President Trump issued two Executive Orders (EO) on April 10, 2019 to expedite permitting and construction of primarily energy-related infrastructure projects.
Ryan Elliott, an attorney in the Vorys Columbus office, recently wrote an article for the Oil & Gas Association’s OOGA Bulletin titled, “The WOTUS Saga Continues.”
On February 4, 2019, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court decision upholding the constitutionality of Ohio’s statutory unitization procedures.
On May 4, 2018, U.S. EPA released an updated draft audit program agreement that will be available to new owners of oil and natural gas exploration and production facilities.
In Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Production Co. (Apr. 2, 2018), the Superior Court of Pennsylvania held that trespass and conversion claims concerning hydraulic fracturing were not precluded by the rule of capture.
The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) recently rolled out a new system, called the “PUCO Community,” that must be used for submitting annual reports and eventually it will have additional uses.
In a January 3, 2018 decision, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that Ohio does not recognize an implied covenant to explore further as a distinct implied covenant in oil and gas leases.
Joseph Mann, a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and a member of the tax group, authored an article for the OOGA Bulletin (the monthly publication of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association) titled “IRS Announces that Marginal Well Production Credits are Available for 2016 Natural Gas Production.”
Greg Russell, a partner in the Vorys Columbus office and the chair of the firm's energy subgroup, authored an article for the OOGA Bulletin titled "Legal Issues Facing Ohio Producers."
Grant Martin, an associate in the real estate group in the Vorys Columbus office, authored an article for the May 2017 edition of the Penn State Law Review.
In an opinion published yesterday, the Supreme Court of Ohio declined to answer a certified question from the Northern District of Ohio regarding whether Ohio follows the “at the well” rule or the “marketable product” theory with respect to post-production costs, leaving it up to the federal court to interpret the parties’ contracts under traditional cannons of contract construction.
Michael Vennum and Keith Zabela, of counsel in the Vorys Pittsburgh office, co-authored the "Title and Conveyancing of Oil and Gas Rights in Pennsylvania” chapter for the second edition of The Law of Oil and Gas in Pennsylvania.
On September 15, 2016, many oil and gas producers and surface owners of Ohio properties awoke to problematic news: the Supreme Court of Ohio, in Corban v. Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C., et al., Slip Opinion No. 2016-Ohio-5796, held that the 1989 version of the Ohio Dormant Mineral Act (R.C. § 5301.56) (1989 DMA) was not self-executing (i.e., did not automatically abandon and vest dormant mineral interests in the surface owner of the property by operation of law).
The Ohio Tax Commissioner recently issued a memorandum to county auditors regarding significant changes to the taxation of oil and gas reserves starting in tax year 2016.
On March 8, 2016, a New York Bankruptcy Court issued a bench decision in the Sabine Oil & Gas Corporation Chapter 11 case. The Court’s decision concerning a producer’s request to reject certain portions of its midstream agreements has sent shockwaves through the oil and gas industry.
On March 4, 2016, the Ohio Seventh District Court of Appeals in Summitcrest, Inc. v. Eric Petroleum Corp., et al., addressed several issues concerning oil and gas leases in Ohio.
The Eighth District Court of Appeals recently struck down the Broadview Heights Community Bill of Rights as an invalid exercise of the home rule authority. The Community Bill of Rights, also known as Article XV of the City Charter, banned new oil and gas drilling and limited operation of current wells in the city. It also made it illegal to challenge Article XV as preempted by state law.
Energy and production companies seeking to develop an unconventional natural gas well site in Western Pennsylvania undoubtedly are familiar with the local zoning ordinance and well permit challenges being brought by those opposed to hydraulic fracturing.
Ryan D. Elliott
Joseph B. Mann
Gregory D. Russell
Michael K. Vennum
Keith A. Zabela