Third Time the Charm? Hilcorp PA Hearing on Forced Pooling Resched

In Pennsylvania, there is no forced pooling law for Marcellus Shale wells. Forced pooling laws typically say if a majority of landowners are leased in a drilling unit (640 acres, or one square mile), the driller can "force" the other landowners not signed to allow drilling under (not on) their land. However, there's a loophole in PA for Utica wells. Because Utica wells sit below the Onondaga formation, a 1961 PA law allows forced pooling for Utica wells. Hilcorp is attempting to use that loophole in Lawrence County, PA to force a few recalcitrant landowners to allow drilling (see Hilcorp Lawrence County, PA Forced Pooling Case Update). Hearings on Hilcorp's forced pooling request have been scheduled and canceled--twice (first in March, then in May). We now have a third date for the hearings--in September...

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