MOUNT VERNON — The shale gas boom is real, it will have a huge impact on eastern Ohio and it is coming here, Dan Mathie told a group of about 45 Chamber of Commerce members Tuesday morning.
Mathie, an attorney for the Critchfield, Critchfield and Johnston law firm, who works out of the Millersburg office, specializes in the kind of oil and gas mineral rights leases that landowners will need to deal with as the exploitation of the oil and gas potential of the Utica shale formation moves westward. His presentation was arranged by the Chamber of Commerce in response to requests from members for more information on what oil and gas leases can involve.
Mathie presented an overview of the current situation in Ohio and some advice for approaching lease situations.
The numbers are mind-boggling. Over the next five years, oil and gas producers are expected to spend more than $34 billion in exploration and development as well as royalty and lease expenditures in the state. It’s expected that in the same time period, more than 204,000 jobs will be created and a total of almost $479 million in tax revenue of all kinds generated.
