BUTLER TWP — The township will be at least $500,000 wealthier after the township commissioners approved a lease with XTO Energy to remove Marcellus Shale natural gas and oil from under the township’s two parks

The township commissioners Monday night assured residents that the lease does not mean there will be drilling or pipes on the property.

The board agreed to enter the agreement, which allows the company to remove the gas from 6,000 to 7,000 feet under the ground.

XTO, a subsidiary of ExxonMobile, offered the township $2,677 per acre and a 15 percent royalty. It was the only company to submit a bid for the activity.

The company already has a drilling site in the township at the AK Steel property at 1 Armco Drive in Lyndora. Drilling began there in November.

Butler Township Park is at 468 S. Duffy Road, and Preston Park is at 415 S. Eberhart Road. Both have about 100 acres.

Under the proposal, the township would get more than $500,000 for the rights for the land plus the royalty.

Township manager Ed Kirkwood said the township would receive the money within a month of the lease’s execution. It then will be placed in an interest-bearing account until potential use in the 2015 budget.