By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on February 21, 2023
On February 15, 2023, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of PennEnergy Resources, LLC in the Dressler Family, LP v. PennEnergy Resources, LLC matter. The...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on February 15, 2023
An oil and gas lease with a “free gas” clause may be a valuable tool for landowners to push back against drillers’ inaccurate attempts to value gas at...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on February 7, 2023
As we have written about before, a troubling issue facing landowners in the Marcellus Shale region is the practice of retroactive pooling and unitization. Retroactive pooling and unitization...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on January 26, 2023
Let’s assume you own 125 acres in Greene County, Pennsylvania. A landman from XYZ Gas Co. approaches you about a new oil and gas lease. The lease purports...
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By Robert J. Burnett on January 13, 2023
Many Pennsylvania oil and gas leases have what is commonly known as a “market enhancement” royalty clause (“MEC”). These MEC leases typically prohibit the deduction of any post-production...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on November 4, 2022
There is no way to avoid it. It seems like everything costs more now than it did last week, last month and last year. Energy is one area...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on October 25, 2022
Many Pennsylvania landowners have leases with “market enhancement” royalty clauses. These clauses typically prohibit the deduction of any post-production costs that are incurred transforming the gas into marketable form....
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October 25, 2022
Years ago, Staples came out with its “easy” button as part of a marketing strategy. For Pennsylvania oil and gas owners, there are some straightforward things that should...
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By Robert J. Burnett on October 19, 2022
Deducting fuel costs from landowner royalties continues to be an ongoing and widespread practice. Not only are landowners denied a royalty on the fuel gas volume, but they...
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By Robert J. Burnett on September 7, 2022
Let’s assume you own a 93-acre farm in Tioga County. In 1986 your grandfather sold the oil and gas rights to his neighbor, John Mize. In the early...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on July 1, 2022
Let’s assume you own 115 acres in Greene County, Pennsylvania. In 2017, you signed an oil and gas lease with ABC Exploration, Inc. During the negotiations, you agreed...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on June 22, 2022
Let’s assume you own a 95 acre farm in Tioga County. Your family has owned the farm since the early 1900’s. However, in 1961, your grandfather severed the...
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By Robert J. Burnett on June 2, 2022
Let’s assume you own a 135 acre farm in Washington County. In 1976, your grandfather signed an oil and gas lease with ABC Oil. Several years later, ABC...
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By Robert J. Burnett on May 19, 2022
Let’s assume that you own 125 acres in Tioga County. In 2017, you negotiate a new oil and gas lease with XYZ Drilling. During the negotiations, you insist...
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By Robert J. Burnett on March 30, 2022
Let’s assume you own a 110 acre farm in Washington County. The farm is subject to an oil and gas lease which was signed by your grandfather in...
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By Robert J. Burnett on March 30, 2022
Let’s assume you own 114 acres in Tioga County Pennsylvania. In 2012, you signed an oil and gas lease with XYZ Drilling. Two years later they drill and...
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By Robert J. Burnett on March 30, 2022
The practice of deducting post-production costs from landowner royalties remains a controversial and contentious issue here in Pennsylvania. Many landowners sought to insulate their royalties from such deductions...
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By Robert J. Burnett on March 30, 2022
The processing of natural gas and natural gas liquids requires a constant and reliable energy source. Critical operations such as compression, dehydration and fractionation cannot be conducted unless...
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By Robert J. Burnett
The Pennsylvania Superior Court has continued the unfortunate recent trend of eroding the implied covenant of reasonable development in Pennsylvania. Generally, upon discovery of hydrocarbons, the implied covenant...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Over the last 18 months natural gas operators from all over the world have converged on Western Pennsylvania. Their goal has been to secure new leases from landowners...
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By Robert J. Burnett on March 20, 2022
Federal Court in Kentucky Allows Novel Royalty Claim to Move Forward An ongoing debate between landowners and drillers is where and how the royalty should be valued. This...
