Many neighborhoods in Grapevine, Colleyville and Southlake — at least 50 — have been contacted about leasing their mineral rights to allow drilling for natural gas. The Grapevine-Colleyville school district has also contracted for gas extraction from 437 acres of its land and the Carroll school district is in the process of completing a similar agreement that could involve 400 acres in that district. Land includes numerous campuses in both districts, but well sites will not be located on campus.
Neighborhoods in all three cities are forming coalitions to provide themselves a stronger bargaining position with the gas companies. The DFW West Homeowners is a coalition of 24 neighborhoods in south Grapevine in the area west of Texas 121, north of Hall-Johnson Road, and as far north as Mustang Drive.
Jena Simmons, a member of the Western Oaks II Neighborhood, which includes 88 homes southeast of Parr Park, said the original offer in her neighborhood was $3,000 an acre plus 20 percent royalties from the natural gas recovered, based on the size of the home lot.
A Colleyville resident told the Courier that a neighborhood meeting was recently held to learn what is happening there. The resident reported that two companies told residents that a $7,000 payment per acre and 25 percent royalties is considered a “decent offer.” The royalties would then probably range from $30 to $100 per month for the residents, depending on the size of the home lot.
Some residents in Southlake report individual offers that are of a similar scale.
Fort Worth and Arlington residents report receiving up to $15,000 in one-time signing bonuses per acre.
Simmons said the DFW West Homeowners Coalition has been formed to negotiate a better deal with the gas companies. Other neighborhoods in Southlake and Colleyville are joining together for similar reasons.
“We are holding out now and waiting for the coalition to do its thing,” Simmons said.
Organizers of a group of 400 homeowners near White Chapel Boulevard in Southlake, Karen Whitaker and Trenton Stillwell, said joining a group can protect your interests and give you better royalty payments.
Colleyville and Southlake residents report being told that areas along and south of Texas 26 and near Pool Road in Colleyville are being considered for drilling sites for both cities. Residents in Monterra, Ross Downs, Monticello, Caldwell Creek and Timarron in Colleyville have already been contacted and others, including those in one of Colleyville’s more prestigious gated communities, Montclair Parc, say they have been told that contact will be made with residents there soon.
To be approved for natural gas drilling, a company must locate its drilling site at least 1,000 feet from any residences, schools, churches or parks in Colleyville or Grapevine. Southlake City Council is expected to define its requirements in April.
The techniques preferred by companies such as Chesapeake and XTO to extract natural gas from the Barnett Shale, located in Tarrant County and other nearby counties in North Central Texas, often uses horizontal drilling. This allows extraction of gas from multiple wells as far as 4,000 feet to one mile from a drill site.
The wells are drilled vertically first, then “kicked” horizontally.
The technique not only allows gas to be extracted from areas in which drill sites would be prohibited, but according to industry experts, can be up to 12 times more efficient in extracting gas because of the multiple fractures such horizontal drilling encounters in the shale.
Other techniques, experts say, enable drilling from as far as seven miles, but that technology, pioneered in Alaska, is considerably more expensive, and is not currently cost-effective for the Barnett Shale.
Residents report they have been told that it takes a four-acre site for drilling and two acres for production. The gas companies lease all the mineral rights for the property through which they drill.
An average of 3 million gallons of water needed for each well would come from water purchased from cities, gas company representatives say. Some municipalities, however, including Southlake, have said they will not sell water for such purposes, citing the semi-arid climate. Companies assure residents that most of the water can be reclaimed, though at a higher cost. Southlake neighborhoods that have banded together as the White Chapel Corridor Group include Mission Hill Estates, Chapel Downs, Oak Hill, Homes on Highlands, Lakewood Acres, Foxborough, Southview, and Diamond Circle. Lonesome Dove, a neighborhood north of Texas 114, has also received offers, and other HOAs or residents talking to companies are located in Versailles, Monticello, Cambridge Place, Stone Lake, Southridge Lakes, Continental Park Estates, Timberlake, Country Walk, Timarron and others.
Charles D. Young contributed to this article.