Forced Pooling – Trends, Benefits and Detriments
Recently I wrote about Ohio’s mechanisms for forcing unleased mineral owners into a drilling unit. Oil and gas producers have increasingly started to rely on these mechanisms to drill horizontal wells to the Utica / Point Pleasant shale formation in eastern Ohio. These same laws require transparency for these procedures, and as part of a public records request, I obtained several recent orders approving the forced unitization of unleased mineral owners in various parts of Ohio. I was hoping that I could gain some insight on the issue of whether a landowner is better off signing a proposed lease or being forced into a drilling unit under the applicable statute. …