Penn. Supreme Court to hear shale rights appeal

Supreme Court: State top court to take on shale gas rights case

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By News wires

 05 April 2012 21:52 GMT

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision to hear an appeal of a dispute over Marcellus Shale natural-gas rights may clarify the status of thousands of drilling leases in the state.

Two Pennsylvania landowners, John and Mary Butler, are challenging an intermediate appeals court ruling that called for scientific opinion on whether Marcellus Shale gas, which is released by the process known as hydraulic fracturing, should be considered a mineral under an 1882 decision of the state’s high court, Bloomberg reported. In the trial court, the landowners won their claim to the natural gas rights.

“It is essential to have established law and expectations with regard to oil and gas conveyancing,” the Marcellus Shale Coalition, which represents the gas industry, said yesterday…

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