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By Robert J. Burnett
The question of whether a sale of real estate includes the underlying gas rights remains a troubling issue for some Pennsylvania landowners. For example, let’s assume your family...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Preliminary Operations Not Enough To Extend Lease into Secondary Term In a recent decision, the Arkansas Court of Appeals concluded that conducting preliminary drilling operations was not enough...
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March 18, 2022
Superior Court Breathes New Life Into Guaranteed Minimum Royalty Act As the debate in Harrisburg heats up this winter regarding the practice of deducting post-production costs from oil...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Pennsylvania Superior Court Fumbles Lease Expiration Claim Every oil and gas lease has essentially the same objective: the drilling of a well and the eventual payment of production...
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By Robert J. Burnett
In the early days of the Marcellus leasing boom, your grandfather executes an oil and gas lease covering the 100 acre family farm in Mercer County. The landman...
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Ohio Supreme Court Declines To Recognize Implied Covenant Of Further Exploration There are thousands of shallow oil and gas wells across Pennsylvania. Many of these shallow wells were...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Landowners May Face Difficult Burden Regarding Intermingled Gas A recent opinion issued by the Pennsylvania Superior Court may place a difficult burden on landowners confronted with a subsurface...
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By Robert J. Burnett
If you have a lease with Chesapeake, you could be impacted by the recent class action settlement in the Demchak Partners Limited Partnership v. Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC litigation....
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By Robert J. Burnett
Federal District Court In Pennsylvania Allows Royalty Claim To Move Forward Robert J. Burnett is a director and chair of Houston Harbaugh’s Oil and Gas practice. To learn...
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By Robert J. Burnett
In the ongoing royalty dispute in Lutz v. Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC, the federal district court sitting in Akron, Ohio recently ruled that Chesapeake did not breach the parties’...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Continuing a trend that puts Pennsylvania at odds with most oil/gas jurisdictions, the federal court in Scranton recently ruled that an unsuccessful suit filed by a landowner challenging...
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By Robert J. Burnett
A Possible Blueprint for Landowners Challenging Pipeline Companies Landowners in Kentucky may be emboldened by a recent decision by the Kentucky Court of Appeals that rejected an attempt...
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By Robert J. Burnett on March 17, 2022
Imagine you on 135 acres in Butler County, Pennsylvania. You signed an oil/gas lease with XYZ Drilling and you are now receiving production royalties from the three Marcellus...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Landowners should be wary of the Oct. 24 decision by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission strengthening Sunoco Pipeline LP’s claim as a public utility and possibly paving the...
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By Robert J. Burnett
The development of the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania has been facilitated by the marriage of modern drilling technology with the legal concept known as “pooling”. In short, a...
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By Robert J. Burnett
The meteoric development of the Marcellus Shale is staggering. Since 2004, nearly 7,800 unconventional gas wells have been drilled throughout Pennsylvania. One of the stark realities of this...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Your family owns a 125 acre farm in Greene County. Back in 1966, your grandfather signed a lease with XYZ Oil Co. In that 1966 lease, XYZ Oil...
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By Robert J. Burnett
In a landmark decision, the Pennsylvania Superior Court recently ruled that the “rule of capture” does not apply to frac fissures that extend under unleased parcels. The decision...
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By Robert J. Burnett
In a recent decision, the Pennsylvania Superior Court gave diligent landowners powerful protection against unwanted subsurface activity. In Sabella v. Appalachian Development, 2014 Pa. Super. 237 (2014), the...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Assume you own 150 acres of timber in Lycoming County. You decide to cut and clear 75 acres. You hire Big Logger, Inc. (“Big Logger”) to cut and...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Landowners are often alarmed and angered when they receive word that the oil/gas lease they executed several years ago, after months of intense and personal negotiations, has been...
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By Robert J. Burnett
In a recent decision, the federal court in Pittsburgh held that the definition of “royalty” adopted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in Kilmer v. Elexco Land Services, Inc. was not...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Throughout Pennsylvania it is not uncommon to encounter gas wells that were drilled over 100 years ago. These ancient wells were drilled pursuant to oil/gas leases that often...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Imagine your family has owned a 230-acre tree farm in Butler County for over 100 years. Back in 1937, your grandfather sold the oil and gas rights under...
