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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on September 13, 2024 at 8:25

The notice letters are sent to all "Interested Parties" as evidenced in the parish public records and those immediately adjacent to a distance of 1000' although they are not included in the units that Petro-Chem applies to create.  The local hearing is a waste of time unless you have a geological issue to raise and a certified geologist to defend it.  I suggest that it is not worth the time to request or attend.  The application, once approved, becomes a Field Order and allows Petro-Chem to force pool all interests within the boundary of the units.  That is leased mineral owners, unleased mineral owners and any parties with a working interest (those who hold leases but not not operate the  wells that may be drilled).  All those parties will share in the production from any and all unit wells although the regulations covering how they share are different for each.  The bottom line is that everyone within a unit will receive their prorated share of unit production regardless of the number of unit wells drilled or where in the unit they are drilled.  Peto-Chem is one of the last active independent O&G companies in our part of the world.  I suggest that your let them drill you some wells and hope those wells are productive.  Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by J. Boyd on September 13, 2024 at 8:48

Thanks Skip;

I appreciate your quick reply. As always your insights are always valuable.

Jim

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant on September 13, 2024 at 10:56

You're welcome, J. Boyd.  I'm glad that Petro-Chem is still drilling wells and wish them luck also.

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Permalink Reply by William Arnold yesterday

Concur with Skip that it is not worth it to try to get a public hearing unless you have some strong info to support your position. I was able to get a hearing scheduled several years ago questioning the need to have some Haynesville units near the Texas line almost 1000 acres by combining sections. It was obvious the state folks were in bed with the drilling companies and were not going to seriously consider the concerns of the land owners.

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Permalink Reply by Skip Peel - Mineral Consultant yesterday

Owing to the fact that the most westerly sections in the northern 16W townships are half sections bisected by the Texas/Louisiana state line,  there are a number of Haynesville shale drilling and production units that are a section and a half in size and therefore approximately 960 acres in total.  In the early years of the play with spacing at 660' between wells, those units could have 12 well slots.  Now that the industry has moved to wider spacing the distance between wells is about 880' so a state line unit would get 9 well slots.  Any objection to those units would not have a geologic reason for the state to reject an application to form a drilling unit.

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