Let’s assume you own a 175 acre farm in Washington County. Your grandfather acquired the farm back in 1948 from Farmer Brown (the “1948 Deed”). Your grandfather always said that he bought both the surface and oil and gas. In...more
Let’s assume you inherited a 150 acre farm in Lycoming County that has been owned by your family since 1909. In 2020, you are approached by ABC Drilling about a new oil and gas lease for the farm. You retain counsel and...more
1/15/2025
/ Appeals ,
Deeds ,
Land Titles ,
Mineral Leases ,
Mineral Rights ,
Minerals ,
Mining ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
PA Supreme Court ,
Pennsylvania ,
Popular ,
Property ,
Property Owners ,
Property Ownership ,
Real Estate Transactions ,
Royalties
Let’s assume that you purchase a 105 acre farm in Greene County in 2022. You purchase only the surface estate while the seller, Farmer Jones, retains the underlying oil and gas rights. You intend to grow corn and winter...more
9/13/2024
/ Appellate Courts ,
Covenants that Run With the Land ,
Farms ,
Land Owners ,
Leases ,
Mineral Rights ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Surface Owner ,
Texas ,
Well Drilling
Many oil and gas leases across Pennsylvania allow the driller to divert and use volumes of raw gas to power and fuel production operations both on and off the leasehold. Is a driller obligated to pay a royalty on that volume...more
Let’s assume you own a 160-acre farm in Washington County. Your father purchased the farm in 1992 from a local farmer named Jones. (the “1992 Deed”). At the time your father purchased the farm, there was an oil and gas lease...more
9/1/2023
/ Contract Termination ,
Deeds ,
Heirs ,
Land Owners ,
Leaseholds ,
Mineral Leases ,
Mineral Rights ,
Oil & Gas ,
Ownership Interest ,
Pennsylvania ,
Royalties ,
Tenancy-At-Will
Let’s assume your grandfather owned 99 acres in Washington County. In 1955, he sells a small portion of the farm to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in order to facilitate the construction of new State Route 39. This acreage...more
7/12/2023
/ Contract Terms ,
Deeds ,
Grantors ,
Heirs ,
Highways ,
Land Owners ,
Land Tract ,
Mineral Leases ,
Mineral Rights ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pennsylvania ,
Roads ,
Royalties
The calculation of production royalties and the deduction of post-production costs remains a controversial topic here in Pennsylvania. As we have written before, there is another frustrating and often confusing...more
5/18/2023
/ Contract Terms ,
Deductions ,
Deeds ,
Grantors ,
Heirs ,
Land Owners ,
Mineral Leases ,
Mineral Rights ,
Oil & Gas ,
Royalties ,
TX Supreme Court