CITIZEN POWER ALLIANCE

A natural gas company with a leasehold in eastern Broome and Steuben counties and parts of central New York told landowners this week their leases would be extended because of New York's moratorium on a type of hydraulic fracturing.

Norse Energy Corp., a Norwegian company whose U.S. operations are based in Buffalo, sent a letter Monday to affected landowners, citing an Executive Order from former Gov. David A. Paterson that prevents high-volume hydrofracking in New York until at least July as a reason to claim "force majeure."

A legal clause found in most oil and gas leases, force majeure allows a contract to be extended if an unforeseen event, such as a natural disaster or a new regulation, prevents the terms from being followed by either party.

The company holds gas rights on roughly 180,000 acres in New York state and has a stake in a number of current drilling operations in the central portion of the state, mainly the Herkimer formation beneath Chenango County.

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