WEST virginia Legislature

2018 regular session

Introduced

Senate Bill 476

By Senators Sypolt, Boso, Maroney, and Clements

[Introduced February 2018; Referred
to the Committee on Energy, Industry and Mining; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary]

A BILL to amend the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, by adding thereto two new sections, designated §22C-9-6a and §22C-9-7a, all relating to permitting surface owners to seek damages resulting from oil and gas operations through the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission; permitting leaseholders to unitize drilling interests regardless of the type of well to be drilled; and requiring rulemaking.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 9. OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION.

§22C-9-6a. Relief sought by surface owners; rulemaking.

Surface owners of property, regardless of the amount of interest he or she holds, where oil and gas wells are drilled may, in addition to other remedies available to them, seek damages through a negotiation and mediation process developed by the commission. The director shall propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of the code to implement this section.

§22C-9-7a. Unitization same for all wells.

Notwithstanding any provision of this code to the contrary, there is no difference between or among wells drilled to different depths or formations, whether they be shallow wells or deep wells insofar as the unitization of leasehold or ownership interests are concerned.

NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to permit surface owners to seek damages resulting from oil and gas operations through the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The bill permits leaseholders to unitize drilling interests regardless of the type of well to be drilled. The bill requires rulemaking.

Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.