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.

Представницький досвід

• 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 US-based oil and gas company in a successful appeal of a discharge permit for releases of coal bed methane-produced water.
• 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.
• 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.
• Assisting a large landowner in Northeast Ohio in establishing its mineral rights and valuing its shale gas reserves.
• Advising a company focused on the exploration and development of unconventional oil and gas resources in relation to its initial public offering on the AIM sub-market of the London Stock Exchange.
• 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.