In Fort Worth, gas boom fuels public outreach plan

By Bruce Nichols

FORT WORTH, Texas (Reuters) - Even in oil-rich Texas, homeowners seldom had companies at the front door asking permission to drill in their back yards -- until recently.

Huge hopes for gas production from the Barnett Shale, much of which lies directly under this city of 500,000, changed that, and residents have flooded city hall with questions.

In response, Mayor Mike Moncrief and industry officials have put together the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council to calm fears and help citizens respond intelligently.

"We will do that through ... a number of media, including a Web site, printed materials, community outreach programs, seminars," said director Ed Ireland, an industry veteran.

Companies are paying for the effort but "it's going to function more as a third party," Ireland said.

The industry would rather deal with informed groups than with nervous individuals one by one, said Gene Powell, editor of widely distributed Barnett Shale Newsletter.

"They're used to going in and leasing hundreds or thousands of acres at a time," Powell said.

Fort Worth's response has evolved since the boom spread into the city early this decade, spokesman Jason Lamers said. Its approach has become a model for other cities, he said.

Of 6,600 wells so far drilled in more than a dozen counties, nearly 800 are inside the Fort Worth city limits, and activity is still increasing, Lamers said.

"I think we could see upwards of 2,000 wells," he said.

The influx unsettled many residents.

Most did not know the difference between surface and mineral rights, much less whether they owned any oil or gas that may be found thousands of feet beneath their quarter-acre lot.

"Residents were calling the city saying, 'I've got a lease offer for 25 percent royalty and a $300 bonus. Is that a good offer? Should I sign it?'" Lamers said.

Many did own the rights. Texas' standard home sale contract does not mention minerals, much less reserve them to a seller unless otherwise noted, as in farm and ranch sales.

There is talk of changing that, but meanwhile, the mayor saw that homeowners needed help.