America’s natural gas prospects continued to brighten when Fortuna Energy announced that it will pay $165 million to a coalition of landowners in Pennsylvania and New York for drilling rights in the massive Marcellus Shale. The five-year deal covers 30,000 acres at $5,500 per acre, plus royalties. Fortuna is a subsidiary of Calgary-based Talisman Energy.
In addition to the lease payments, the Friendsville Group, which is made up of 600 property owners in Susquehanna and Bradford counties in Pennsylvania, and Broome County, New York, will receive 20 percent royalties from producing wells. Individual owners have the option to extend their leases for another three years, making it a “one-size-fits-all” deal, according to landowner Pat Flaherty, who helped negotiate the deal.
Other perks to landowners in the deal include approval of developmental plans as well as retaining rights to other minerals on the property.
“It’s by far the best offer we’ve seen,” said Larry Barrack, a Pennsylvania property owner who spoke with Gannett reporter George Basler.