House Environmental Committee Reports Out Bill Allowing Cross Unit Drilling Under Several Properties, Voluntary Pooling

On March 19, the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee amended and reported out House Bill 247 (Oberlander-R-Clarion) to allow cross unit unconventional drilling.

“The legislation will provide for a process and accounting mechanism to allow well bores to cross multiple units provided the operator has the right to drill wells on the units via leases with all landowners/members of the units,” said Rep. Donna Oberlander, prime sponsor of the bill. “The operator is then required to reasonably and proportionately allocate the production across the various members of the units. The legislation does not impair any current contracts or leases, does not allow for any production from unleased land, and would not apply in cases where this practice would be contractually prohibited.”

One amendment includes a voluntary pooling provision and eliminates forced pooling and a second addressed landowner concerns on production allocation and technical issues with the bill.

The bill now goes to the full House for consideration.

Rep. Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) serves as Majority Chair of the House Environmental Committee and can be contacted by calling 717-783-1707 or sending email to: dmetcalf@pahousegop.com. Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) serves as Minority Chair and can be contacted by calling 717-787-7647 or sending email to: gvitali@pahouse.net.