The Penn State Marcellus Education Team will provide two informative programs for community members in southwestern Pennsylvania and two webinars for everyone to learn from this month.
Washington County will be home to two shale gas programs this month for landowners. On Thursday, “Shale Gas Update and Landowner Impacts; Leasing, Re-Leasing, and Pipeline Development” will be held at the Washington County Courthouse Square on 100 W. Beau St. in Washington. It will take place from 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.
Natural gas drillers have been producing the fuel from “conventional” gas reservoirs for more than 150 years. New shale gas production techniques have opened much wider areas for exploration, including the Marcellus, Utica and Upper Devonian Shale formations. Many landowners in southwestern Pennsylvania may be approached for the first time about leasing and re-leasing.
Dan Brockett with the Penn State Marcellus Education Team and Kris Vanderman with Vanderman Law will discuss shale gas trends and production in the region and state, leasing information and leasing trends. A question-and-answer period will follow the discussion.
“Shale Mineral Management for the Landowner” will also be held at the Washington County Courthouse Square on Jan. 21 from 7 p.m. – 9 p.m. Speakers, Brockett and Steven Karabin, PNGE, RL, president of the Rhino Group LLC, will provide a comprehensive program to help royalty owners see and understand how current drilling production and utilization trends can affect their royalties. Karabin, who also holds a Bachelor’s degree in petroleum and natural gas engineering from Penn State University and who has worked in the field, will provide great insight for landowners in relating operations to royalties.
Important mineral management resources available to the landowner to assist in reviewing their lease and royalty payments will be discussed. This workshop is a must for landowners who are receiving royalty payments or are involved in an active unit and want to have a better understanding of how their royalty payments are calculated and factors considered in the determination of payment.
There is a fee for each program, and pre-registrations are required. Additional information and pre-registration may be found on the Penn State Extension Natural Gas events page. Questions regarding the content of the program may be addressed to Brockett at dlb14@psu.edu or to Carol Loveland at cal24@psu.edu or at 570-320-4429.
The regularly scheduled webinar this month will be “PA Wilds Design Guide Supplement for Oil & Gas Best Practices” with Jim Weaver, Tioga County Planner, presenting on Jan. 16 from 1 p.m. – 2 p.m. Weaver will discuss various guidelines regarding protection of scenic viewsheds, roadway corridors, environmental responsibilities and collaborations and education.
A special webinar with Ross Pifer, Clinical Professor of Law and director at the Agricultural Law Resource & Reference Center and the Rural Economic Development Clinic, Penn State University, The Dickinson School of Law will be held Jan. 23 from 1 p.m. – 2 p.m., discussing the Supreme Court’s Dec. 19 ruling on Act 13. Pifer will cover what provisions have been struck down, what provisions remain, what the existing framework is for municipal regulation and address some of the other questions that have been raised by the opinion.
Registration for both webinars is not necessary at this time, and all are invited to participate by logging in to https://meeting.psu.edu/pscems . For more information, contact Carol Loveland at 570-320-4429 or by email at cal24@psu.edu.