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 which is under constant stress and pressure. In addition to the well head,...
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Oil And Gas
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Issues Confusing and Troubling Decision for Landowners
By: Robert J. Burnett and Brendan A. O’Donnell 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. The Superior Court affirmed the trial court’s decision in...
Federal District Court Injects Confusion into Definition of Gross Royalty Under Pennsylvania Law
By Robert J. Burnett 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 or restrict the deduction of post-production costs. Many...
Ohio Appellate Court Issues Troubling Decision for Landowners and Drillers
By Robert J. Burnett 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 the others? Does that co-tenant have superior rights? Perhaps. Let’s...
Are February 2021 Production Royalty Payments Leaving you Out in the Cold?
By Brendan A. O'Donnell & Robert J. Burnett 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 the announced...
Texas Supreme Court Rules That Gross Royalty Clause Prohibits Driller From Deducting Post-Production Costs
By Robert J. Burnett 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 prohibit or restrict the deduction of post-production costs....
Is Your Driller Trying to Re-Write History?
By Robert J. Burnett, Esquire and Brendan A. O’Donnell, Esquire 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 Time Machine in 1895 to Huey Lewis & the...
Pennsylvania Superior Court Rules that Oil and Gas Rights Did Not Transfer to Buyer
By: Robert J. Burnett, Esquire 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 decides to buy a 135 acre farm in Tioga County from Mr....
Historic Cold May Provide Window Into “Market Enhancement” Under Gas Leases
By Robert J. Burnett and Brendan A. O'Donnell 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 driller can...
KANSAS COURT RULES THAT GAS IS NOT MARKETABLE UNTIL IT REACHES INTERSTATE PIPELINE
By: Robert J. Burnett 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 are known as “market enhancement” clauses. Under a typical “market enhancement”...
