LORDSTOWN - The Houston-based energy company that took over mineral rights leases for about 31,000 acres in Trumbull and Mahoning counties has vowed to extend a "cooperative effort" to landowners interested in renegotiating their leases.
The company released the statement Thursday in response to the newly formed Lordstown Regional Landowners Group, which has been vocal in its attempts to renegotiate Utica Shale mineral rights leases on more than 30,000 acres Halcon purchased from NCL Appalachian Partners for $194 million.
Halcon, however, stopped short of promising to strike new deals.
''Halcon intends to spend hundreds of millions of dollars and use its considerable technical expertise to create significant profit for itself and the landowners, who own the royalty interest,'' the company said in a prepared statement.
A company spokesman said changes to the leases will be necessary to allow for drilling of horizontal wells with enough lateral length to make them economic, and without these changes, the wells will never be drilled and profits to all will be lost.
''Halcon will reach out to each individual landowner in an attempt to establish terms that are mutually beneficial and result in the best chance for successful wells,'' the release said. ''Landowners can be assured that a cooperative effort will result in our commitment of time, expertise and millions of dollars of capital in an effort to develop the most profitable oil and gas wells possible.''
Members of the Lordstown landowners group have said they hoped negotiating those amendments as a group would give them better leverage in securing better protection and higher compensation for the landowners.
''As a group, we can negotiate more effectively and more efficiently for the best terms," the group's president Michael Hodak said previously. ''We are looking forward to working with Halcon to develop a mutually agreeable arrangement as soon as possible."