Chesapeake Renegotiates New York Land Deals

Chesapeake Energy is renegotiating lease deals with more than 4,000 New York landowners. The move is part of a settlement the embattled company reached with the state’s  Attorney General, as the AP reports:

Chesapeake Appalachia also agreed to pay $250,000 to cover the state’s investigation costs under the agreement.

Chesapeake had tried to extend the leases in 2009, claiming the state’s de facto moratorium on shale gas development since it started an environmental review in 2008 constituted an uncontrollable event that allows for a lease extension if an “act of god” or unforeseen circumstance prevents drilling.

Schneiderman investigated after receiving complaints from landowners. The leases were signed long before the shale gas boom that began in Pennsylvania in 2007 boosted land prices from as low as $2-$3 an acre to more than $1,500 an acre. Many landowners today are also writing extensive environmental protections into leases.

In the settlement, Chesapeake admits no wrongdoing.