"In many instances [the landholder] had received a first-rate skinning when his land was leased. For example, after an agreement had been reached on the terms of a lease, I may have switched the papers upon him while he put on his glasses. But the principal racket, and one it will do well to remember if you own an acre of land, is this.
"A wildcat (a shot-in-the-dark or blue-sky exploratory well) is being drilled within a mile or so of your land. I have timed my trip within a week or so of the completion of the exploratory well. You'd already been offered a dollar an acre, think it worth five, so you ask me ten.
"I try, for the window dressing, to beat you down on the price. But finally, though you are scared stiff that I am going to back away from the trade entirely, I let you have your way. I write something on a piece of paper binding both of us to the trade, contingent, of course, on the validity of your title. To that you, as a fair-minded person, agree. And I've got you stretched over a barrel.
"A flaw can be found in any Texas land title. The acceptance or rejection of any particular one is almost a matter of taste. If the wildcat makes a producing well, your lease is worth fifty dollars an acre and up, and I take it for the agreed-upon ten. If the well fails, I don't like your title, and would like to see the color of the man's eyes that can make me pay for it."
From "Texas: A World in Itself" by George Perry (1942)
Red with fury?
ReplyDeleteThere's a saying people sometimes hear in the Third World.
ReplyDeleteNever let them drill for oil; it only brings misery
OT, I suppose, but it has to do with Texas. To what extent are existing wind turbines in bat flyways or hunting grounds? I'm thinking particularly of the bat colony at Carlbad Caverns.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.carbontracker.org/carbonbubble
ReplyDelete"Unburnable Carbon – Are the world’s financial markets carrying a carbon bubble?
This new analysis by Carbon Tracker discovers that:
Already in 2011, the world has used over a third of its 50-year carbon budget of 886GtCO2, leaving 565GtCO2
All of the proven reserves owned by private and public companies and governments are equivalent to 2,795 GtCO2
Fossil fuel reserves owned by the top 100 listed coal and top 100 listed oil and gas companies represent total emissions of 745GtCO2
Only 20% of the total reserves can be burned unabated, leaving up to 80% of assets technically unburnable...."
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Hat tip to http://www.ecoequity.org/2011/07/from-peak-oil-to-unburnable-carbon/
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ReplyDeleteThis post gets a lot of damn spamn.
ReplyDeleteA fault can be found in any Texas Land For Sale title. The commendation or rejection of any individual one is close to a material of taste. If the wildcat creates a establishing well, your hire is worth fifty dollars an acre and higher, and I take it for the agreed-upon ten. If the well fails, I don't like your label, and would like to suppose the color of the man's eyes that can generate me have funds for it.
ReplyDeleteheh
ReplyDelete