The West Virginia Oil & Natural Gas Association (WVONGA) is pushing hard to get legislation passed that we call “forced pooling lite”–WV Senate Bill 576 which addresses the issues of co-tenancy and joint development (see Analysis of New WV Bill SB 576 re Co-Tenancy & Joint Development). This is the sixth time forced pooling-related legislation has been put forward and WVONGA is determined this time it will pass. They’ve pulled out all the stops. Last week WVONGA organized a bus-in rally at the Capital where nearly 1,000 people showed up at a rally to support the legislation (see WVONGA Delivers ~1,000 at Rally to Support Co-Tenancy, Joint Dev.). It most certainly had an impact. SB 576 is now out of committee and on the Senate floor for consideration, as of Friday and had its first reading. It had its second reading on Saturday and is scheduled for a third reading today. The bill is being touted as a way to increase the number of jobs in the oil and gas industry in the state. What is co-tenancy and joint development?…
