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Yet acct much as $125 million. Their email exchanges show that Fisher, Butler and Rabin met with the N.C. Geological Survey in January, at the height of the trio's energy eu- phoria, to conduct due dili- gence. After that meeting, Butler emailed Fisher and Rabin as well as senior state geologist Jeffrey Reid and state geolo- gist Kenneth Taylor. "Our time together yester- day was outstanding!" Butler wrote in an email obtained from Rabin. "I think it can be done for a lot less and will get additional information to be pertinent to our project in Sanford." Reid promptly advised Butler to .curb his enthusi- asm. "Being the first holes, and the depth involved, you will be surprised at the cost — do not underestimate what can, and will, go wrong!" Reid wrote back. "I have had sev- eral personal catastrophes drilling that were by bad luck despite our careful planning and contingency plans." Rabin had been working AF The News & Observer - richest Following the i Around Lee County, it's widely understood that if fracking ever gets underway, Southern Pines residentJ. Da- niel Butler stands to reap the financial windfall from much of the natural gas produced. But- ler is the county's single larg- est owner of "mineral rights" below properties owned by Lee County residents. Lee County' residents who own their mineral rights would ? also profit if they negotiate high royalties and other favor- able terms. According to research con- ducted this year by Butler and others, the most promising ar- ea to drill three to six test wells would be a 12 -mile straighta- way mapped in 1986 and known as Seismic Line 113. Seven ver- tical test wells were drilled' along the line between 1974 and 1998, and all showed indica- tions of the presence of natu- ral gas or oil. The energy -rich vein cours- es under such Lee County landmarks as the Ole Gilliam Mill and Jackson Brothers` According to emails and in- ! voices provided by Rabin, Sporl logged about 64 hours of work in January, February and March, and billed $9,893. Sporl said earlier this month that he is still waiting to get paid before he releases the engineering study. Rabin' acknowledged that it's ulti- mately going to be his responsibility to pay the bill. In a phone interview, Sporl dismissed North Carolina's shale gas resource as "small' potatoes" and its energy ex- plorers as "naive characters." For his part, Butler dis- avowed any association with Fisher and dismissed Rabin as "totally unreliable;" "I resent very highly the in -' sinuation that I have any involvement with these peo- ple," Butler said in a phone interview. "I'm not involved with anybody." Rabin said Butler; second- guessed him and had unreal- istic expectations. one of the Rabin and iBrack broke off group was contact in April, but Brack forth Car- said he is still pushing ahead aid cost as with his energy plans, noting owners. Butler's access is governed by 1975 land deeds that trans- ferred the mineral rights to his possession. Those deeds give Butler "the right to enter upon said lands for the purposes of drilling" and also `to occupy and make use of so much of the surface of said land as may be reasonably necessary." The deeds also require But- ler, who lives in adjoining` Moore County, to pay Lee` County landowners for any damage to their land or crops from his drilling operations. According to Lee County prop'' erty records, 37 landowners are bound by the terms of these deeds. Staff writer John Murawski that his interests here extend beyond fracking and include alternative energy vehicles fueled by natural gas.' "This industry has a lot of different people - they're not all on the up- and -up," Brack said. "It's simply a matter of putting something together that landowners trust." urawski: 919 - 829 -8932 North Carolina officials will begin exploratory drilling Wednesday to gauge shale gas potential in the southeastern part of the state, an area that re- mains unassessed for energy ca- pacity. All three planned drilling sites are on state government proper- ty and are intended to measure the energy potential of the Cum- berland- Marlboro basin, which runs diagonally through seven North Carolina counties, includ- ing an eastern sliver of Johnston County. ` The drilling will involve ex- tracting core samples for labora- tory analysis, as opposed to drill- ing for direct evidence of gas or oil The core samples will be taken from a depth of about 240 feet to 400 feet; the cores will measure 4 inches across and about 30 feet in length. The first drilling site will be the N.G. Department of Transporta- tion Maintenance Yard in Rae- ford. The drilling will get underway at 7 a.m. and could last two to five days, said the contractor, Russ Patterson, founder of San- ford -based Patterson Exploration Services. The state awarded Patterson Exploration a $145,000 contract to take three core samples. The drilling, and subsequent labora- tory analysis, will be overseen by the N.C. Geological Survey. The second drill location, at the N.C. Wildlife Commission's Fayetteville Fish Hatchery in Cumberland County, could be drilled this week or next week. The third site is on Laurinburg Highway Patrol property in Scot- land County. Patterson said the contract in- cludes an option to drill a fourth site in Scotland County at the N.C. DOT Maintenance yard' in Wagram. STAFF WRITER JOHN MURAWSKI How to reach us Business Editor: David Bracken, 919- 829 -4548, dbracken@newsobservercom C a /Z:2-7 i_