Shale Law in the Spotlight
Stay tuned for further updates to this page.
Scope of Pennsylvania’s Pipeline Investment Program (PIPE) Expanded through Enactment of Annual Fiscal Code
Written by Chloe Marie – Research Specialist
Earlier this year, on June 28, 2019, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf signed into law Senate Bill No. 712 – also known as Act 20 – amending Pennsylvania’s Fiscal Code as part of the annual budget process. This annual Fiscal Code legislation often contains provisions addressing a variety of topics. This year, one of these legislative provisions will serve to further expand the Pipeline Investment Program (PIPE). PIPE is a grant program launched on the initiative of Governor Wolf in November 2016 with the purpose of connecting additional households and businesses in Pennsylvania to the piped natural […]
UPDATE: Overview of Recent Oil and Gas Regulatory and Legal Developments in Colorado
Written by Chloe Marie – Research Specialist
This article will provide an updated and brief overview of some recent legal changes and developments in the state of Colorado.
Adams County, Colorado approves changes to the county’s oil and gas regulations
On September 3, 2019, the Adams County Board of Commissioners amended the county’s oil and gas regulations as a result of the enactment of Senate Bill 19-181. Board Chair Steve O’Dorisio declared in a statement that “our staff has been hard at work creating a set of regulations that is fair to the industry but also provides […]
North Dakota Supreme Court Rules that Post-Production Costs Cannot be Deducted from Royalties Paid to State
Written by Chloe Marie – Research Specialist
Case Summary: Newfield Exploration Company et al. v. State of North Dakota et al., No. 2019 ND 193
On July 11, 2019, the Supreme Court of North Dakota concluded that post-production costs relating to the processing of gas into a marketable form could not be subtracted from royalties paid to the State of North Dakota. This article provides a comprehensive summary of this case.
Background
Newfield, an oil and gas company, entered into several natural gas leases with the State of North Dakota containing provisions that required royalties […]
Overview of Recent Local Oil and Gas Moratoria in Colorado Following the Passage of Senate Bill 19-181
On April 16, 2019, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed Senate Bill No. 19-181 into law, increasing the focus on environmental and public health concerns in the oil and gas governance process in Colorado. Among other things, the legislation mandates that the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission develop and promulgate a number of rules to ensure that development takes place in a manner that is consistent with the Commission’s primary interest to protect people, wildlife, and the environment from the impacts of oil and gas activities. In addition, the legislation increases the authority of local governments […]
Shale Law in the Spotlight – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission Proposes Rulemaking Addressing Pipeline Safety Standards
On June 13, 2019, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (Commission) published a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking comment on possible amendments or enhancements to regulations governing pipeline safety standards. On that same day, the Commission also published a notice of proposed rulemaking addressing financial reporting for public utilities. The Commission is looking for public input into ways of better regulating the design, construction, operations, and maintenance of public utilities, such as transportation pipelines in intrastate commerce. Ultimately, the Commission is considering whether the hazardous liquid public utility safety standards laid down in Chapter 59 of the Pennsylvania […]
Pennsylvania Supreme Court Rules that Residents of Neighboring Municipality Can Provide Testimonial Evidence in Land Use Hearing on the Impacts of Natural Gas Drilling
Written by Chloe Marie – Research Specialist
Case Summary: EQT Production Company et al. v. Borough of Jefferson Hills, No. 4 WAP 2018
On May 31, 2019, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania issued an opinion addressing whether residents living in neighboring municipalities can provide testimonial evidence at a land use public hearing about the impacts of unconventional natural gas drilling. The Supreme Court concluded that such evidence may be considered by the municipality in the granting of conditional use approval for a natural gas drilling operation.
Factual Background
In September 2015, EQT filed an application with the Borough of […]
West Virginia Supreme Court Rules that Surface Landowners Are Not Substantially Burdened by Off-Site Horizontal Drilling Activities
Written by Chloe Marie – Research Specialist
Within the last month, the West Virginia Supreme Court has decided two cases that impact the relationship between surface owners and mineral owners in split-estate situations. In a prior article, we addressed EQT Production Co. v. Crowder, 2019 WL 2414728 (W. Va. June 5, 2019), where the court ruled on the ability of a split-estate mineral owner to use the surface estate for the development of adjacent properties. In this article, we will address Andrews v. Antero Resources Corp., 2019 WL 2494598 (W. Va. June 10, 2019), where the court ruled on the related […]
West Virginia Supreme Court Rules that Owner of Severed Mineral Estate Cannot Use Surface Estate to Develop Minerals from Neighboring Properties
Written by Chloe Marie – Research Specialist
In the current month, the West Virginia Supreme Court has decided two cases that impact the relationship between surface owners and mineral owners in split-estate situations. In this article, we will address EQT Production Co. v. Crowder, 2019 WL 2414728 (W. Va. June 5, 2019), where the court ruled on the ability of a split-estate mineral owner to use the surface estate for the development of adjacent properties. In our next article, we will address Andrews v. Antero Resources Corp., 2019 WL 2494598 (W. Va. June 10, 2019), where the court ruled on the […]
Oregon and Washington Enact Hydraulic Fracturing Bans
Written by Chloe Marie – Research Specialist
This article will provide an overview of recent legislative developments that have taken place in the states of Oregon and Washington to prohibit the use of hydraulic fracturing for any future oil and gas development projects. According to the most recent production report published by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), Oregon had 659 MMCF of natural gas production in 2017. With this production level, Oregon ranked 28th out of 34 natural gas-producing states. According to the EIA report, Washington did not have any natural gas production in 2017. Additionally, neither […]
Delayed or Abandoned LNG Export Projects in the United States: Louisiana, Maine, and Texas
Written by Chloe Marie – Research Specialist
In May 2017, we wrote three articles addressing the then-pending and approved applications for LNG export projects in the United States. Since that time, many legal developments have occurred and so we will once again provide a discussion of LNG export developments through a multi-part series.
The first two articles in the series addressed approved applications for LNG export projects in the United States with the first article providing an overview on the development of six projects in Louisiana and the second one focusing on five projects in Texas and one project in Georgia that […]
