Welcome!
You've found the Lake Ridge Area Property Owners (LARAPO) Home page.
Beginning in the Fall of 2010, for recent news PLEASE visit the NEWS AND EVENTS BLOG. Although gas leasing activity has cooled substantially this year, there are ongoing legal activities that affect drilling in our area. Chesapeake vs City of Grand Prairie; Bernie Madoff ties to Gas Leasing around Joe Pool Lake, etc. We will keep you posted as we learn more about these items.
This site is provided by volunteers in the Lake Ridge Area who have organized in response to gas exploration in our area. The site is moderated by neighborhood leaders of the Lake Ridge Area Property Owners (LARAPO) in SW Dallas County.
As of January 2009, we have over 450 members in our coalition.
Our home page seeks to answer the following questions
► Who we are
► Where we are located
► What we know (see Map of Drilling in Our Area) and UPDATES
► What we are doing
►What you can do
► Feedback -- Let us hear from you
Who we are
LARAPO was formed in July 2008. Our purpose is to organize a coalition of independent property owners to develop resources and capabilities for the purpose of entering into negotiations of mineral leases. We anticipate these negotiations will involve concerns to all of us and hope to facilitate the process by providing a means of communicating those concerns. We believe by joining together in our efforts we will be able to negotiate the best terms possible.
Many of us have been asked to sign permits to allow seismic readings on our property. It follows that we will be approached concerning our mineral rights. If you are one of those neighbors, we encourage you to join our coalition before you sign any agreements. Our research into leases has shown that there is power in numbers. To join, go to the "Registration Form" on the Join Us! page.
Where we are located
Geographically, we are bounded on the west by Joe Pool Lake in Grand Prairie, on the east by the Cedar Hill Escarpment, to the north by Cedar Hill State Park, and to the south by the Lake Ridge subdivision. We lie on the eastern edge of the Barnett Shale. (Map below is a rough depiction for illustration purposes only.)
 The largest portion of this area contains the Property Owners Association of Lake Ridge, or POALR. Other neighborhood areas lie in this area as well: High Pointe, Beltline, Sleepy Hollow and Wildwood. Each of these neighborhoods is impacted in a variety of ways by the prospect of gas drilling.
The Barnett Shale is a large geologic formation covering over 5,000 square miles in 19 counties. Experts believe it may hold over 30 Trillion cubic feet of natural gas resources. Leasing and drilling activity has increased exponentially in recent years as technological advances, cost reductions and natural gas price increases have made drilling economics significantly more attractive.
What we know
In the Lake Ridge area, Dawson Geophysical is conducting surface seismic preparations on behalf of Chesapeake Energy. In 2007, a seismic survey was completed in Lake Ridge on the right of ways and in the southern areas bordering along the Ellis County Line. Since then, Chesapeake has contracted with Dawson to complete seismic survey of the escarpment area (High Pointe, Sleepy Hollow and Beltline neighborhoods) and the northern section of Lake Ridge.
Many of us have been approached to sign permits to conduct seismic tests to determine where the gas reserves from the Barnett Shale, lie below our properties. Dawson estimates seismic testing will take approximately ten days, once they set up on the property. The more people that authorize this test, the more accurate the seismic test results and their geographic map will be. This permit to conduct seismic tests is NOT a mineral lease.
Signing the seismic permit is NOT required in order to enter into a mineral lease.
The contract to extract the minerals (gas) is called the mineral lease. The terms of the mineral lease agreement depend on the mineral estate retained by the property owner (percentage of mineral rights) and other factors. Drilling companies may offer lease agreements with property owners who have mineral rights on their land. At some point, these property owners may need to decide whether to sign a mineral lease agreement.
We know that companies are actively seeking mineral rights in our area. According to public records, Chesapeake Exploration, LLC, and DDJet Ltd., LLP, have negotiated mineral leases in our area.