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By Robert J. Burnett
In a rather surprising move, the West Virginia Supreme Court has decided to revisit the November 17, 2016 opinion it issued in the Leggett v. EQT Production Company...
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By Robert J. Burnett
The modern producing gas well is a sophisticated and complex piece of equipment. The basic well head itself consists of several meters, valves and other components, each of...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell
Your family owns a 300 acre farm in Ritchie County, West Virginia. There is a lease from 1978 on the property that has now been incorporated into a...
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March 17, 2022
The processing of natural gas and natural gas liquids requires a constant and reliable energy source. Critical operations such as compression, dehydration and fractionation cannot be conducted unless...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Last week the West Virginia Legislature took a bold and decisive step on behalf of West Virginia landowners. In a remarkable 34-0 vote on February 28, 2018, the...
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By Robert J. Burnett
There are thousands of older vertical wells scattered across Pennsylvania. Many of these wells have not produced oil or gas in years and have fallen into disrepair. Despite...
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By Robert J. Burnett
In a recent non-precedential decision, the Pennsylvania Superior Court ruled that a driller did not breach the implied covenant of reasonable development by failing to drill a Marcellus...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Let’s assume you own a 173 acre farm in Washington County, Pennsylvania. You purchased the farm in 2018. Prior to purchasing the farm, the seller disclosed that there...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Imagine you own an apple orchard. You sign a contract with XYZ Produce which grants them the exclusive right to harvest your apples. At the end of the...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Since the 1890s, your family has owned a 150 acre farm in Washington County, Pennsylvania. In 2014, you and your siblings sign an oil and gas lease with...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Imagine you own a 95-acre farm in Washington County, Pa. The farm has been in your family since the 1930s. Your great-grandfather signed an oil and gas lease...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Landowners in West Virginia received an early Christmas gift from the West Virginia Supreme Court last month. In a landmark opinion, the Supreme Court in Leggett v. EQT...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Throughout Pennsylvania, landowners are continuing to experience “sticker shock” when they open their royalty statements related to gas drilling. The practice of deducting post-production costs from the royalty...
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By Robert J. Burnett
The practice of deducting post-production costs from the landowner’s royalty remains one of the most controversial and disputed issues here in Pennsylvania. Many landowners sought to insulate their...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Gas operators have been drilling gas wells throughout this Commonwealth for over a hundred years. As a result, the Pennsylvania countryside is littered with tens of thousands of...
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By Robert J. Burnett
On June 23, 2015, Representatives Garth Everett (R-Lycoming), Sandra Major (R-Susquehanna/Wayne), Matt Baker (R-Bradford/Potter/Tioga), Tina Pickett (R-Bradford/Sullivan/Susquehanna) and Karen Boback (R-Lackawanna/ Luzerne/Wyoming) re-introduced legislation which seeks to clarify...
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By Robert J. Burnett
A recent ruling from Lycoming County suggests that the next big fight over Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania may be waged at the local municipal level. For those...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on March 15, 2022
The oil and gas business has been defined by cyclical “booms” and “busts”. Increased investment, drilling and production during growth years can lead to oversupply in the marketplace,...
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By Robert J. Burnett on March 15, 2022
The calculation of production royalties and the deduction of post-production costs is a hot topic for landowners across Pennsylvania. But there is another frustrating and often confusing royalty-related...
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By Robert J. Burnett on March 15, 2022
This is a familiar yet troubling question. Imagine that you own 150 acres in southwestern Pennsylvania. You have received offers from several prominent gas producers but have not...
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By Robert J. Burnett
There are thousands of older vertical wells scattered across Pennsylvania. Many of these wells have not produced oil or gas in years and have fallen into disrepair. Despite...
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By Robert J. Burnett on March 15, 2022
Horizontal Drilling Presents Unique Leasing Issues The modern oil and gas lease is a sophisticated and complex legal instrument that has evolved over the last several decades. This...
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By Robert J. Burnett on March 15, 2022
This is a familiar but troubling issue for a growing number of landowners throughout the Marcellus Shale fairway. Imagine you own 145 acres in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. You...
