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By Paul R. Yagelski, Esq.

Rothman Gordon

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

In Pennsylvania, Can Surface Owners Prohibit An Oil And Gas Company From Coming Onto Their Land To Develop The Oil And Gas Under Other Properties?

In EQT Prod. Co. v. Crowder, No. 17-0968, 2019 WL 2414728 (W.Va. June 5, 2019), the West Virginia Supreme Court held that although a mineral owner or lessee has an implied right to use the surface of a tract in any way reasonable and necessary to the development of the minerals underlying the tract, a mineral owner or lessee does not have the right to use the surface to benefit mining or drilling operations on other lands in the absence of an express agreement with the surface owner permitting those operations or unless the right to do so has been expressly obtained, addressed or reserved in the parties' deeds, leases or other writings. In other words, if an oil and gas company has leased the oil and gas under a surface owner's land, the oil and gas company cannot come onto the surface owner's land and place a well on the surface owner's land, which will be used to frack the Marcellus/Utica shale under surrounding properties, unless the oil and gas company has obtained an express agreement to do so.

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