My husband and I have 96.5 acres in Bradford County, Pennsylvania. Marcellus shale area. Our lease with Chesapeake ran out end of January. We had received a call from Chief a month ago but never heard back. So we kind of gave up thinking no one was interested. So he called again last night. He is emailing us a lease in a couple days. Offering 1500 per acre and 15% royalty. Not the highest but not the worst either. Does this seem right for how things are now? And what is better a bigger sign-on bonus or a little higher royalty percentage?
Wendy,
It is especially important in Pennsylvania that your lease says that your royalty is cost-free. Some Marcellus operators in the past have deducted as much as 80%-90% from royalties for post-production costs.