New York isn’t automatically considered a “big energy” state, a designation commonly left for places like Texas and Oklahoma. Because of that, companies coming into New York to drill exploratory wells have been able to keep their contracts with landowners to the companies’ advantage, price-wise.

But that is finally changing, especially in the Southern Tier counties, where a new firm, Jeter Field Services, acknowledging the competitive nature of the business, has been willing to pay up to 25 percent royalties and $500 to $1,000 per acre.

“It has taken years of patience and education to reach this point, but as predicted, the market has driven these results,” said Lindsay Wickham, New York Farm Bureau’s District 5 field advisor and local issues coordinator. Natural gas production from wells in New York in 2006 was the highest in state history, breaking the previous record set in 2005. Total reported gas production in 2006 was 55.157 billion cubic feet, representing a better than 50-percent increase since 2003 and 200 percent since 1996.

The 2006 production, which was enough to supply the natural gas needs of nearly 800,000 homes for a year, was driven by prolific wells in the Trenton-Black River formation in the Finger Lakes region.

One well in the formation, the Stoscheck 1 in the town of Van Etten, Chemung County, produced 3.94 billion cubic feet, enough to heat more than 57,000 homes for a year.

Ashur Terwilliger, president of Chemung County Farm Bureau, has worked on the issue for more than a decade. He said the growing competitiveness of the business climate should make landowners more selective in granting leases for gas exploration.

As the number of companies coming to New York has increased and public awareness has grown, competition has driven up royalty rates and upfront offers. Wickham said in the hottest areas — Chemung, eastern Steuben, western Tioga and southern Schuyler counties — landowners are now getting offers of up to 25 percent royalties and $500 to $1,000 per acre.

Terwilliger said the key word for landowners should be negotiation. He said Jeter Field Services has been willing to work with property owners, agreeing to different terms for shallow and deep gas, and realistic payments and royalties.

And negotiation should go not only for private property owners, but for municipal ones as well, Wickham and Terwilliger said. New York State itself should bid not only lease payments, but royalties, for drilling on state land.