Bill Text: PA SB722 | 2011-2012 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Providing for lease extended by production.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2011-02-28 - Referred to ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY [SB722 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2011-SB722-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 706
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 722 Session of2011
INTRODUCED BY YAW, FEBRUARY 28, 2011
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, FEBRUARY 28, 2011
AN ACT
Amending the act of December 19, 1984 (P.L.1140, No.223),
entitled "An act relating to the development of oil and gas
and coal; imposing duties and powers on the Department of
Environmental Resources; imposing notification requirements
to protect landowners; and providing for definitions, for
various requirements to regulate the drilling and operation
of oil and gas wells, for gas storage reservoirs, for various
reporting requirements, including certain requirements
concerning the operation of coal mines, for well permits, for
well registration, for distance requirements, for well casing
requirements, for safety device requirements, for storage
reservoir obligations, for well bonding requirements, for a
Well Plugging Restricted Revenue Account to enforce oil and
gas well plugging requirements, for the creation of an Oil
and Gas Technical Advisory Board, for oil and gas well
inspections, for enforcement and for penalties," providing
for lease extended by production.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. The act of December 19, 1984 (P.L.1140, No.223),
known as the Oil and Gas Act, is amended by adding a section to
read:
Section 203.1. Lease extended by production.
(a) Prohibition.--Any portion of land subject to a lease,
which is combined with other lands or leases to form a unit,
shall be subject to operations and production on and in the
unit. The operations and production shall continue a lease in
force and effect during or after the primary term according to
the lease provisions only as to that portion of the leased land
which is included in the unit. Any land covered by a lease and
not included in the unit shall not be subject to operations or
production on or in the unit. The lease may be kept in force in
any manner provided in the lease agreement for leased land not
included in an agreement.
(b) Applicability.--
(1) Subsection (a) shall apply to any unit formed after
the effective date of this section.
(2) This chapter shall only apply to lease interests in
an unconventional reservoir.
(c) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following
words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this
subsection unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Unconventional reservoir." A formation below the base of
the Elk Sandstone or its geologic equivalent stratigraphic
interval that contains or produces oil or gas that generally
cannot be economically produced at flow rates or in volumes
except by hydraulic fracturing, horizontal or multilateral well
bores or other techniques to expose the reservoir to the well
bore.
"Unit." A consolidation of interests of persons actively
engaged in the business of extracting oil or gas from land owned
or leased by the persons within a defined geographic area to
facilitate the drilling of wells from one or more unconventional
reservoirs.
Section 2. This act shall take effect in 60 days.
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