Arkansas Blog: Needed: Gas industry PR help UPDATE

A caller from the Fayetteville shale territory reports to me that Mark Raines is leaving KTHV, Channel 11, where he's been news director, to do public relations for Chesapeake Energy, a major participant in the gas play.

Which reminds me:

I spent an evening recently with a farmer who'd leased a substantial chunk of mineral rights (at ~~$4,000~~ $400 per acre) for gas exploration and has already seen completion of some wells. The family has received a tidy windfall and expects a good revenue stream for 30 years.

But listen to this. The farmer wasn't particularly happy about it all. He worried about the impact on multi-generation farm families and whether that tradition could be ruined by the new money. (Speaking as a native of the SW La. oil patch, I can answer that question: In many cases, yes.) He's seen the huge damage done to county roads by drilling equipment. He's seen the relatively minor local economic impact, even during heavy exploration, that the transient production workers have had on the local economy, save royalty owners. When most drilling is done, that impact will be even smaller, of course. He battles daily with the impact of pollution from the immense pits that must be built to collect waste water. He knows some contractors are more diligent than others. He fears drillers will draw water from streams in harmful ways (such as the Little Red).

The farmer is a public school backer and a student of politics, too. He knows the gas industry in 2007 tried to hurry through legislation that would have made it far more difficult to recover damages when exploration companies don't properly restore land on which they drilled. He knows that Arkansas collects a pittance of a severance tax on the finite resource being drawn from our ground and then shipped to other states that do collect a reasonable severance tax. He knows that he pays pennies in property tax on land for which he's received hundreds of thousands of dollars in mineral lease money. He knows that the popular governor of Arkansas has said it will be up to somebody else to lead a campaign to do something about the shameful severance tax. The governor is too beholden to the lobby to lead the fight himself. The farmer knows that little special interest money exists to promote good government.

So, yes, you could see where a gas producer could use some public relations assistance.

I talked to Raines briefly, by the way. He's a nice guy with a background in PR as well as news. He'll be manager of public relations for Chesapeake. "They are trying to do things the right way," he promises.

UPDATE: KTHV boss Larry Audas shares his note to stafff about Raines' departure on the jump.

FROM LARRY AUDAS:

As we announced at our meeting this afternoon, our friend and long-time THV news leader Mark Raines is leaving us. Mark is moving on from the news business into the oil and gas world. He will handle marketing and public relations in Arkansas for Chesapeake Energy. It is a good opportunity for Mark and his family and we wish them the very best.

Mark has been a central figure in the success of Today’s THV, working as News Director since 2000 and previously serving as Executive Producer dating back to 1997. During that time, Today’s THV has become a market leader, producing the fastest growing and most watched newscasts along with new products such as todaysthv.com and THV2 among many others. He has been a steady leader through many challenges and we will miss him and his many contributions. We’ll have a couple of weeks to say good-bye to Mark before he wraps up his work here July 27th.

Mark, many thanks for all you have done for the THV family.

We will begin an active search for a News Director and make plans for the transition as well in the days ahead. Thanks for helping THV move ahead into this new era.

Larry

Comments

I've worked with Mark frequently on stories...he is a class act, and will be missed. Going to be hard to replace a man of his principles and commitment to the story.

Posted by: ItsWorseThanYouThink | July 13, 2007 05:37 PM

I seriously doubt any Arkansas COUNTY JUDGES will be reading this but in case an assistant does here goes:
You folks have an organization that is politically potent. In the years to come your county roads will suffer major damages due to heavy use. While 90% of our Ark COUNTY JUDGES are Demos it's an opportune time to meet with Gov. Beebe and discuss and plan for taxing this extraction so that FUNDS
will be available when it comes time to repair the bridges, run-off, erosion ditches and COUNTY ROADS in your respective County.

If memory serves me correctly Texas and Okla drillers and pumpers, and wildcatters will be here with little or no regard for the damages they will inflict on your COUNTIES.

After they make their billions from the Fayetteville Shale extractions the wildcatters, drillers will pack up and leave, dissolve their corporations and form a new one. There will be no way to hold them accountable.

JUDGES know that getting Quorum Courts to act, the Sheriff to act for road protection takes weeks, months, and sometimes years. NOW is the time to act. Sit down with our very amicable Gov. Beebe and get something rolling so we the average taxpayers need not foot the bill for the damages of Okla and Tex drillers.
Thanks.
Larry Woodall

Posted by: Knoc Knock | July 13, 2007 06:18 PM

If somebody told you they got $4000 an acre for their leasing rights, they lied.

Tops is $650 or so in the proven areas.

The rest of the post seems true enough, but that one incredible fact discolors the rest of it.

ARK. BLOG: Thanks. One too many zeroes. It was $400 per acre for a little more than 1,000 acres or a quick half-million for mineral rights only and they kept the land.

Posted by: Searcyguy | July 13, 2007 08:03 PM

Follow the Money.org has a pdf file listing which states recieved the most energy related contributions to candidates. For once Ark wasn't at the bottom.

ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL
GIVING IN THE STATES
By
MEGAN MOORE
MAY 23 , 2007

APPENDIX A: ENERGY, PRO-ENVIRONMENTAL &
ALTERNATIVE ENERGY CONTRIBUTIONS, 2003-2006

Under pro-Energy Ark shows
425,000 from energy companies
and $2,250 for alternative energy interests.

Posted by: Lwood | July 14, 2007 05:09 AM

The word in real estate regarding the natural gas craze:

Natural gas may not be considered a 'mineral right' and the lawyers and courts are still trying to decide whether or not gas rights convey or don't convey with property as *mineral rights*. Holy cow.

If gas is deemed not a mineral right: we could be seeing people who think they own or have purchased mineral rights having to PAY BACK the monies received or quit claim their interest to anything deemed 'mineral rights' - that is, if Halliburton and SW Energy, et al decide that the term 'mineral rights' do not apply to natural gas.

For the record, natural gas is an element, not a mineral. Shouldn't they have researched this before they sold the Fayetteville shale leases off in our area? Or is this all happening by design?

Posted by: juniper | July 14, 2007 08:40 PM

Arkansas Blog

Needed: Gas industry PR help UPDATE

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