Matthew F. Burger Talks to Law360 About Energy Post-Production Allocation Issues in Pennsylvania

Matthew F. Burger, shareholder in Buchanan’s energy section, was featured in a Law360 article titled, “5 States With Gas Royalty Fights Worth Watching.” In this article, Matt talks about who is responsible for paying for “so-called post-production costs” and Pennsylvania’s recent increase in royalty lawsuits over post-production issues between landowners and gas producers.

“The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that drillers can deduct post-production costs from royalty payments starting at the wellhead, but Pennsylvania state and federal appeals courts are wrestling with several post-production questions, attorneys say. Questions include whether post-production costs were incurred before or after a driller sold the gas to a third party, as well as whether drillers can allocate post-production costs among several leases it holds if there isn't specific lease language saying they can do so.”

“That's a big issue because a lot of companies in the industry allocate costs that way because it's difficult to do lease by lease,” Burger said.

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