What’s a good way to find a reliable attorney to help me with my gas lease? Are they rated

What’s a good way to find a reliable attorney to help me with my gas lease? Are they rated some way?

There are no rankings available to rate attorneys based on their abilities with oil and gas leases. But there are some ways to make sure you can find a reliable attorney.

The biggest key: Ask attorneys how long they have worked in oil and gas leases. As the industry has expanded, a lot of new firms have jumped into the field, although many of them do not have the necessary experience.

Another good way to find experienced attorneys is to look at who is being used by landowner groups. These landowner group negotiations are long processes that can become complicated, and because there are millions of dollars involved, it behooves these groups to find reliable legal council. The best known of the landowner groups in this area is Associated Landowners of the Ohio Valley.

As a private citizen who believes his property will one day be sought for a gas lease, should I pay $100 to attend the shale event at the Covelli Centre?

This year’s Utica and Natural Gas Conference & Expo in Youngstown is geared primarily for business owners who are trying to make connections in the oil and gas industry to increase their business or expand into a new industry.

Unlike last year’s conference, no part of the event is free and open to the public. Although, if you’re a private citizen with a sizable amount of land who is interested in potentially leasing it, there will be an opportunity for you as well.

There will be a number of companies who purchase leases for oil and gas rights who are expected to be in attendance.

If you are a landowner with just a couple of acres, the connections you make may or may not be worth $100.

With winter months coming, what can we expect for natural-gas prices? Aren’t they going to be lower with all of the drilling going on?

Prices should be lower than normal for this winter because of the abundant supply of natural gas. The most recent natural-gas prices are around $2.60 per million British thermal units, compared to lows around June of less than $2 per MMBTU.

The price one year ago for natural gas was about $4.60 per MMBTU. The low prices may not last too much longer beyond that because companies are cutting back on drilling in areas such as Pennsylvania that contain mostly dry natural gas — the gas you use to heat your home — because of the low cost.

Oil and gas explorers are looking at shale developments such as those in North Dakota or Ohio that possess, or are believed to possess, oil or a large portion of heavy wet gases, such as propane, that are sold for higher prices.

The reduction in the amount of dry-gas areas being drilled is expected to bring costs up slightly, although estimates vary on how long that will take.

Send your questions to news@shalesheet.com.