An article in the Houston Chronicle explores why major oil companies have taken an interest in natural gas shales. Part of the reason is that the resource has a long lifetime.

If you have questions about mineral rights they can be posted at a new and growing forum at MineralRightsForum.com. They have active discussions for natural gas shales, oil and gas leasing and much more.

The American Petroleum Institute and PriceWaterhouseCoopers prepared a report titled: “The Economic Impacts of the Oil and Natural Gas Industry on the U.S. Economy: Employment, Labor Income and Value Added“.

An article on the PennLive website reports that a landowners group has negotiated a lease agreement in which they will be paid $5750/acre for their acreage above the Marcellus Shale.

Nick Rahall, Chairman of the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee, introduced a bill that could change the rules for leasing and paying royalties on mineral, oil and natural gas activities on public lands. More at the New York Times.

Mineralweb.com has several articles related to mineral rights, oil and gas leasing, royalties, taxes and more.

Fortuna Energy is not acting on contract extensions for Marcellus Shale drilling properties in Tioga County, New York. In an Ithaca Journal article a company representative cites an uncertain regulatory climate and low gas prices for the decision.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Legislature is debating how to spend the income from leasing the rights to Marcellus Shale beneath public lands. Details at Pittsburgh Live.

Some natural gas companies have failed to make payments on their lease agreements. What happens then? A short article on the PSU blog explains.

In late 2008, Statoilhydro, a oil and gas company of Norway purchased a large share in Chesapeake Energy’s Marcellus Shale holdings. An article in PressConnects explains that this purchase is part of Statoilhydro’s long-term plan.

An article in the Washington BizJournals explains how natural gas companies such as Chesapeake Energy, Range Resources and St. Mary Land & Exploration are making deep cuts in their lease acquisition budgets for 2009.

About 400 landowners who are members of the Kirkwood Gas Coalition have negotiated a deal to lease over 10,000 acres of Marcellus Shale gas rights for $4800/acre over eight years and a 15% royalty rate for the first billion cubic feet and 24% on subsequent production.  This is a higher than average signing bonus and a longer than average lease term.  More at PressConnects.

A group of Pennsylvania landowners are fighting an attempt to acquire their mineral rights through eminent domain for a natural gas storage field. They say that the $400 per acre being offered is a lot less than they could get by leasing the same property to Marcellus Shale landmen. More in the Lebanon Daily News.

A guy in Fort Worth, Texas didn’t want a gas well drilled at the end of his street so he parked his car in front of the lot where the drilling pad was about to be constructed and invited others to park their car with his.  Nobody else joined him.  Read more at D Three Technology.

Janet Clark, chief financial officer for Marathon Oil Corporation says that many natural gas companies have been hurt by the current tight credit markets and will be prime candidates for making deals with other companies that have cash. More at Reuters.