North Carolina Oil and Gas offers individuals the opportunity to join a group of concerned North Carolinians for the purpose of increasing our strength and negotiating power in lease negotiations with Oil & Gas Companies.
Recent and not so recent events point to the fact that there may be commercially viable quantities of Shale Gas under parts of Lee County. As landowners, our concerns are both environmental as well as financial. We want to know that if someone drills on our property they will do so in an environmentally friendly way. We also want to know what company we are going to be dealing with long term. It is not uncommon for a lease to change hands 4 or 5 times before the property is ultimately drilled. And certainly, we are concerned about the bonus payments and royalties we would receive.
NCOG gives its members a voice in the negotiating process.
There is strength in numbers:
Oil and Gas companies are approaching landowners one at a time in hopes of securing lucrative drilling rights that may not be in the best interest of landowners. The more land and landowners NCOG collectively represents, the greater our negotiating strength will be. Think for a moment about a landowner with 15 or 20 acres or even 500 acres and his ability to negotiate better lease terms. Now imagine the negotiating power NCOG will command representing a group of landowners with thousands of acres. You can quickly see what we mean by “Strength in Numbers”.
There is strength in knowledge:
Knowing what questions to ask makes all the difference when it comes to negotiating an Oil and Gas Lease. Those who attended the Agriculture Center meeting this past June will recall Ted Feitshans, an attorney and Extension Specialist with the Agricultural and Resource Economics Department stating, “if you are considering entering into a Oil and Gas lease with any company, and doing so without the counsel of an Oil and Gas Attorney you are making a terrible mistake”.
Now imagine having someone to guide you through the process, someone who knows the right questions to ask. We have retained the services of Jim Mills, an Oil and Gas Attorney who has been practicing law for over 30 years. Jim is someone we consult with on a regular basis and he has been involved in negotiating mineral and oil leases on national park and refuge lands as well as consulting on offshore mineral and oil leasing matters. Jim knows how to deal with large Oil and Gas Companies. He knows that negotiating the bonus payments and royalties are important but he also knows that the Pooling Clauses, Assignment Clauses, and the protection of your surface rights can be just as important. These are just some of the items Jim will help negotiate. This is what we mean by “Strength in Knowledge”.
Again, NCOG is able to negotiate the best deals on behalf of our landowners, better than they could if they go it alone. Contact us today to learn more about the NCOG engagement program and how we can help you secure a better lease agreement with Oil & Gas Companies.
Lease vs. Engagement Agreement-Let the Buyer Beware!
Lease
Our competitors are asking you to sign a Lease now before material events have occurred that could substantially increase the Bonus Payments and Royalties you could eventually receive. Legislation allowing Horizontal Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing would definitely have an impact on what Bonus Payments and Royalties you would receive. It is not in your best interest to sign a Lease at this point and as landowners that is the decision we made. NCOG gives you an alternative to signing a lease.
Engagement Agreement
Our Engagement Agreement is different. We are not asking you to commit to specific terms now before these material events take place. It is Imperative however that we mobilize now before these events occur so that we can have a bigger voice and be a part of the process. It is only by working as a group that we will have the power to influence the terms of the eventual lease.
Advantages to the Engagement Agreement:
- You do not cap or in any way limit your Bonus Payments or Royalties
- You gain negotiating power by working with other landowners.
- You gain the power of knowledge when you partner with NCOG and our network of advisors including our attorneys, the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO), retired oil and gas executives, local, state and national geologist, etc. through this process
