Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Pleasants County | Statewide WV | West Virginia
WV Supremes Rule on “In-Kind” Royalties & Post-Production Deductions
In April, MDN told you that the West Virginia Supreme Court was scheduled to hear oral arguments in two important oil and gas royalty cases (see WV Supremes Hear Oral Arguments in 2 Important O&G Royalty Cases). One of those two was Kaess v. BB Land LLC, a case we were not previously aware of. In Kaess v. BB Land LLC, the Supremes were asked to rule on two questions: (1) whether an implied duty to market applies to leases containing an “in-kind” royalty provision, and (2) whether the requirements for deducting post-production expenses apply to in-kind royalty leases. The Supremes ruled on Friday—in favor of landowners. Read More “WV Supremes Rule on “In-Kind” Royalties & Post-Production Deductions”
In April, Duke Energy, owner of electricity utility companies serving 8.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky, sealed a deal with GE Vernova to buy up to 11 gas turbines to power new gas-fired power plants (see 
According to the left-wing-funded (very partisan) Spotlight PA publication, a group of bills aimed at boosting electricity production and regulating clean energy has “rare, bipartisan support” in Pennsylvania’s divided legislature. We doubt that. More like a few RINOs are joining Democrats to support a few bills. Regardless of whether there is consensus between the two parties on these energy bills, they aren’t going anywhere in the PA Senate unless and until the state Supreme Court (loaded with Democrats) renders a decision on the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) carbon tax scheme. So says the PA Senate Majority Leader, Joe Pittman (Republican from Indiana). 
OTHER U.S. REGIONS: Wind opponents sue Trump administration to block New York wind project; NATIONAL: White House walks back U.S.-built LNG carrier ambitions; In 2024, the United States produced more energy than ever before; INTERNATIONAL: China gas sector lobbies for more power plants to boost demand; Oil edges up as traders await outcome of USA-China trade talks; BofA sees Saudis embarking on long but shallow oil price war; Global tally of alt-energy rejections passes 1,000. 
Last week, for the sixth week in a row, the Baker Hughes U.S. rig count dropped, down another four rigs to its lowest level since November 2021. It was the first time since September 2023 that the count has fallen for six (or more) weeks in a row. Free fallin’. However, the Marcellus/Utica count remained the same, at a combined 36 active rigs. The Pennsylvania Marcellus operated 18 rigs. The Ohio Utica operated 11 rigs. And West Virginia operated seven rigs. 
Republicans in the Buckeye State (Ohio) are treading on thin ice with a proposed change in the upcoming state budget. When GOP members began advocating for drilling under (not on) state-owned land and state parks in 2011, one of the arguments was that the revenue it would generate would improve state parks. A change in plans is underway with the latest two-year state budget, which would shift those revenues from park improvements to general operations instead. Is this a bait-and-switch? 
The Center for Energy & Environmental Analysis (CEEA) claims it is a “non-partisan think tank” that studies energy and environmental trends and their impact on the future. Attached to the University of Texas at Austin, the CEEA is actually very partisan (Democrat) and anti-fossil fuel. However, the CEEA has done us all a favor. The organization recently released a report aimed at denigrating a flurry of new natural gas pipeline projects planned or being built, and in the process, provides a list of 104 active pipeline projects that our side can celebrate. 
Bloomberg reports that Donald Trump is using our dominance of a niche petroleum gas, ethane, as a bargaining chip in his trade war with China. Last week MDN brought you the news that the Trump U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is blocking at least three (possibly more) cargoes of ethane by rejecting permits to export to Enterprise Products Partners (see 
For the week of May 26 – Jun 1, the number of permits issued to drill new wells in the Marcellus/Utica increased significantly from the previous week. There were 35 new permits issued across the three M-U states last week, up 11 from 24 two weeks ago. A whopping 27 new permits were issued in the Keystone State (PA) after issuing only four permits two weeks ago. EQT and its drilling subsidiary Rice Drilling received 10 permits, all of them in Greene County, spread across two pads. Spain-based Repsol received the second most permits, five, for a single pad in Tioga County. 
We have some important new information regarding the proposed Penn LNG export facility in the Philadelphia area. 
Two days ago, the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released its latest quarterly Natural Gas Production Report for January through March 2025 (full copy below). There were 93 new horizontal wells spud (drilled) in 1Q25, a decrease of 7 wells (-7%) compared to 1Q24. However, 1Q’s spud number increased by 9 (11%) from the 84 drilled in the prior quarter, 4Q24. Natural gas production volume was 1,941 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 1Q25, up 56 Bcf (3%) from 1,885 Bcf produced in 1Q24, and up 72 Bcf (4%) from the 1,869 Bcf produced in 4Q24. The big news revolved around price. The average Pennsylvania spot hub price was $3.69, an increase of $2.00 (117.5%) from the prior year. 
Two conventional oil producers in Southeast Ohio say dozens of their wells have been flooded with industrial waste (brine) from the fracking industry. They claim that nearby injection wells that handle frack waste/brine are leaking. State regulators agree that injection wells, at least at some locations, are leaking. Not only have these leaks (if true) affected oil wells, but there’s a concern they may be contaminating area water wells.