The University of Texas has received the first of their monthly natural gas royalty checks -- and it's a whopper.
The $528,495 check is the first royalty payment related to the six wells that were developed on campus last year and that went into production in November 2008.
Others who will receive their first monthly royalties related to these wells include First Baptist Church of Arlington, the City of Arlington, the State of Texas and several neighbors in the College Hills neighborhood as well as other areas.
"This is exciting news for the University and for our community," said UT Arlington President James D. Spaniolo. "We look forward to using the University's royalties to support undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships, faculty and staff recruitment and retention and the campus master plan."
Funds from natural gas royalties will be invested and leveraged with private gifts to achieve their maximum potential. A portion of the natural gas royalties will be used toward The Maverick Match, a new program aimed at encouraging the University's endowment resources. The Maverick Match will match, on a one-to-one basis, commitments from any donor to establish endowments of $25,000 or more.
In December, the University announced that it had authorized Carrizo to begin immediate development of additional wells at the same site as the first six at the southeast corner of UT Arlington's 420-acre campus in downtown Arlington.
These additional wells are expected to benefit UT Arlington, but the primary benefit will be to the property owners to the south and east of campus who have signed leases with Carrizo - including the Arlington Independent School District, the City of Arlington and numerous individual property owners.
