Beacon Redevelopment Industrial Corp (BCND)

[Kristallweizen]

Dominion wins Pa. natgas drilling right-lawyers.

(Beacon is not mentioned but interesting news IMO)


NEW YORK, Dec 5 (Reuters) - A unit of Dominion (D.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) has won a court decision that allows it to explore for natural gas underneath its storage fields in Pennsylvania, lawyers for the Virginia-based energy producer said on Friday.

Magistrate, district and circuit courts agreed this week that Dominion Exploration and Production Inc's leases were clear that they held the natural gas rights as long as gas was produced or stored on its property, the lawyers said in an email.

"There is massive interest in the ownership rights to explore ... natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formations. This week, in a decision much anticipated by the industry, Reed Smith LLP won a major decision affirming our energy client Dominion's rights to explore gas fields in Pennsylvania," the lawyers said.

While total gas reserves in the 54,000-square mile (140,000 sq-km) Marcellus Shale are estimated much higher, preliminary industry estimates peg recoverable reserves at just over 30 trillion cubic feet.

The case, Penneco Pipeline Corp, et al versus Dominion, arose from a dispute as Penneco had taken top leases from hundreds of owners on properties where gas rights were already held by Dominion's storage and production leases, the lawyers said.

Since gas had been stored for more than fifty years on the property, the leases were valid for both production and storage, even if production had not taken place, the email said.

"This important opinion for the holders of storage and production leases contrasts an earlier decision in another similar case by the district court, which found that gas had to be produced in order for the production rights to be held under the lease," the lawyers said.

As a result of the decision, Penneco's leases are of no effect and the wells that they drilled on the subject properties will be transferred to Dominion.

The Marcellus Shale formation stretches from southern New York to West Virginia. (Reporting by Eileen Moustakis; Editing by Marguerita Choy)