The Bubble Has Landed

fishcreek1269 LANDMEN played a MAJOR ROLE in the #BarnettShale using aggressive tactics. @brett_shipp crooksandliars.com/karoli/when-ga…
— Westchester Gasette (@WCGasette) February 20, 2013

Click here to Read All About the Shale Bubble

It's a Hurricane

A LANDMAN on the Arlington, TX City Council?? 
 Or What Is It, Pray Tell?

The Councilman does have a very nice résumé.

Here's how you, too, can become a landman:

A landman is an agent hired by gas companies to negotiate with landowners in order to get a lease signed at the lowest possible price per acre with the lowest possible royalty payments for any extracted gas.

In a section titled "Talking Points for Selling Oil and Gas Lease Rights," the "Landman’s Manual" explains in detail how landmen should talk to landowners, what topics they should talk about and what topics to avoid. The manual says that "successful field agents understand what points to focus on so the benefits outweigh the cons."

According to the manual, most landowners don’t know the difference between hydraulic fracturing and slick water hydraulic fracturing. The landmen are told to use this fact to their advantage, but to avoid the topic if a landowner does know about slick water fracturing.

[...]

The manual stresses the importance of telling landowners that China bought more oil than the U.S. last year.

"Fear of foreign encroachment is the biggest asset we have in selling our development strategy," it states.

Whenever the conversation with a landowner turns to local issues or environmental hazards, the landmen are instructed to reiterate the fact that China bought more gas than the U.S. last year.

Landmen are told to avoid talking about property values. According to the manual, multiple studies have found that property values decrease for land with oil and gas leases on the property and several major banks have stopped issuing mortgages on these properties. If backed into this issue, the landmen are told to "talk about the potential revenues and the overall needs of the nation" and to once again reiterate the point that China bought more gas than the U.S. last year.

The manual instructs the landmen to talk to men whenever possible because "men are more likely to sign than women. Men don’t like to believe that they know less than you do, so they are less likely to ask questions."

Oh, those landmen.  They just don't want to talk to women!  So, what is it? I mean, what the frack is going on?? $$

Tuesday Night at Theo's

Seen and Overheard Last Night

After the 3 1/2 Hour Grand Prairie City Council Work Session on the Proposed *New* Shale Gas Drilling Ordinance ~ Chesapeake representatives* Gas company contractors were later overheard discussing and dissing the work session and individual City Council members... 

and big-time dissing of

Environmental Services Director, Jim Cummings. 

Chesapeake reps Gas company contractors said they were "overall" very happy ~ especially with Greg Giessner and Mark Hepworth. Must have had something to do with their wanting to keep the minimum setback for pad sites at 500 ft.

Apparently, Councilman Giessner (At-Large Rep for Grand Prairie, TX) and Councilman Hepworth (District 1 Rep for Grand Prairie's Northern Sector) are Chesapeake's shale gas drilling contractors' new best friends. That's OK. To each his own.

Westchester-Grand Prairie Community Alliance would like to especially thank Mayor Charles England for his statements that were very supportive of  the concerns of the Alliance. Thank you, Mayor England.

And sometimes...

Some politicians just don't get it.  But that's what elections are for. 

Interesting, this.

P.S. Chesapeake Shale gas contractors may want to know that members of the Grand Prairie community who are very informed about shale gas drilling sometimes go to Theo's. And sometimes they can't help but overhear conversations at adjacent tables. Just a few points to ponder.

*Correction:  Apologies to Chesapeake Energy. We cannot confirm that the contractors were associated with Chesapeake. They were dressed very nicely and looked very professional.  They certainly didn't sound very professional. So, it's good to know (from Laura Patton, Public Affairs Supervisor for the City of Grand Prairie/Chesapeake) that none of their reps were at Theo's Tuesday night. WHEW!