Barnett Shale

FWCanDo's Young unhappy with Meadowbrook deal

Don Young, head of FWCanDo (Fort Worth Citizens Against Neighborhood Drilling Ordinance), isn't happy with the Greater Meadowbrook Mineral Leasing Task Force's decision to recommend a gas lease deal with XTO Energy.

He notes FWCanDo's genesis was in the Meadowbrook area of east Fort Worth. "Eastsiders were informed early on about environmental and safety tradeoffs that erase much of the expected windfall," he writes on FWCanDo's blog. "We pulled back the veils on corrupt elected officials and their industry-friendly ordinance. We scoffed at hte misleaing language of industry ad campaigns. We questioned the ethical lapses of our daily newspaper. We knew about the risk that gas drilling posed to our neighborhood integrity."

For these reasons, he writes he expected the Meadowbrook task force to tell any interested gas companies to "take their gas wells and shove 'em." Click here to visit Young's blog.

-- Scott Nishimura

(Photo: Young at a 2005 protest in east Fort Worth)

Art contest names its winners

FWCanDo (Fort Worth Citizens Against Neighborhood Drilling Ordinance) has named the three winners of its Buzzworms art contest, in which it sought entries depicting the impact of urban drilling.

The winners, from left: first place, "A Long, Slow Goodbye," Jennifer Danson, clay, oil and water, $500 prize; second place, "Abandoned Oilfield," Joel Kiser, ceramics and steel, $300; third place, "One Smart Canary," Lori Thomson, mixed media, $150. (The canary, wearing a gas mask, is doing its business on top of a gas lease.) Click on the photos above for enlarged images.

Entries from the contest are now on display at the Fort Worth Community Arts Center.

-- Scott

FWCanDo revamps site

FWCanDo, Fort Worth Citizens Against Neighborhood Drilling Ordinance, has revamped its site. Click here to check it out.

-- Scott

Barnett Shale resources

CURIOUS ABOUT THE BARNETT SHALE? HERE ARE SOME USEFUL LINKS:

CORPORATE

Carrizo Oil and Gas

www.askchesapeake.com (Chesapeake Energy site)

Colt Exploration

Dale Resources

Fleet Oil and Gas

Harding Co.

Holland Acquisitions

Paloma Oil and Gas

Potestas Corp.

Western Production Co.

XTO Energy

DRILLING ORDINANCES

Arlington (includes city gas drilling resource page)

Bedford (city's gas drilling page, including ordinance and property owner Q&A)

Bedford  (city's comparison of provisions in several area drilling ordinances)

Colleyville (city web site)

Fort Worth (includes city gas drilling resource page)

Grapevine (Type "gas drilling" in the search bar to find the ordinance)

ECONOMIC IMPACT/ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Barnett Shale Economic Impact Study, Ray Perryman, 2007

The Economic and Fiscal Impacts of Devon Energy in Denton, Tarrant and Wise Counties, Bernard Weinstein and Terry Clower, University of North Texas, 2004

Public Perception of the Natural Gas Industry: Insights from Two Barnett Shale Counties, Sam Houston State University, 2007 (Johnson County results, Wise County results)

Credit FAQ: Why the Barnett Shale Gas Basin Could Benefit Texas Municipalities, Standard & Poor's, 2008

LEASE FORMS

Leases negotiated by the Berkeley Place, Ryan Place, Mistletoe Heights, and Tanglewood neighborhoods in Fort Worth

NEIGHBORHOODS

Arlington Neighborhood Network, City of Arlington site. Includes updated contact info.

Arlington neighborhoods, neighborhoodlink.com. Spotty, but includes some info, such as neighborhood association email addresses, that isn't on the city site.

Bedford neighborhood associations, City of Bedford site, includes updated contact info.

Benbrook neighborhood associations, City of Benbrook site. Includes updated contact info.

Colleyville neighborhood associations, City of Colleyville site, includes updated contact info.

Fort Worth neighborhood database, City of Fort Worth site. Includes updated contact info.

Grapevine homeowner associations. City of Grapevine site. Includes contact info.

Neighborhoodlink.com

ORGANIZATIONS

Barnett Shale Energy Education Council

Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods Gas Drilling Resource Page, including "Tips for Neighborhoods Negotiating Gas Leases."

FWCanDo (Fort Worth Citizens Against Gas Drilling Ordinance)

Texas Land and Mineral Association (represents mineral rights owner)

Trinitytrees.org

PUBLICATIONS

pegasusnews.com

Powell Barnett Shale Newsletter (paid subscription)

Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University (oil and gas publications)

texasinsider.org

GOVERNMENT

Railroad Commission of Texas, includes Barnett Shale resource page, information on regulations.

Tarrant County public records site (Includes lease/lease memo lookup so you can check out how many leases energy companies are filing in Tarrant County, and where.)

ROYALTY CALCULATOR

Fort Worth League of Neighborhoods gas resource drilling page

CONTINUING EDUCATION

TCU Energy Institute's Petroleum Land Practices Program

KNOW OF A GREAT LINK THAT'S NOT LISTED HERE? Let us know about it! snishimura@star-telegram.com