On April 8, the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas upheld an operator’s rights to develop multiple, contiguous leaseholds by horizontal drilling. It is hoped that the court’s opinion in the matter of EQT Production v. Opatkiewicz, G.D. No. 13-013489 (Pa. Ct. Com. Pl. Allegheny Cnty. April 8, 2014), will define the scope of and bring clarity of intent to a misunderstood and oft-maligned piece of legislation, Section 34.1 of the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Lease Act.
Enacted on July 9, 2013, Section 34.1 provides, in pertinent part, “where an operator has the right to develop multiple contiguous leases separately, the operator may develop those leases jointly by horizontal drilling unless expressly prohibited by a lease.” Despite the fact that Section 34.1 makes plain that it is applicable only when an operator has the right to develop multiple contiguous leases—meaning, when the operator already has leases covering the affected lands—it has been railed against as facilitating forced pooling within the state.
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