PA Supreme Crt: No Production, No Payments…Doesn’t Cancel Lease

Here's an interesting lawsuit in Pennsylvania with potential ramifications for both landowners and drillers. In 2013 a landowner in Warren County, PA filed a lawsuit against Mitch-Well Energy claiming the company had abandoned its leases (and its rights) by not producing marketable quantities of natural gas from several conventional wells. The company had also not paid a required annual fee in lieu of production royalties. For 18 years! Several lower courts ruled in favor of the landowner. Last week the PA "Supreme" Court (we use that term loosely) reversed the lower court rulings and said in this case, not producing gas for 18 years and not making any payments to the landowners during that time is not (yet) enough to claim the energy company has abandoned its lease rights.

---

To view this content, log into your member account. (Not a member? Join Today!)