Chesapeake squeezes landowners on costs amid cash crunch

[white cloud]

Donna Thornton made sure to include a no-cost provision in her contract with Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) that let the driller harvest natural gas beneath 2.5 acres of her property in Louisiana.

Thinking she had excluded production and marketing expenses and would therefore secure higher royalty payments, the Texas accountant said she was shocked when she confirmed in July that the second-biggest U.S. gas producer was passing costs on to her. For Thornton and thousands more owners of mineral rights in the U.S., “no-costs” in drilling leases has taken on new meaning.

As gas prices were heading toward a 10-year low in April, Chesapeake began reinterpreting in its favor thousands of contracts with landowners from Pennsylvania to Texas that own the 1 trillion cubic feet of gas the company produced last year, according to interviews and documents reviewed by Bloomberg. Chesapeake, arguing that other contract language allows for cost deductions, is fighting more than a dozen lawsuits.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2012/08/31/chesapeake-squeezes-landowners-on-costs-amid-cash-crunch/?utm_source=WhatCountsEmail&utm_medium=FuelFix&utm_campaign=FuelFixNewsLetter

[Paladin]

1. Helpful Advice In Such Circumstances:

1. Have an experienced oil and gas attorney look over any lease instruments you're furnished with. It will be money well spent. Leases are drafted to benefit oil and gas companies, by and large.

2. Don't have any dealings with Chesapeake Energy.

I was in the business for over three decades; I know whereof I speak......