Barnett Shale

XTO tries to move in on Chesapeake's Haltom deal

Folks in Haltom City are in a tizzy these days because XTO Energy is trying to upend the Haltom City Joint Neighorhood Committee's deal with Chesapeake Energy.

-- Scott Nishimura

XTO Energy offers leases in Haltom City

An S-T staffer who lives in Haltom City's Browning Heights neighborhood says XTO Energy has now entered the leasing picture there, joining two competitors for leases.

A postcard received on Monday advertised an offer that appeared to match a previous offer by Dale Resources. The terms: $12,500 per net mineral acre, 25 percent royalty, and a 3-year primary term with 2 year option at $10,000 per acre.

The postcard reads: "XTO wishes to announce the expansion of its Barnett Shale leasing project to include the Haltom City Area of Tarrant County, Texas. Please contact us for more information."

-- Scott Nishimura

Offers getting better in Haltom City, group forming

Lease offers are suddenly getting better in Haltom City's Browning Heights neighborhood, after slumbering for several months.

Over the weekend, Dale Resources drove up with a new offer, this time at $12,500 per acre and a 25 percent royalty mailed to property owners.

Last week, a property owner tipped us off to a lease offer from Dale that included a $5,000-per-acre bonus in Browning Heights. While property owners might sniff at that, it was a significant improvement over offers that went out last fall from another company.

Turns out, a group calling itself the Haltom City Joint Neighborhood Committee (click here for information on joining, and for updates from it), has been talking to Dale. The group reports on its web site that Dale's offers had moved up to $10,000 per acre in recent weeks, and that Dale told the group it was going to go ahead and mail the latest new offers directly to property owners.

"We request that you please disregard this mailing by Dale if you receive one," the group says.

-- Scott Nishimura

Better offers going out in Haltom City

A property owner in Haltom City's Browning Heights neighborhood (we did a drive-by blog post on this neighborhood last fall) reports offers are getting better. Dale Resources, on behalf of Chesapeake Energy, is now offering a $5,000 per-acre bonus, 20 percent royalty, and 5-year primary term. That's up from a $1,000 bonus. Dale also has some competition in the area from Snow Oil Co. (See the aforementioned earlier blog post.) This property owner is looking for an opportunity to organize.

As we like to say, please feel free to use the comments section on this blog post to start the conversation.

-- Scott Nishimura

Bedford, NRH, Haltom City getting offers

The Bedford City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on a new ordinance that would allow gas drilling in the city.

Lease offers apparently are already drifting into the city. A Bedford homeowner living near Harris HEB Hospital, between Texas 183 and Highway 10, reports to Blogging the Barnett Shale that she's just received a lease offer from Dale Resources. Dale, acting on behalf of Chesapeake Energy, proposed a $2,000-per-acre signing bonus, $400 minimum, 20 percent royalty, 5-year term, and no surface access rights.

As neighborhood leasing has spread, Bedford officials began to debate whether to change the city's unusual ordinance that banned drilling. Thursday, the council scheduled the new ordinance for a vote at their regular meeting, 7 p.m. Tuesday at the City Hall. The ordinance allows drilling, but regulates it to protect the city's neighborhoods.

Blogging the Barnett Shale is also hearing that more lease offers are popping up elsewhere in Northeast Tarrant County.

A homeowner in the Smithfield Acres neighborhood, between Smithfield and Davis Boulevard, in North Richland Hills reports an inquiry from a land broker acting on behalf of Chesapeake. The Smithfield lots are unusual, about a half-acre in size. The broker didn't specify terms in his letter, but invited the homeowner to call back. Drilling is underway elsewhere in North Richland Hills.

And this just in from an S-T staffer who lives north of Broadway and west of Haltom Road in Haltom City: she reports a landman acting on behalf of Snow Oil Co. in Fort Worth dropped a letter in her mailbox Wednesday. It offered a signing bonus of $405 (she says she has a quarter-acre lot), with no specifics on royalty or term. The letter invites the property owner to come by Snow's office to sign up, and promises the bonus would be paid immediately upon signing.

--- Scott

(Photo: High school football at Pennington Field)