Apr 11, 2012

Ohio Court Limits Horizontal Offsite Drilling
Case Law Update - Oil & Gas Drilling

Article

A trial court in Harrison County, Ohio has permanently enjoined two companies from hydraulically drilling on a property to recover offsite oil and gas because their mineral rights do not reserve such drilling rights. Jewett Sportsmen & Farmers Club, Inc. v. Chesapeake Exploration, LLC, Case No. CVH-2011-0113 (Jan. 17, 2012). The defendants, Chesapeake Exploration, LLC and Buckeye Energy, LLC, are successors-in-interest to the mineral rights reserved by North American Coal Company (“North American”). In 1959, North American deeded the 177-acre property to the Jewett Sportsmen & Farmers Club (“Club”) with a reservation for certain mineral rights. The defendants had already commenced operations on the Club’s property to install two drill pads when the Club sued to enjoin their operations...

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