Mineral Rights and Gas Boom Update for Tarrant County, Texas

With the latest news in the gas leases that have been signed all over Fort Worth, TX, the rich just get richer.

Last November my sister who owns the house I live in got a letter in the mail encouraging her to sign her land mineral rights away in the name of an exciting gas boom so Barnett Shale could come and drill for oil. It was promised that she would get a $500 check and if oil was found, a portion of that, of course. (Source: Barnett Shale).

Though the mainstream press touted the leases as a good thing, many local Hispanics, some of whom didn't speak English, attended town hall meetings where they were further encouraged to sign the leases after the company made a presentation with no translators. (Source: Fort Worth Weekly).

The past several months have been more of the same except for one difference. The Fort Worth Weekly, the local alternative press, ran a few stories citing that the big gas revenues as promised by some of these oil companies are really small chunks of change that you would be lucky to be able to buy a steak with. The Weekly reported that some people questioned this past spring if local officials' vision will match the funds coming in from a gas boom and if places like the city of Everman, that will only get modest gas profits to fix things like park swings, would truly benefit though it was clear their education system would.

Then, another newspaper recently reported that everyone who signed one of those leases was going to have to pay a $500 fine on top of their $500 profit as stated in fine print on their contracts they signed. This little tidbit, of course, was kept out of the press up until now.

My sister and I debated all this time whether to sign the lease and, on the one hand, could see the benefits a year ago until The Weekly ran their stories casting doubts.

Luckily we never signed that lease despite repeated attempts by the company, and I'm glad so far we haven't though we need the money.