowie Boulevard on the south, and Lackland Road on the west -- was the drill site.

The Calmont site, near the "blue water tower," a local landmark, is well within the 600-foot minimum allowable distance to homes required by Fort Worth ordinance. In such situations, the drilling company is required to seek a "high impact" permit. Typically, drilling companies pair high impact petitions with waivers of the 600-foot radius signed by affected property owners; a petition without waivers would be unusual.

The neighborhood association's board didn't seek to enter into negotiation with Western. It said at a Sept. 19 meeting that it would oppose the site before the city. Lobdill, a retired physicist who isn't on the board but ended up passing out fliers door to door, says safety and concerns such as noise and truck traffic trumped any financial considerations. Some other neighborhoods have been able to negotiate such issues in lease agreements with energy companies, but the neighborhood association wasn't interested in the Calmont site, which Lobdill says was 30 yards from the nearest homes.

Lobdill says he is skeptical that neighborhood drilling can be accomplished without significant tradeoffs to safety and quality of life.

"I've only started my activism on this," he says. "They made a mistake by coming into my neighborhood and sending me a letter. I'm fully retired, and I've got plenty of time."

Gordon said the situation was frustrating to Western. "We prefer to not be in a high-impact situation, ever," he said.

-- Scott

(Photo: Proposed drill site between "blue water tower" and private swimming club, view from the West)

Comments

[BH]

Bob" Both of my farm stories have related to the oil and gas business in their theme. So what if I threw in a Turkey story
at Thanksgiving, and called a stubborn fool a Mule. I find these
alot less offensive than the usual 4 or 5 derogatory names others
are using to call each other in this blog.

You and your pals "who find those comments offensive" are like a
gang of old buzzards sitting on a high wire, cranky as hell, watching and waiting for a Tanker Truck or Well pumper to come
along and maybe do a road kill for lunch. Cheer up, it ain't all that bad, is it Bad Bob?

[Bob]

Fair enough Scott, but do me a favor as well. Stop posting farm animal comparison comments and farm stories from B. Humphries as many find those comments offensive and add nothing to the public debate as well.

[Scott Nishimura, blog author]

Bobthebuilder, I deleted your most recent post on this string. Out of 800 comments we've received in the short life of this blog, it's the first one we've deleted. We're all about encouraging dialogue here, but that one was below the wide-open standards we've set for this blog. You are more than welcome to try again, or make your case for why we should publish it. Thank you for reading us.

[bambam]

Rodney: Have you heard that idenity theft is a felony? maybe
that was really fighter ace in LA.

[Bev Jr.]

Go to bed Mom you're drunk!

[B.Humphries]

Stan: what got your panties in a wad? Talk about a Big Ball of Hate
just listen to yourself. Whats your issue? its a given you were
one of the mineral owners that got the mega bucks instead of squat.
Talk about a psycho nut case, you need to go unplugged for about
a month and recoup.

[Rodney]

Like you B.

[RealTexasSharon]

Ok, B.

Have a nice day.

[B.Humphries]

Heads up people, Rodney King was shot by a shotgun blast last nite.
IT WASN'T ME. I WAS IN TEXAS WATCHING DALLAS BEAT GREENBAY

RODNEY WAS IN LA, Calif. He's ok. some people just step in it all the time.

[April]

Stan, so you must live in Mistletoe Heights. congrats on your jackpot win.

[B. Humphries]

Royce: Everything I have said is true and can be documented.
I didn't post his name, until mine was posted without my permission.

The list of occupations that require a license to provide a service
to the public in Texas is a long one indeed. Check out the
Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation at www.license.state.tx.us

Now you would think that a landman for an Energy company who is
conducting a binding legal document with a person, as in leasing
your dominate mineral rights and acting as his own notary on that
document would need to have a standard of training and a license
to do what he does. A License holds people who do business accountable for their actions and guarantees a standard.

When I call a plumber to my house for a leaky faucett, he's gotta
have a license and training to do it right, If its not right, I
have a means of recourse.

Since landmen and lease brokers are not licensed or regulated, people are being advised to "hire" an attorney before agreeing to
or signing a lease. The Energy companys aren't paying for these
lawyers, the people are. The people are having to pay for the lack
of training and expertise of the lease brokers. Nor are the Energy
company's hiring and using attorneys to do the leases, instead of
"Landmen" with maybe 12 hrs. of training. I know there are classes
for it, but I don't know if its a requirement and neither does the
state or the mineral owners. I received my lease offer/cover letter
and a lease to sign in the mail. The cover letter contains language
that is a Fraud, but hell I didn't know it at the time, and my lease
was blank on my lot size, no, it was worse than blank, it said O
acres, more or less for my .209 lot size. My first option was to
sign it and mail it in, after I took it to a notary. The second option was to call the landman and he would notarize it for free.
25% royalty on 0 is 0. Bonus money on 0 is 0. are ya getting the
point yet Royce? The cover letter said 4/7's was drilling the well.
How the hell was I suppose to know the company split and quit drilling and started brokering leases? I'd never even heard of them
before. I trusted the Company to know what the hell they were about. I'm not a private investigator for god's sake. So why don't
you people get off my case and get a clue. Thank You

[B. Humphries]

Landman2: I suspect you are really BC. Get over it.

