Barnett Shale

Overton, Southwest Fort Worth Alliance groups endorse leases

XTO Energy and newcomer Vantage Energy have won the latest endorsements from southwest Fort Worth homeowners groups representing thousands of property owners. The Overton Park and Overton West neighborhood associations, representing more than 800 homes covering about 350 acres, have set a Tuesday signing for a proposed contract with XTO and its agent, Holland Acquisitions. That lease offers a signing bonus of $25,000 an acre and a 25 percent royalty rate. And Southwest Fort Worth Alliance, representing more than 6,000 acres, has started information meetings on its deal with Vantage Energy and Caffey Group, which offers $27,500 an acre and 23 percent royalty.

XTO offered drill sites in locations that should minimize traffic disruptions and met safety concerns sought by residents, neighborhood organizers said. Bob Dellamura, president of the Overton Park Neighborhood Association, said the lease is an improved version of one XTO signed last year with nearby Tanglewood Neighborhood Association, and XTO’s presence in the area made it an attractive choice. XTO also agreed to donate a total of $70,000 to the neighborhood associations and improvement projects when it obtains leases covering 85 percent of the area. The neighborhoods are generally north of Southwest Loop 820, east of Hulen Street and west of Granbury Road. Those two neighborhoods were previously part of Southwest Fort Worth Alliance, but went their own way after Alliance leadership clammed up as if their talks were state secrets. The northern end of Foster Park, while also officially part of the Alliance, likewise can go its own way and join the Overton/XTO lease. Alliance leaders eventually released details of their lease Monday morning. The group says its three-year deal includes provisions to protect property owners within 1,000 feet of certain operations.

-- Jim Fuquay

Westcliff West and Foster Park (FW) mulling offers

We told readers in the print edition of the Star-Telegram on Thursday that the Westcliff West neighborhood group in southwest Fort Worth is currently mulling an offer from Chesapeake Energy that includes a $16,500-per-acre bonus, a 25 percent royalty and a five-year term.

It's come to our attention that it's actually Four Sevens who is serving as the land agent for Chesapeake on that offer, not Dale Resources.

At this point, there's not competition in that neighborhood, said Marc Meadows, one of the negotiating leaders for Westcliff West. But keep in mind what XTO Energy is doing, he said.  Fort Worth-based XTO has made an offer to the nearby Foster Park neighborhood for a $21,000-per-acre bonus on an initial three-year term and a $15,000-per-acre bonus for an additional two-year option, and a 26 percent royalty.

For background, here's what we've said in the past about Foster Park.

And, here's background on Westcliff West.

"Things are getting a little juicier," Meadows said.

He said he's been told that Chesapeake would meet or beat that offer for Westcliff West, even though it technically hasn't been offered by XTO to his neighborhood.

If that's the case, Meadows' negotiating committee for Westcliff West would recommend signing that kind of a deal, he said.

We'll wait and see.

--David Wethe

Better offer for Westcliff West, Foster Park (FW)

Property owners in the Westcliff West and Foster Park neighborhoods are mulling over an improved offer from Chesapeake Energy of $16,500-per-acre signing bonus and a 25 percent royalty. The offered term is five years.

The offer is a significant improvement over the $10,000-per-acre bonuses that Westcliff West homeowners already had, and the $3,000-per-acre bonuses that Foster Park initially was offered last year.

The Westcliff and Foster Park associations have been working together.

"A new drill site is in play at the Southcliff Shopping Center at Granbury and I-20," Marc Meadows, Westcliff West's gas committee chair, said in a flier to homeowners. "Previous to this site, many of us on the interior of Westcliff West were not reachable by the four drill sites surrounding us."

The homeowners are negotiating with attorneys on a community lease. "We will soon offer this as a lease to be used by anyone," Meadows said. "It is still possible that Chesapeake could offer more money, but each homeowner is responsible for his own land."

Here's a link to the Foster Park gas lease site.

-- Scott Nishimura

(Photos: Fourth of July Parade, Westcliff West; Foster Park)

Chesapeake reportedly raises Westcliff West bonus

A homeowner in Westcliff West reported receiving a new lease offer from Chesapeake Energy offering a bonus of $9,000 per acre and 22 percent royalty. The company's previous offer was $3,000 an acre and 25 percent royalty. The homeowner said two others on Hill Top Road received the same new offer.

-- Jim

Foster Park, Westcliff West mull lease offers

Residents in the South Side Fort Worth neighborhoods of Foster Park and Westcliff West are noodling over lease offers from Four Sevens. The offers call for a signing bonus of $3,000 per acre and $500 minimum, a three-year term with a two-year renewal option, 25 percent royalty, and no surface access rights.

At least some Foster Park residents received an initial offer with a cover letter offering a $5,000 per-acre bonus, but Four Sevens followed that up with another letter, saying the $5k bonus was incorrect. Reportedly, a few Westcliff West residents nearest Texas Christian University received the $5,000 an acre bonus when Four Sevens was wrapping up the TCU lease.

The neighboring Tanglewood association recently negotiated a neighborhood-area-leading $10,000-per-acre lot bonus with XTO Energy and Vargas Energy, which is affiliated with Fort Worth's Edwards family, which developed land along South Hulen Street. The Ryan Place, Berkeley Place, and Mistletoe Heights associations followed, negotiating similar with XTO and Fort Worth Energy.

-- Scott and Jim

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