Natural gas spot prices in Appalachia took a nose dive since our last report despite the rig-count rebound and rising oil prices.  In Pennsylvania, the Senate Republicans introduced a severance tax to raise approximately $100 million in revenue in order to close budget gaps in exchange for regulatory reforms designed to hasten actions on permit applications submitted to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection for approval. In other news, a court of appeals in Texas busted a Permian Basin lease in part based on a retained-acreage provision that didn’t cover non-operational areas on the leased premises while a federal judge in Kansas kept a royalty class action in federal court under the Class Action Fairness Act. Here’s your weekly roundup:…

After a few weeks off we’re back at the well. The national rig count dipped two units last week for the first time in a long time while oil and natural gas prices increased slightly. Since our last report, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Fund v. Commonwealth in which the state’s highest court scrapped a longstanding test for determining violations under the state’s Environmental Rights Amendment.  The Third Circuit was also busy issuing decisions on a wide range of topics while a federal court in Kentucky interpreted “oil and gas” as used in a farmout agreement as excluding NGLs for purposes of royalty payment obligations. In North Dakota, the state’s highest court held that a surface…

Oil and natural gas spot prices continued their downward trend since our last report with the Henry Hub dipping below $3 for the second straight week, spot prices in Appalachia dipping below $2, and oil prices hovering around $44/bbl. In Appalachia, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission issued its annual report demonstrating that the state collected more than $173 million from impact fees from natural gas producers, although the total dropped about $15 million from 2015.  In other news, a bankruptcy judge denied a claim to hundreds of millions of dollars in royalties based on a division order.  Here’s a roundup of the past several weeks: About The Author

Sliding oil and natural gas spot prices didn’t affect a steady rig count that climbed several more units since our last report.  In Appalachia, the West Virginia Supreme Court signaled a departure from the controversial “marketable product” rule for interpreting royalty clauses and the allocation of post-production costs, at least with respect to certain older leases subject to a state permitting statute that requires an upgrade from a flat-rate royalty clause to a production royalty clause as a condition of getting a drilling permit.  In other news, the Texas Supremes confirmed a county-wide mineral grant despite prior rulings that deeds with conflicting language conveying specific parcels along with all mineral interests within a county created an ambiguity.  Here’s a roundup…

Natural gas spot prices dropped since our last report despite rising oil prices and more rigs nationally and regionally.  In Pennsylvania, the PADEP issued its annual report for oil and gas operations indicating an increase in production despite the fewest well permits and wells drilled since 2008.  In other news, PADEP Secretary McDonnell can drop the “Acting” label from his title following a unanimous state senate vote to confirm his permanent appointment as the agency’s leader.  At the federal level, the D.C. Circuit hit the pause button on legal challenges to Obama-era rules targeting methane emissions from new oil and gas sources following the Trump Administration’s vow to review the rule as part of a planned overhaul of federal regulatory…

Oil prices based on the Brent Crude and West Texas Intermediate indices dropped significantly since our last report while natural gas spot prices rose slightly.  The national rig count remains steadily climbing except that the count in the Marcellus/Utica region dropped for the first time in several months.  In other news, oil and gas lessees go on the attack to send class actions to individual arbitration in Appalachia while Texas courts address lease busting attempts and the confusion over conveyances of mineral interests vs. royalty interests.  Here’s your week in review: About The Author

After a few weeks off, we are back at the well.  Natural gas and oil prices are down since our last report and the rig count in the Marcellus/Utica regions remains flat despite the increase in rig activity nationwide.  In Appalachia, a well operator challenged PADEP’s permit conditions purportedly designed to address possible seismic activities in connection with injection wells, and the Superior Court rejects the “stranger rule” for interpreting deeds reserving oil and gas interests for a husband and wife.  Elsewhere, the D.C. Circuit put the Clean Power Plan litigation on hold given the Trump Administration’s commitment to review and possibly rescind regulations, and the North Dakota Supreme Court addresses “fraction of” royalty interest disputes. Here’s your week in…

All three benchmarks for natural gas spot prices in Appalachia hit $3/MMBtu or more since our last report (and did so for the first time in a long time), trending alongside a spike in oil prices following the Syrian airstrike and a rising rig count. In Appalachia, the Ohio courts addressed several issues under the state’s Dormant Mineral Act while a federal court in Pennsylvania scrapped a township’s curious constitutional claims against a private oil and gas company that challenged the local government’s bid to ban UIC wells by local ordinance. Meanwhile, the Governor of Maryland signed a bill banning hydraulic fracturing within the state’s borders in anticipation of a multi-year moratorium that is set to expire in October. In other…

The Henry Hub inched past $3/MMBtu since our last report alongside another increase in the national rig count and a tiny uptick in oil prices.  In Appalachia, the Commonwealth Court issued a decision on whether and when certain marginal (“stripper”) wells are subject to the state’s impact fee while a federal magistrate judge tossed a controversial $4.2 million verdict against a well operator and ordered a new trial after finding insufficient evidence that the operator contaminated the plaintiffs’ private water supply and deriding the behavior of the plaintiffs’ lawyer.  Here’s your week in review: About The Author

Commodity prices remained relatively flat since our last report despite another healthy bump in the national rig count.  President Trump delivered on a promise to begin the process of rolling back clean energy and climate change initiatives of the Obama Administration by issuing his “Energy Independence” Executive Order.  In Appalachia, a federal judge addressed implied duties in oil and gas leases in the context of a claim alleging breach of the marketing covenant while a Pennsylvania appellate court and a court of appeals in Ohio issued curious decisions that seem to cut against well-understood rules of interpreting oil and gas leases.  Elsewhere, a Michigan Court of Appeals blessed an order authorizing operators targeting the Antrim Shale to operate wells under…