Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brian V. on April 27, 2011 at 3:50am

If forced pooling isn't going to be discussed then they should present a bill requiring pooling guidelines and regulations. Shell is currently filing like crazy anywhere and everywhere they can. They are clearly cutting out unleased or leased to other company leases and doing nothing more than clearing ground and drilling the first thousand feet. They have the back end to shut these wells in for years, which could be good for those property owners that get spaced out or simply surrounded but excluded who could sign down the road when the current lease expires or when Shell decides they want to open discussions again. It is clear that the current system is being taken advantage of fully.

 

For the most part the free for all land grab is over in PA or at least in Tioga it seems to be. Once a well unit is declared and your unleased or leased with another company acreage is cut out of it at this time no one will touch that lease except the company with the well unit. By that point they pretty much have no competition and no incentive to give you a fair deal. If another company could force their way into that unit by laws regarding some sort of set pooling size then it would be a whole new ball game.   

Permalink Reply by Ann Ticopa on April 27, 2011 at 5:30am

It is a positive to know where Corbett stands ... whether/not one agrees with him.

 

The original intent of the Texas forced pooling law was to enable spaced out landowners to petition to be included in a unit.  It's only within the last several years that a few gascos have used it, in urban areas.  North Dakota's forced pooling allows anyone who owns/holds a lease on property to propose a unit.  Otoh, last year's PA draft legislation required a super-majority (75%) of the land.  And the 400% risk penalty, no bonus, no royalty terms for a non-participating landowner were about as monopoly-friendly as it gets.  It appeared that the objective was to "convince" landowners to sign the lease included with the application.  The legislation Yaw proposed last Fall would have applied only to land that was already leased.