We know that Cedar Hill ISD and the City of Grand Prairie have both entered into mineral leases for land in our area. Cedar Hill ISD negotiated a lease for the school properties including the ninth grade center and Lake Ridge Elementary. Grand Prairie negotiated a lease for Tangle Ridge Golf Course. We also know that the Dancigar Trust drilling permit was issued for three holes, which were recently completed just south of the golf course in Lake Ridge's Preserve area. We also know that DDJET has bid for a permit to drill in the "Towers" area where the radio/TV towers are located. We also know that Chesapeake has entered into leases with the Audobon Society and Northwood University. As recently as January 2009, they sought a zoning change in Cedar Hill that would have allowed drilling. The City's P&Z commission tabled the request and the City is now reviewing their ordinances regarding drilling.
Negotiating a mineral lease and attempting to decipher the lease terminology is a daunting task for most property owners. Concerns include the intital lease signing payment, the length of the lease, having an option to renew the lease with specified terms, the shut-in provisions, the surface use provisions, having the first right of refusal, bonuses, royalties, ensuring that costs are not deducted from royalties, and more. Numerous property owners in the Lake Ridge area have expressed an interest in joining together as a large and strong united group to collectively negotiate the mineral leases with the energy company.
Gas drilling is here; it is a part of our lives; we hope to see that the outcome of this process is beneficial and conducted in the best possible manner.
Current Updates
August 2010 - Dawson completed the seismic testing in Grand Prairie (north of Tangle Ridge Golf Course) and portions of Cedar Hill.
Cedar Hill officials continue to consider the Gas Drilling Committee's recommended changes to their ordinances.
May 2010 -- For those of you who have signed a release to allow Dawson to conduct testing, Dawson Geophysical will begin seismic testing on specific properties in Lake Ridge, mostly in the Grand Prairie City Limits, north of Tangle Ridge Golf Course.
For a map, go to "Image Gallery" tab. Residents in Cedar Hill city limits on this map can anticipate work beginning later due to the lengthy authorization process with the City of Cedar Hill.
February 2010 -- A member of the Lake Ridge Area Property Owners has forwarded a lease that was mailed to them. The lease verbiage indicates the area is designated as the North Lake Ridge area.
This broker has requested a private one on one meeting with the land owner. The broker is also NOT listed as an authorized leasing agent for Chesapeake. (for a list of Chesapeake approved brokers go to http://www.askchesapeake.com/Barnett-Shale/Leasing/Pages/brokers.aspx
If you are approached to sign a gas lease, please contact us (see the link to the right) before taking any action. Under no circumstance should you ever sign any contract without careful review and/or without legal counsel.
April 2010
"The Leasing Crash", by Robert G. "Bob" West -- "According to news reports, 152,285 leases were recorded with the Tarrant County Clerk in Fort Worth during 2008, but only 35,167 in 2009. Typical lease offers during 2009, if available at all, usually included a signing bonus between $1,000 and $3,000 per acrea and a royalty often less than 25 percent." -- from Basin Oil and Gas, April 2010, page 42.
March 2010
NETGLO, North East Tarrant Gas Leasing Organization, signed a 3-year lease for $5,250/acre bonus, with 25% royalty rate. For the story go to http://startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/north_east_tarrant_gas_leasing_organization/
February 2010
Chesapeake intends to increase its lease holdings in 2010. The company is targetting areas where it already has a presence and/or has existing lease holdings. According to Julie Wilson, Chesapeake spokeswoman, the company intends to fill in gaps in existing lease areas. (Star Telegram, 2-6-2010)
SPRING 2009
In the Spring of 2009 Chesapeake requested a zoning change for 3 plots of land below the escarpment between FM1382 and Beltline/Mansfield Road. They want to build three drilling pads. As far as we know, home owners in the area have not been approached to sign mineral leases.
However, further research shows that many of the surveys in our area have been leased. The following area surveys have leases: Ogsbury, Babcock, Turner, Wilson, Webb, Williams, S.A. & M.G. R.R., Tweat, Huston, Gainer, Massey, and Holveck. The volunteers are working on further research to se how this impacts our coalition.
