Barnett Shale

TCU offers land practices certificate again this year

TCU's Energy Institute is offering its next Petroleum Land Practices Certificate program this Winter and Spring.

The 55-hour course is for people "interested in learning the facts, legalities, resources, negotiation skills and in-depth knowledge" to succeed as a landman.

Two sets of classes are available. The first is Jan. 29-March 6 and meets Tuesday and Thursday nights. The second is May 19-22 and June 9-10 and meets Monday-Thursday during the day. Classes are at TCU's Tandy Center for Executive Leadership.

Coursework includes homework, exams, class discussion, panels, and a required field trip to the courthouse.

Cost is $4,900, and discounts apply for early registrants, TCU alumni, and three or more participants from the same organization. The Early Bird registration deadline is Monday Jan. 7. Click here for more information on the program.

TCU began offering the program last fall, with the growth of the Barnett Shale and the boom in gas drilling elsewhere.

The Energy Institute is also offering a four-hour Extended Education course entitled "Barnett Shale:Facts, Myths and Opportunities," twice in the next four months, in February and April. Cost: $100.

-- Scott Nishimura

Chesapeake gets three permits for TCU site

Chesapeake Energy has received three drilling permits from the Texas Railroad Commission for its lease on the Texas Christian University campus. According to Railroad Commission records, the three wells will be drilled from the previously announced location of a parking lot just north of the school's football stadium. Each will travel roughly 2,200 feet to the east, nearly to University Boulevard, according to Chesapeake's applications with the commission. Although the wells originate from the same site, their well bores will be about 500 feet apart as they pass through the Barnett Shale, according to the permits, which were granted Nov. 16.

Chesapeake has not yet received a drilling permit from the city of Fort Worth, but Fort Worth Gas Well Inspector David Lunsford said he expects the company to apply for a drilling permit by January. When TCU announced in August that it had signed a mineral rights lease with Four Sevens Energy, which works on behalf of Chesapeake in Fort Worth, the school said it would allow drilling only between Jan. 10 and July 31, to avoid conflicts with use of the stadium for football games.

"The permit will be high impact with waivers if all required waivers may be obtained," Lunsford said. According to Chesapeake's permit, the drilling rig will be 533 feet from the north boundary of its lease. The city requires that drillers get a waiver from the owner of an occupied building within 600 feet of a drilling rig.

-- Jim and Mike

Few rules in lease negotiations...

This is a general response to the point about different neighborhoods receiving different lease offers. There is no such thing as a "standard" bonus payment, nor a "standard" royalty payment. Every single term in a lease is negotiable, including where the drill site is located.

Two big variables affect how rich a lease a property owner can command. One is negotiating from a position of strength, whether because the landowner controls a lot of acreage in a desirable location or is part of a group of landowners who work together. The second is the level of competition for the property. That's why Dallas/Fort Worth Airport, country clubs, municipalities and well-organized neighborhoods have won the best lease terms: They control a lot of land and they manage to drum up strong competitive bidding for their property.

In general, lease terms have become richer as the Tarrant County portion of the Barnett Shale has developed and has proved to be one of the richest portions of the field. Judging by reports we have reported in the Star-Telegram, lease terms have gone from about a 20 percent royalty and a bonus based on about $2,000 an acre or less, to about a 25 percent royalty and a bonus ranging from about $4,000 an acre or more.

Click here to read about the details of Woodhaven's community lease.

Click here to read the details of Dallas/Fort Worth Airport's gas drilling deal.

Click here to read the details of the Tarrant Regional Water District's gas drilling deal.

Click here to read about TCU's gas drilling deal.

Click here to read about Colonial Country Club's gas drilling deal.

Click here to read about the University of Texas at Arlington's gas drilling deal.

-- Jim Fuquay