[B. Humphries]

RealTexasSharon: actually I am more pissed at a lady on the phone

with 4/7's who outright lied to me, than over the bonus money.

The landman in question had no business inviting me to his apt. to
sign my lease. Very Un-professional. He also said if you have any
questions to just call him. He never returned any calls left on his
voicemail. Also very un-professional. What can I say? Do you like
to be lied to? especially over an important business contract?

[Tony]

All I have to both sides is cut the BS and be civil when making a point.

[Royce]

I believe that the young man who took Ms. Humphries lease for 4-7's should be notified that his name is being slandered and libeled by statements put on this blog by the party in question.

Without a doubt this has had to have had an adverse affect on his ability to conduct business for the company he works for.

Without a doubt the statements have been libelous and absolutely idiotic. She should be banned from this blog.

[RealTexasSharon]

B. Humphries, please quote for me chapter and verse where in the city charter that mayor is supposed to see that all lease bonus payments are consitent?

Please also quote me chapter and verse in the Texas Natural Resource Code where the state is supposed to make sure that all lease bonus payments are consitent?

Does the mayor also help in your purchase of real estate, cars, groceries, appliances, or clothing?

You state you received the equivalent of $3,500/acre. The first sealed bid city lease won by Dale went for $2,000 an acre for Gateway Park (public record), and you received $3,500 an acre? $2,000 an acre three years ago was unheard of. Lease prices have risen. That is what we call a free market if you have ever studied economics. Home prices rose for a while, now they are falling. Do we need to insure that anyone selling a home receives last years higher price?

You are just a disenfranchised mineral owner who got pissed when you read the paper and saw someone over in another part of town who received $10,000 an acre. There are tons of companies bidding against each other here.

It has gotten crazy, and people have gone crazy like a gold rush. I am afraid you are one of those people.

[Landman 2]

Your little 1650 sf house probably doesn't have room for a swingset. How is it that you have a disposal well or compressor station on it? If the property you are referring to is zoned for an industrial use like a compressor station or permitted for a disposal well then I don't see how you have any say in it, just like I don't have any say in my neighbor building a McMansion on his lot or painting his house purple.

[Jim Bowie]

Industry will also be on the task force.

Besides, I thought you were more into Turkeys than apples?

[April2]

Humphries, are you on Zoloft? If not, you need to be.

[Stan]

Oh yes BH. you are definitely a force to be reckoned with in the industry and the Barnett Shale. You are so full of it. Yes, the city has organized the task force again and before all is said and done Gunsmoke CFW is going to get their rear end in a lawsuit by awarding leases on one hand and taking away rights with the other. The mineral estate is still the dominant estate Gunsmoke so let's ligtigate it in court and get it over with. You can regulate drilling but not stop it Gunsmoke. You continue to slander 4-7's. I do not even work for them but I am about to bring your slanderous and libelous statements to their attention. Perhaps a lawsuit against you or a restraining order might be in order for the B.S. you continue to spew out. Perhaps we should rename you The Big Ball Of Hate. All over one damn lease bonus that you are being eaten alive about. If you do not watch out you may end up in a state mental hospital. And yes Gunsmoke or Big Hate I am a mineral owner in Tarrant County.

[B. Humphries]

Hey guys, guess what? the new Task Force to be implemented in

January by the city council is to address most of the issues

I have been blogging about for a couple months now. How about them

apples?? All except the mega and squat bonus money paid out, but

at least it might protect us who got squat from having all the

disposal wells and compressors on us., due to the concessions given

to those who got the mega amounts.

Wiley, tell Pa I said Hi. And here I thought marijuana crops was

the major source of revenue in Arkansas these days. Don't let the

car door slam you in the butt on your way out. Avoid 1-10 going

through La. they still haven't capped that well blow out that has

been out of control for weeks now., and has shut the freeway down.

[Wiley Post]

Did not realize B. was a lady. Very sorry.

Headed back to Arkansas. Pa needs me to work on the cars as it is time to transport moonshine for Christmas.

[Dan]

BH, again you libel yourself.

[Dan]

People besides B. Humphries use humor. She does not have that market cornered. Get over it. Life goes on.

[George Custer]

B. Humphries, your comments have certainly not added one iota to a logical relevant discussion.

Your slanderous & libelous comments about 4-7's could certainly get you in hot water. Your comments have been none to kind, so don't cast stones as you carry around as much sin as anyone posting on this stupid blog.