About three years ago, my family negotiated a gas drilling lease with one of the major companies working in Susquehanna County. Doing business in a field that has given us a great deal of experience with real estate leasing, we undertook the lease negotiations without the help of an attorney knowledgeable in the oil and gas leasing business. I have no regrets about the lease that we ultimately agreed on with the gas company, but it was a tremendous effort to acquire the knowledge necessary to be properly informed about the industry prior to entering into that lease.
A little over a year ago, we began hearing from the gas pipeline folks. When I began to look over the documentation that they were presenting, I thought to myself “Do I have to go through this entire education process AGAIN”! My highest priority was to maximize the financial benefits of participating in the gas business while protecting the interests of my family and our land. I knew it was time to work with someone who knew the gas business. It was then that I started asking the advice of various professionals throughout Northeastern PA that I had worked with over the years. One name that came up repeatedly was that of Doug Clark. I did a bit of “fact checking” about Doug prior to calling him. In the process, I was able to read some of his material, and that convinced me that he knew what he was talking about! I recall reading one item that made me think “I wish we would have known that when we negotiated our gas lease”!
Initially, I asked Doug to look over a pipeline ROW request that we had received. Doug quickly proved to be a “hands on” professional. Over the month’s I have learned that Doug works with his wife Marceea and enjoys spending time with his family. These are both qualities that I value in a professional! Since that initial project, Doug has assisted us on various other gas lease and pipeline ROW issues that have come up. Being able to rely on Doug’s expertise gives me the confidence to say that the best interests of my family and our land are protected when it comes to “All Things Marcellus”!