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By Robert J. Burnett
The question of whether Ohio follows the “at the well” rule or the “marketable product” rule will have to wait for another day. And that might not be...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Assume you own 110 acres of timber in Washington County. You decide to cut and clear 75 acres. You hire ABC Logging Inc. (“ABC Logging”) to cut and...
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By Robert J. Burnett
A decision from the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania should serve as an important reminder for landowners who, in the midst of ongoing oil...
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By Robert J. Burnett
In a recent decision, the Washington County Court of Common Pleas granted a landowner’s request to terminate a ninety-one year old oil/gas lease due to non-production. In Wilson...
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By Robert J. Burnett
Throughout Pennsylvania, landowners are continuing to experience frustration and anger when they open their royalty statements. The practice of deducting postproduction costs from the gas royalty has become...
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April is National Safe Digging Month, reminding all contractors and homeowners to call 811 at least three business days before starting a digging project to ensure that all...
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By Robert J. Burnett on November 18, 2021
The calculation of production royalties and the deduction of post-production costs is a hot topic for landowners across Pennsylvania. But there is another frustrating and often confusing royalty-related...
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October 16, 2021
Many oil and gas leases in Pennsylvania contain a royalty clause known as a “market enhancement” clause. These clauses generally prohibit deductions unless the driller can demonstrate certain...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell
On August 5, 2021, Rep. Eric Davanzo (R-Westmorland County) introduced HB 1763. The bill seeks to clarify Pennsylvania oil and gas law by defining the term “royalty”. It...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on August 16, 2021
Many Pennsylvania oil and gas leases have what is commonly known as a “market enhancement” royalty clause. These clauses typically prohibit the deduction of any post-production costs that...
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By Robert J. Burnett on July 18, 2021
The modern producing gas well is a sophisticated and complex piece of equipment. The basic well head itself consists of several meters, valves and other components, each of...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on July 16, 2021
In 2019, the Pennsylvania Superior Court issued a landmark decision in the SLT Holdings, LLC v. Mitch-Well Energy Inc, 217 A. 3d 1258 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2019) matter....
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By Robert J. Burnett on June 18, 2021
As the Marcellus Shale development enters its seventeenth year, drillers are becoming more creative and aggressive in their effort to avoid lease language that was intended to prohibit...
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By Robert J. Burnett on May 18, 2021
Joint ownership of oil and gas rights is fairly routine here in Pennsylvania. But what happens when one co-tenant unilaterally signs an oil and gas lease without informing...
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By Brendan A. O'Donnell, Robert J. Burnett on May 15, 2021
On March 8, 2021, the Pennsylvania Attorney General announced a settlement of the lawsuit filed against Chesapeake Energy Corporation that challenged several of Chesapeake’s business practices. One of...
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By Robert J. Burnett on May 2, 2021
Imagine you just inherited a 200-acre farm in rural Butler County that has been in your family for decades. As a young child, you recall walking through one...
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By Brendan A. O'Donnell
In a recent ruling in Mitch v. XTO Energy, Inc. the Pennsylvania Superior Court has reasoned that a well drilled horizontally below a landowner’s property does not trigger the “free...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on March 18, 2021
Time travel. The idea of traveling back in time has been a fascinating part of popular culture for over a hundred years. From H.G. Wells’ classic novella The...
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By Robert J. Burnett on March 16, 2021
As the Marcellus Shale development enters its seventeenth year, drillers are becoming more creative and aggressive in their effort to avoid express lease language that was drafted to...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on February 18, 2021
Many landowners in Pennsylvania signed oil and gas leases with “market enhancement” clauses. These clauses typically contain language that prohibits a driller from deducting post-production costs unless the...
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By Robert J. Burnett on August 7, 2020
A number of oil and gas leases in the Marcellus Shale region allow a driller to deduct post-production costs after the gas is in “marketable” form. These clauses...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on July 18, 2020
Oil and gas law is replete with unique terms and concepts. Perhaps one of the most confusing and complex areas of oil and gas law is the concept...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on June 15, 2020
You own a 175 acre farm in Washington County. In 2014, you signed an oil and gas lease with XYZ Gas Company. The royalty clause, which you specifically...
