Oil, gas agreements approved for Pennsylvania game lands
The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners recently approved oil and gas agreements involving state game lands in Washington and Greene counties.
The game commission had offered its oil and gas ownership under 1,201.33 acres of SGL 232 in Donegal and Independence townships, Washington County, for nonsurface oil and gas development by a competitive royalty bid, seeking a one-time bonus/rental payment of $2,500 per acre for a one-year agreement.
The minimum royalty was set at 18 percent for all oil, gas and condensate produced and sold from under the premises.
A bonus payment of $3,003,325 was to be deposited into the Game Fund or an interest-bearing escrow account for the future purchase of wildlife habitats, lands or other uses incidental to hunting, furtaking and wildlife resource management.
Bids were opened Nov. 2, with Chesapeake Appalachia LLC submitting the highest royalty bid of 23.25 percent.
In Greene County, the game commission approved an oil and gas lease amendment adding an additional 33.983 acres of SGL 223 in Dunkard Township.
The game commission owns the surface and 50 percent of the underlying oil and gas rights. Chevron has leased the privately owned oil and gas rights and has agreed to nonsurface use on this portion of the game land.
The terms and conditions of the lease will remain consistent with the existing agreement, approved by the game commission in April 2008, except the bonus payment will be increased from $125 per acre to $1,500 per acre for the amended acreage.
Oil and gas development will be regulated by the Department of Environmental Protection’s Oil and Gas Regulations and the Game Commission’s existing Oil/Gas Lease Agreement.