Shale Gas & Coal Bed Methane

Our lawyers have the experience to handle myriad legal issues that arise during the life cycle of unconventional resource projects from exploration and permitting, exploitation and marketing, to decommissioning and remediation. Our multidisciplinary team is situated among the major US and international unconventional resource players. Comprised of lawyers with extensive energy, natural resources, environmental, real estate and litigation experience, our team is positioned to advise developers, operators, service companies and landowners on unconventional resources such as shale gas, lease, development, use, permitting and coal bed methane projects.

Our extensive experience in shale gas and other natural resources development allows us to handle all issues throughout a project including:

• Contractual and permitting issues including drilling permits
• Defending against third party toxic tort claims and handling other litigation matters including government enforcement and private party challenges
• Endangered species issues
• Pipeline and right of way acquisitions
• Planning, finance and real estate matters
• Sediment control plans
• Wastewater management and disposal plans
• Water withdrawal registrations
• Wetlands and jurisdictional waters permits
• Zoning, land use and local government approvals

In addition, our extensive experience with coal, including coal bed methane projects, involves the sale of coal mines and coal reserves, the development and production of coal bed methane gas, real estate, surface and land use, and environmental issues that arise in the disposal of coal and mining waste.

Representative Experience

• Representing a Midwestern company in a joint venture with a large multinational company in the manufacturing and distribution of production equipment for the fracking business.
• Advising coal mines on methane capture issues including the legal rights to methane gases associated with coal mine sites, technical and legal feasibility of methane capture, and pilot projects for methane capture, storage or use.
• Representing a major US energy company in the negotiation of a joint venture for its worldwide liquefied natural gas businesses.
• Advising the world’s largest steel company in evaluating its shale gas reserves in more than 50,000 acres of land located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, and in negotiating leases associated with shale gas development.
• Representing a large, publicly traded energy partnership headquartered in Houston in connection with the permitting and development of a 1,230-mile natural gas liquids pipeline to transport liquid ethane produced from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations in Pennsylvania across Ohio to ethylene manufacturing plants in the Gulf Coast region of Texas and Louisiana. The Ohio portion of the project is 260 miles in length. Our representation included negotiations with the Ohio Power Siting Board (OPSB) with respect to jurisdictional issues and a request for waivers from alternate route requirements, outreach and coordination with state officials and local governmental entities, resolution of landowner access and survey issues, eminent domain proceedings and other legal support.
• Representing a US-based national producer of oil and gas in its appeal of a new discharge permit issued by Colorado that set limits on water produced by our client's coalbed methane wells. Citing numerous factual errors and improperly calculated effluent limits and terms in the new permit, we obtained an unprecedented stay of the entire permit pending the appeal outcome. The state cited the compelling evidence in its decision to stay the entire permit, which allowed the company to learn more about the state’s concerns. During the stay, our client submitted a new application demonstrating reduced flows that would be subject to permitting and reduced downstream effects.
• Providing counsel and analysis related to siting of class II underground injection wells for the disposal of waste generated from gas drilling activities.
• Advising coal mine operators on methane capture issues including the legal rights to methane gases associated with coal mine sites; technical and legal feasibility of methane capture; and pilot projects for methane capture, storage or use.
• Advising the world’s largest steel company in evaluating its shale gas reserves in more than 50,000 acres of land located in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, and in negotiating leases associated with development in the Marcellus shale formation.
• Handling drilling permit appeals and litigation related to oil and gas leases in Ohio.