????切薩皮克和XTO等鉆探公司也砍掉了大量租約。對于少數仍在吃進土地的公司來說，每畝5000元的簽約獎金已經是高端合同了。被Vantage和切薩皮克等公司砍掉租約的居民在憤怒之余，紛紛將這些公司告上了法庭，希望強制他們執行原來的協議，但是結果并不成功。

????已經簽訂了租約的土地所有人也失望地發現，鉆探帶來的后續分紅遠沒有當初想象得那樣多——平均到每戶也就是每月25到50美元。有些在當地比較有地位的土地所有者，包括市政府、校區、沃斯堡機場、億萬富翁艾德?巴斯和《電訊報》都紛紛狀告切薩皮克公司，稱對方虧欠分紅。（2012年，切薩皮克公司向沃斯堡機場支付了530萬美元鉆探費，雙方達成和解。目前這家公司仍在就其他案件進行爭辯，堅稱它已經支付了每起訴訟中應付的分紅。）

????與此同時，德克薩斯州交通部門的一名官員稱，要修復鉆探業的重型卡車導致的路面破損可能需要最高20億美元的費用。當地居民也經常抱怨地下水和空氣遭到的污染。（鉆探行業則表示沒有證據表明鉆探導致了污染問題。）

????5月23日，在一起當地居民狀告切薩皮克公司的油氣井擾民的案件中，當地法院的陪審裁定這位居民勝訴，并獲得2萬美元賠償。其它類似案件仍在審理中。

????最后還要說說地震——近年來當地發生的幾十起小型地震讓居民深感恐慌。已經有專家表示，這些地震與鉆井公司用來向地下注入液態廢棄物的廢液處理井有關。雖然能源公司和該州官員表示，目前還沒有確切的證據表明導致這些地震的具體原因是什么，但是就在沃斯堡機場附近的兩口廢液處理井關閉后，這座機場2009年以來發生的一連串地震的確停止了。現在專家們仍在對沃斯堡西北部幾口處理井附近接連發生的一連串小型地震進行研究。

????這些日子以來，切薩皮克公司在沃斯堡的出鏡率遠遠沒有以前高了。它已經賣掉了巴奈特頁巖田的很多土地，裁掉了很多當地員工，并且在2012年將那座20層的區域總部大樓送上了拍賣臺。2013年1月，隨著這家公司在天然氣上的豪賭遭遇巨額虧損，加上天然氣價格達到接近歷史新低，再加上CEO麥克蘭登與公司的私下交易被公布于世，這位高調的CEO只得宣布辭職。媒體上也很難再尋覓到切薩皮克公司的蹤影。2008年，切薩皮克公司基本上每天都會在《電訊報》上露面——全年總共見報309次。但到了2014年，這家公司只見報了21次。目前，它在巴奈特頁巖田只剩兩套鉆井設備。

????切薩皮克公司也不再冠名沃斯堡的燈火節了。2014年，這項活動將由XTO公司贊助（現已被埃克森美孚控股）。（財富中文網）

????研究助理：馬蒂?瓊斯

????譯者：樸成奎

????Chesapeake, XTO, and the other drillers also yanked big bonus deals off the table. The new high-end offer (from the few companies still signing leases): $5,000 an acre. Angry residents who were shut out by Vantage, Chesapeake, and other companies filed dozens of suits against the drillers, seeking to force them to honor the original deals for them, too. But the litigation was unsuccessful.

????Homeowners who had signed leases were also disappointed to discover that drilling would provide only a modest ongoing windfall—for owners of an average residential lot, perhaps $25 to $50 a month. Several prominent landowners—including the city of Fort Worth, the school district, DFW Airport, billionaire Ed Bass, and the Star-Telegram—sued Chesapeake, accusing it of shorting them. (In 2012, Chesapeake paid $5.3 million in back royalties to settle with the airport. It continues to contest other cases, insisting it has paid what it owed in each instance.)

????Meanwhile, a state transportation official announced that repairing road damage throughout Texas caused by heavy drilling-industry trucks would cost as much as $2 billion. Residents have complained of groundwater pollution and contaminated air. (The industry has said there is no proof that drilling caused pollution problems.)

????On May 23, a local jury awarded $20,000 in damages to one Fort Worth man who filed suit against Chesapeake complaining that a well site behind his home was a nuisance. Other similar suits are pending.

????And finally there are the earthquakes—dozens of small localized rattlers that have frightened residents. Experts have linked them to disposal wells used to inject liquid fracking wastes deep underground. Although energy companies and state officials say there’s no firm proof of what causes the quakes, a string of temblors at Dallas-Forth Worth Airport lasting through 2009 ended after two disposal wells were shut down. An ongoing string of quakes near disposal wells northwest of Fort Worth remains under study.

????Chesapeake is far less visible around Fort Worth these days. It has sold off much of its Barnett acreage, cut back its local staff, and, in 2012, put its 20-story regional headquarters building—purchased just four years earlier—on the block. (It still hasn’t sold.) The company’s highly visible CEO, McClendon, announced his resignation in January 2013, amid big losses from the company’s huge bet on natural gas—then at near-record-low prices—and revelations about his sweetheart deals with the company. And Chesapeake has receded from the press. In 2008, Chesapeake was the subject of almost daily mentions in the Star-Telegram—309 in all. So far in 2014, it has been mentioned only 21 times. The company’s now down to just two Barnett Shale drilling rigs.

????Chesapeake also no longer has its brand on the big downtown Fort Worth holiday festival of lights. For 2014, that event will be sponsored by XTO (now owned by ExxonMobil) instead.

????Research associate: Marty Jones