Surface Owner's Use Burdened by Horizontal Wells

Rothman Gordon
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Is An Unconventional Well A Burden On A Surface Owner's Use And Enjoyment Of Its Land Where The Well Is Located On Another Property?

In litigation in West Virginia, the surface owners of several tracts of land ("Property Owners") contended that their use and enjoyment of their lands was improperly and substantially burdened by horizontal wells being used to develop the Marcellus shale under their properties, even though the wells were not physically located on any of their properties. In Andrews v. Antero Resources Corporation, No. 17-0126, 2019 WL 2494598 (W. Va. June 10, 2019), the West Virginia Supreme Court held that this was not the case.

In 2013, the Property Owners filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of Harrison County, West Virginia, alleging claims for "private temporary continuing abatable nuisance and negligence" against Antero Resources Corporation and Antero Resources Bluestone, LLC (collectively "Antero") and Hall Drilling, LLC ("Hall"), arising from their natural gas exploration, extraction, transportation and associated activities in close proximity to the Property Owners' properties.