Compulsory Integration
PAY, PLAY or PASS
The second decade of the twenty-first century is strikingly similar to the great California gold rush of 1849. Back in 1849 many people traveled west to share in the earth's riches --- GOLD. For the next decade the stakes were high and many fortunes were made, lost and squandered. The saloons were full of colorful characters including prospectors, bankers, lawyers, and swindlers.
One hundred sixty (160) years later many natural gas companies from far and wide have traveled to Broome and Tioga Counties to share in the earth's riches - NATURAL GAS. The current backdrop also hosts the same colorful characters. The choice a landowner makes will be life altering.
Many landowners who have not yet signed a gas lease will soon be forced to make an important choice which decision will not only last their lifetime but may effect generations to come. The choice I am referring to is a landowner's decision at a Compulsory Integration hearing.
What is a Compulsory Integration hearing? The simplistic answer is it is an administrative hearing which streamlines the natural gas well spacing unit process. If a gas company has leases with 60% or more of the acreage in a spacing unit they can REQUIRE the balance of the acreage not leased by the operator to be included in the unit and the landowner then has a mere 21 days to make the choice of his or her lifetime. A landowner must choose one of three available choices at the Compulsory Integration hearing. The decision made will dictate the treatment of the landowner for possibly decades.
The choices can be called: PAY, PLAY or PASS. Each of the possible choices has its own risks, benefits, costs and obligations. Natural gas exploration, by its very nature, is a risky business. I encourage you to obtain competent legal and financial advice prior to making your decision.
The focus of this website is to inform landowners, who are facing Compulsory Integration hearings, that they do in fact have choices -- each of which entails a different amount of risk and potential reward. To learn more about your choices, I encourage you to read the overview outlined on the following web pages and/or call me to schedule a personal consultation to analyze your situation in greater detail.
The second decade of the twenty-first century is strikingly similar to the great California gold rush of 1849. Back in 1849 many people traveled west to share in the earth's riches --- GOLD. For the next decade the stakes were high and many fortunes were made, lost and squandered. The saloons were full of colorful characters including prospectors, bankers, lawyers, and swindlers.
One hundred sixty (160) years later many natural gas companies from far and wide have traveled to Broome and Tioga Counties to share in the earth's riches - NATURAL GAS. The current backdrop also hosts the same colorful characters. The choice a landowner makes will be life altering.
Many landowners who have not yet signed a gas lease will soon be forced to make an important choice which decision will not only last their lifetime but may effect generations to come. The choice I am referring to is a landowner's decision at a Compulsory Integration hearing.
What is a Compulsory Integration hearing? The simplistic answer is it is an administrative hearing which streamlines the natural gas well spacing unit process. If a gas company has leases with 60% or more of the acreage in a spacing unit they can REQUIRE the balance of the acreage not leased by the operator to be included in the unit and the landowner then has a mere 21 days to make the choice of his or her lifetime. A landowner must choose one of three available choices at the Compulsory Integration hearing. The decision made will dictate the treatment of the landowner for possibly decades.
The choices can be called: PAY, PLAY or PASS. Each of the possible choices has its own risks, benefits, costs and obligations. Natural gas exploration, by its very nature, is a risky business. I encourage you to obtain competent legal and financial advice prior to making your decision.
The focus of this website is to inform landowners, who are facing Compulsory Integration hearings, that they do in fact have choices -- each of which entails a different amount of risk and potential reward. To learn more about your choices, I encourage you to read the overview outlined on the following web pages and/or call me to schedule a personal consultation to analyze your situation in greater detail.
I am a partner in the law firm of Coughlin & Gerhart, LLP, which maintains a temporary offices in the historic "Clock Tower Building" located at 1701 North Street, Endicott, New York and branch offices in Afton, Binghamton, Deposit, Hancock, Ithaca, Owego and Unadilla, New York and Montrose, Pennsylvania.
See our "full service" law office website at www.cglawoffices.com. Coughlin & Gerhart, LLP is also a member of The International Society of Primerus Law Firms.
Office Location:
1701 North Street (Clock Tower Building)
Endicott, New York 13760
Direct Phone 607-584-4191
Fax 607-723-1530
E-mail gkline@cglawoffices.com
For over 20 years my practice has been centered on real estate, included, but not limited to, representing buyers, sellers and lenders in residential and commercial real estate transaction.
To learn more, see my personal website at www.houseatty.com
Gary B. Kline, Esq.
Coughlin & Gerhart, LLP
1701 North Street
Endicott, New York 13760
1-607-723-9511
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