February 2010
Chesapeake intends to increase its lease holdings in 2010. The company is targetting areas where it already has a presence and/or has existing lease holdings. According to Julie Wilson, Chesapeake spokeswoman, the company intends to fill in gaps in existing lease areas. (Star Telegram, 2-6-2010)
What we are doing
►We have formed two key committees: Membership and Gas Leasing. Our plan is to build our coalition through our Membership Committee and have a large group of members in place before we negotiate any terms through our Gas Leasing Committee.
►We have established the following goals:
→Establish independent leadership in each subdivision --
Status: We now have established leaders in the following neighborhoods
- Lake Ridge (at least 5 groups)
- Wildwood
- Beltline
- Sleepy Hollow
- High Pointe (at least 3 groups)
→Register property owners as soon as possible --
Status: The Membership Committee has successfully signed 300+ members.
Each neighborhood is an independent group working together with us. (See Resources for contact information)
· Lake Ridge – 8 area meetings have been held resulting in 300+ members
· Wildwood – many owners that still retained their mineral rights have joined LARAPO.
· Beltline – Leader/Volunteers established
· Sleepy Hollow – Leader/Volunteer established
· High Pointe – Organized and developing leadership from within their PID and POA
→Develop shared resources across subdivisions –
Status: The web site is up and running; signs have been created and more will be made; committees have been formed.
→Assemble a negotiating team
The Gas Leasing Committee has been formed. Each member has signed a non-disclosure agreement and has affirmed their commitment to act on behalf of LARAPO without a conflict of interests.
The committee has held three meetings. Once we formulate our objectives, we may obtain the services of a lawyer.
→Identify competitive options
Status: We know that Energy company representatives have been in contact with many of us. We have identified two companies that are active in the area and we have been in contact with their representatives. We anticipate preliminary discussions will occur in the future.
NOTE: Recent mineral lease offers in nearby neighborhoods have been withdrawn and drilling companies have indicated their plan to reduce the bonus payments to owners. However, gas exploration continues to be a profitable venture. Therefore, we believe it is in our best interest to continue with our plan to build a coalition.
→Conduct negotiations --
Status: Once Negotiations are set to begin, we will keep our coalition informed of the progress. We will establish estimated timelines and goals.
→Expedite the signing process --
Status: Once a favorable lease agreement has been reached, we will notify our coalition members that the agreement has been reached and signing will begin.
►What you can do
We're sure you have been keeping up with what is happening with other coalitions. The advantage of going with a coalition is the power of numbers. We present a larger area to the energy companies, which increases their interest in offering better leases.
The first lease offer is usually a boiler plate lease made with individual property owners, which favors the gas company. These leases have around 40 points of negotiation, key of which is the royalty payments. How the royalties are figured and paid out is a major point considering royalties may be paid for several decades.
Joining the coalition is very inexpensive (free) and it is beneficial to all of us. Coalition expenses can be negotiated into the lease agreement along with desirable terms for coalition members.
Joining the coalition keeps you, as a member, aware of the issues involved and gives you an opportunity to contribute to the process. Your interests are represented by having a leadership committee of informed and concerned neighbors who negotiate favorable terms for members for the lease agreement.
Do your research; talk to those that have already done this; we believe we have time on our side.
guestbook. If you want an answer to a question, please send feedback!
The primary goal of LARAPO is to help our neighbors obtain the best possible lease terms, from both a financial standpoint and a quality of life standpoint. However, each individual homeowner maintains the right to decide when and whether to enter into a lease agreement.
Information on this web site should not be construed as legal advice or professional recommendations. LARAPO consists of concerned volunteers. Although options and opinions are presented on this site, each property owner should conduct their own research and seek the advice of legal, financial or mortgage professionals before accepting, rejecting or negotiating any lease offer.
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