The caller, Sally, said “So, you are the Guru?” (Laughter) An internet search led Sally to www.gaswellguru.com. Finally retired after 30 years with a local manufacturing company, she owns oil and gas rights beneath 40 acres with a home, garden, and some miscellaneous farm animals. Before the landman called last week, Sally had given zero consideration to "subsurface rights" but this guy was talking about "bonus" money, drilling rigs, and royalty payments. Suddenly thrust into a foreign world, she instinctively decided more information is needed before making any decisions. I think Sally came to the right place. No one bestowed the title on me, I am the self-proclaimed GasWellGuru.  

 It was 2000 when the first landman knocked on our farmhouse door, the offer was $2 per acre for a 20-year lease, the terms were atrocious. His daytime job was delivering packages in a brown uniform, he told my husband and me that my brother-in-law had already signed this very same lease on his farm, one quick phone call would confirm that was not true, in fact, I guess you would call it a lie. That began my journey, it would be four years before we leased the acreage that was our home and dairy farm since 1984. Just across the border in New York State (yes, I said New York State) oil and gas operators were drilling and completing natural gas wells into the Trenton-Black River formations. Leasing was competitive and the development results ranged from record-setting production to dry holes. The NY Farm Bureau, Cornell University, and a local attorney teamed up to provide a free seminar for landowners in Elmira at the old Southside High School. The take away for me was 1) everything in that 20-year lease was negotiable 2) just a few miles into NYS landowners were receiving not $2 per acre but $100, $200, and more per acre and 3) if neighbors were of a mind to work together, we could leverage a better deal. 

 The Shale potential that became a frenzy in 2008 turned me into an oil and gas junkie. Do you remember the wonky sound of a dial-up internet connection? How about initiating a search and then making out your Christmas cards while it loaded? Undaunted I began researching online, reading books, attending seminars, and eventually participating as a speaker in the Penn State natural gas education seminars. In 2008 I became a Certified Mineral Manager through the National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO) Foundation. What I possess is an array of knowledge about oil and gas drilling technology, lease negotiation, environmental impacts, and industry practices. Through a short twenty years of oil and gas development-related reading, research and networking I have become an information resource for Pennsylvania's private mineral owners. As President of R&R Energy Consulting I provide services to help landowners who own oil and gas rights, navigate the complicated business of natural gas development.

 It was clear to me early on that landowners were at a disadvantage in dealing with a sophisticated oil and gas industry. Lessors would need to become educated about the industry and actively advocate for fair treatment. Since 2008 I have been dedicated to my work with non-profit organizations that further the cause of fair treatment for mineral owners. I was a NARO board member for ten years and filled the role of Interim Executive Director in 2018. In 2010 I was a founding member of the NARO PA Chapter and served as Present for eight years. In 2019 I was instrumental in establishing the new Pennsylvania Oil and gas Landowner Alliance (POGLA) to intensify our focus on state issues. Currently I manage the membership database and actively recruit new members to strengthen the position of all landowners with oil and gas rights in Pennsylvania.

 No matter how serious the situation I always look for humor, when I created a website, the title was an attempt to keep it light and now I guess I am the Guru. When I began this journey twenty years ago shale was not in my vocabulary, the Trenton Black River activity in New York was incredibly interesting with potential in our area of Pennsylvania and something told me I needed to know more. Oil and gas development still excites me on every level so I continue to follow the technology, the legal issues, the legislative challenges, the environmental impacts, and all the combined effects on the private mineral owner. Who knows how this blogging thing will work out for me…? I am going to share my thoughts as a mineral owner, consultant, and someone who seeks the right path forward, I would be honored if you followed along!