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A major natural gas exploration and drilling company has leased more than 62,000 acres of property in Wayne County over the past two weeks, an investment indicating that the county may be on its way to actually seeing energy development here.
Principals of the Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance, a massive landowners group that came together to enhance bargaining power with the drilling industry, have reached a final lease agreement with global-energy giant Hess Corporation after months of negotiation with other companies.
Although a spokesperson with the alliance could not be reached for comment by press time, the group’s website clearly says that “more than 62,000 acres in leases were signed in the last couple weeks (with Hess) and there are still more acres coming in,” according to a post made last Tuesday.
Wayne County has 488,320 acres of land; the acreage included by this recent lease transaction total at least 12.7 percent of that area.
Hess Corporation has natural gas development operations throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa. The company is notably engaged in deepwater energy development in the Gulf of Mexico.
A natural-gas lease gives a prospective company the right to explore and possibly drill for natural gas on private property along with outlining a royalty rate, among other provisions. Chesapeake Appalachia, of West Virginia, has also secured an extensive leasehold in Wayne County; so have other natural gas exploration and development companies.
The companies are targeting the natural-gas rich Marcellus Shale, a rock formation packed with the energy commodity and located more than a mile below the surface. (see related article online).
The estimated 85,000 acre property owners alliance, which has holdings mostly in northern Wayne County that also seep into Susquehanna County, reached a tentative agreement with Hess Corporation in July after the principals agreed to lease terms. The company has now begun “doing some courthouse work in (property) title clearance” and accepting signed leases from landowners.
“That is good news. It has begun. It is a lions task to do because there are more than 2600 parcels to research,” the most recent post said. “That does not mean we have that many members but some of you own more than one piece of land ... has to be searched. It has to take place in the Wayne County court house and the Susquehanna court house as well.”
The county has seen practically no development activity - thus far - with only two wells drilled recently, a situation quite different than ramped operations in other areas of the Commonwealth including Susquehanna and Bradford counties.
A few drilling permits have been issued in the county this year by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Companies must also seek environmental review from the Delaware River Basin Commission, which has yet to approve a natural-gas development operation in Wayne County.
A major natural gas exploration and drilling company has leased more than 62,000 acres of property in Wayne County over the past two weeks, an investment indicating that the county may be on its way to actually seeing energy development here.
Principals of the Northern Wayne Property Owners Alliance, a massive landowners group that came together to enhance bargaining power with the drilling industry, have reached a final lease agreement with global-energy giant Hess Corporation after months of negotiation with other companies.
Although a spokesperson with the alliance could not be reached for comment by press time, the group’s website clearly says that “more than 62,000 acres in leases were signed in the last couple weeks (with Hess) and there are still more acres coming in,” according to a post made last Tuesday.
Wayne County has 488,320 acres of land; the acreage included by this recent lease transaction total at least 12.7 percent of that area.
Hess Corporation has natural gas development operations throughout the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Africa. The company is notably engaged in deepwater energy development in the Gulf of Mexico.
A natural-gas lease gives a prospective company the right to explore and possibly drill for natural gas on private property along with outlining a royalty rate, among other provisions. Chesapeake Appalachia, of West Virginia, has also secured an extensive leasehold in Wayne County; so have other natural gas exploration and development companies.
The companies are targeting the natural-gas rich Marcellus Shale, a rock formation packed with the energy commodity and located more than a mile below the surface. (see related article online).
The estimated 85,000 acre property owners alliance, which has holdings mostly in northern Wayne County that also seep into Susquehanna County, reached a tentative agreement with Hess Corporation in July after the principals agreed to lease terms. The company has now begun “doing some courthouse work in (property) title clearance” and accepting signed leases from landowners.
“That is good news. It has begun. It is a lions task to do because there are more than 2600 parcels to research,” the most recent post said. “That does not mean we have that many members but some of you own more than one piece of land ... has to be searched. It has to take place in the Wayne County court house and the Susquehanna court house as well.”
The county has seen practically no development activity - thus far - with only two wells drilled recently, a situation quite different than ramped operations in other areas of the Commonwealth including Susquehanna and Bradford counties.
A few drilling permits have been issued in the county this year by the state Department of Environmental Protection. Companies must also seek environmental review from the Delaware River Basin Commission, which has yet to approve a natural-gas development operation in Wayne County.
