During 2008, landmen pored over records and knocked on doors. Going rates for leases skyrocketed from $250 per acre to $27,000. Before the price of gas dropped, some mineral rights reportedly went for $30,000 per acre with 30 percent royalty.
The Haynesville Shale play, with its prospects for a huge natural gas supply, has made overnight millionaires out of some common ordinary working people and, as one landman quipped locally, may “make billionaires out of millionaires.”
http://www.fwbog.com/index.php?page=article&article=107
He recently signed a deal to permit the extraction of natural gas from his land.
He gets an up front payment of several hundred thousand and an annual payment based on production and pricing.
He had to give up right of ways and has the gas wells over his property, but for him it was a good decision.
The gas production company obviously will make money, and during the past 24 months, due to the increased supply of gas, my winter gas bill has gone down from over $ 400/month to less than $200/month.
The supply and demand curve still works.