Are Companies in Arkansas releasing minerals after lease expires?

Oil and Gas Leasing Help
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I own mineral rights in Faulkner County, Arkansas and leased to Chesapeke about 5 years ago. My lease is about to run out. Has anyone heard if they are resigning leases. I hear rumors that Chesapeke is selling out in Arkansas. Would another company be interested in leasing? Maybe Southwestern Energy (Seeco) or someone else. Should I contact them or wait and see what Chesapeke is going to do?

Thanks

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Tommy, I can share my personal experience. I had a 5 yr lease with SWN that was going to expire and one month before the expiration date it was renewed. You will get offers. If you don’t hear from Chesapeake you will from other sources. Bigger companies are buying Chesapeake’s Fayetteville Shale holdings. Patience will be your friend. You can set up a google reader subscription free to follow any news with headers like "Fayetteville Shale… natural gas drilling… Southwestern Energy… and learn from the news links.

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Thanks Jessica for the information. I spoke with one person whose lease with Chesapeake expired in November 2010 and he has not heard anything from them yet. My lease will run out in June 2011. I will just sit and wait on them. If I don’t hear anything after a couple of months past my expiration date I may try contacting Southwestern Energy.

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Tommy, here is a post from the Yahoo Fayetteville Shale discussion group that you may find interesting regarding someone's question about Chesapeake.

I think it would be a surprise if they turned down almost any offer that breaks them even. They still have a drilling commitment to BP. I would look for maybe SWN even to be interested ... if the price is right and right now I bet they will sell their reserves "in the ground" for about $1 an MCF. The PROVEN reserves will sell for about - 15% PV in discounted cash flow and the PUDs (Unproven) will sell for maybe -25% PV and Risked reserves ranked about 50 -60%
To explain that, they will calculate the actual well remaining reserves at 100% of the estimate and sell for discounted cash flow over the life of the wells for 15% DCF. The reserves for undrilled units will be estimated, then cut in half (risked) and using that risked estimate, they will use 25% as the DCF for the undrilled but proven sections. Any section not proven up will likely be pretty much worthless.
With XTO in the area, Exxon could be a buyer. Shell was once looking and the other potential is an unknown, perhaps some energy Hedge fund that would sell MLPs (limited partnerships) - the energy equivalent of those Junk bonds made up ofMortgage Backed Securities

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I am the "owner" of the Yahoo Fayetteville Shale Play group; I suggest you join it to get more information about what is going on. Mr. Shields often responds, and he has a lot of useful information. His reply was the one mentioned in the above reply.

I leased with SEECO, and re-leased with them; I am very happy with the way they have responded to me. I feel I have been fairly treated. I did contact Chesapeake when it was time to re-lease, to get their offer, and they said they would call me the next day, but I never heard from them (a year and a half ago).

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Chesapeake leaseing agents refused to talk with me yesterday about re-lease, they were told to stop all leaseing in Fayetteville Shale Play. I now must find someone else since my leases have expired.

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