CRANBERRY TWP — The Cranberry Highlands Golf Course could be the first township-owned land involved with oil and gas drilling.

Manager Jerry Andree told the township supervisors Thursday night the township has been contacted by Penn Energy about drilling for oil and gas under the golf course, which is on 311 acres off Freshcorn Road in the northwestern section of the township.

Andree stressed the proposed well site would be more than two miles away in Beaver County and that there would not be any ground-level disturbances at the golf course. The company would drill under the course from the Beaver County site.

Andree met with the supervisors in executive session before the public meeting to discuss the financial terms of the proposal, terms that weren’t released publicly.

The supervisors didn’t vote on the lease, but they are expected to talk about it again Dec. 11.

For now, Andree said he and other township staff are doing their homework on the proposal while checking with other gas companies “to be sure there’s no other interest” in the oil and gas under the golf course.

“Right now the board is in the process of discussing the financial terms,” Andree said Thursday. “If they are comfortable with those terms, then we’ll start talking about moving ahead (with a potential lease agreement).”

He said he was contacted about two months ago by Penn Energy, which also has been in discussions with residents who own property adjacent to the golf course.

Andree noted that if approved, the drilling lease would be the first of its kind in connection with township-owned property.

He said money from the lease likely would go to road improvements.

Andree specifically mentioned the intersection of Unionville and Graham School roads as one site that could have upgrades if the lease is approved.