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April 18, 2020
A great deal of infrastructure is needed to move oil and gas from their reservoirs thousands of feet below the ground to the places where these hydrocarbons are...
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By Robert J. Burnett on April 18, 2020
Your family owns a 87 acre farm in Tioga County. Back in 1979, your grandfather signed a lease with ABC Oil Co with a customary primary term of...
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Pressure continues to mount on the Chinese economy as fears of the coronavirus mount. Though the Chinese government has taken steps to halt the spread of the virus,...
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“Energy Independence” has been frequently heard in recent years as a tag-line to marshal public support for shale drilling. But, is there a connection between shale drilling and...
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By Robert J. Burnett, Brendan A. O'Donnell on March 1, 2020
In mid-2019, Fram Operating, LLC and its parent, Fram Americas, LLC filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in Colorado. Fram was an oil and gas producer with wells...
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By Robert J. Burnett on January 15, 2020
On January 22, 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a much-anticipated ruling in Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Production Company regarding the interplay between the “rule of capture” and...
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By Robert J. Burnett on November 15, 2019
On November 7, 2019, Governor Wolf signed Act 85 of 2019 (“Act 85”) into law. This is an unfortunate and deeply flawed piece of legislation. Pursuant to Act...
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By Robert J. Burnett
The development and processing of raw natural gas requires a constant and reliable energy source. Critical operations such as compression, separation, dehydration and fractionation cannot be conducted unless...
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By Robert J. Burnett on March 11, 2019
Robert J. Burnett is a director and chair of Houston Harbaugh’s Oil and Gas practice. To learn more about our work with landowners and royalty owners, visit our Oil...
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By Robert J. Burnett on February 27, 2019
As more and more horizontal well bores are being drilled across Pennsylvania, landowners are now keeping a closer eye on the location of nearby wells. For example, imagine...
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By Robert J. Burnett on September 15, 2018
A Federal jury in the Northern District of West Virginia recently found that EQT Production Company (EQT) breached the parties’ oil/gas lease by utilizing the “work back” method...
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By Robert J. Burnett on June 17, 2017
On February 17, 2017, Rep. Garth Everett (R-Lycoming County) introduced HB 557. The bill seeks to put teeth back into Pennsylvania’s Guaranteed Minimum Royalty Act (“GMRA”) by prohibiting...
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By Robert J. Burnett on March 15, 2017
If you have an abandoned oil and gas well on your property, it may no longer be just an ugly eye-sore. As a result of controversial legislation recently...
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In Commonwealth v. Seneca Resources Corporation, 2014 LEXIS 608 (Pa. Commw. Ct., October 6, 2014), the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania revisited the Pennsylvania Gaming Commission’s (“Commission”) complaint that alleged...
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In Gorsline, et al. v. Board of Supervisors of Fairfield Township et al., No. 14-000130 (Lycoming Co. C.P., August 29, 2014), certain individuals appealed the decision of the...
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By Alan S. Miller on February 28, 2014
On February 21, 2014, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania declined to reconsider its landmark decision of December 19, 2013, invalidating several provisions of Act 13 on the grounds...
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By Robert J. Burnett on April 25, 2013
On April 24, 2013, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its much anticipated decision in Butler v. Charles Powers Estate (“Butler II”). At issue in Butler II was whether...
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In McCausland v. Wagner, the Pennsylvania Superior Court was confronted with the question of whether the lessor under an oil and gas lease was entitled to terminate the...
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By Robert J. Burnett on February 17, 2012
Suppose you purchase a 100-acre farm in Armstrong County. You are told that the property is subject to an old gas lease but that the farmhouse receives “free...
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By Robert J. Burnett on February 17, 2012
Suppose you purchase a 100-acre farm in Armstrong County. You are told that the property is subject to an old gas lease but that the farmhouse receives “free...
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By Robert J. Burnett on March 15, 0202
The fine print in an oil and gas lease can have some serious repercussions for an unwary landowner. One of the fine print clauses that often gets overlooked...
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