American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2016 - 111

ConventionSection: Independent Oil and Gas Association of West Virginia
on Jan. 13, he says.
In addition to the pooling legislation,
Ireland also has introduced a companion
"check-stub bill," as Burd describes it,
which seeks to require additional reporting
to mineral owners on certain aspects of
wells' production. "For example, it would
require quarterly reporting of production,
instead of annually," he points out.
Other components that may be included
in the companion bill, Burd says, include:
* Mandating a minimum 12.5 percent
royalty in all lease agreements;
* Establishing a minimum threshold
for (regular) royalty payments, with penalties if payments are not made timely;
and
* Requiring the West Virginia Division
of Weights and Measures to do random
testing on production meters to ensure
that they are properly calibrated and the
proper amount of gas is being recorded.
"This companion bill was simply something the legislators discussed during
their interim meeting in November," Burd
relates. "We have been given every indication that, potentially, this may not apply
to conventional well production, but only
to horizontal well production."
Both Burd and Hildreth say they hope
the two bills will pass the legislature this
session. Hildreth describes the initial
pooling bill as "one of the fairest bills
for all parties involved that I have ever
seen," and notes there was a 50-50 split
last year between the legislators who
supported and those who opposed the
bill. However, that number could change
by the time the 2016 session starts, he
says.
Burd says the initial and revised versions of the pooling bill "increase property
protections," and notes IOGAWV is working to generate support for the bill among
both legislators and the public.
AST Updates
In addition to the pooling bill, IOGAWV continues to pursue another seemingly unresolved issue from the 2015
session, Burd says. While much of the
association's work during the last session
went to amending the AST Act, he says
companies have seen very little of the
clarification they had hoped for.
Before the 2015 session ended, the
legislature passed SB 423 to amend what
IOGAWV disputed as "onerous aspects"
of the 2014 AST Act. Without the changes,
Burd estimates at least 35,000 ASTs-

most of them at oil and gas sites-that already complied with other regulatory requirements would have faced significant
new costs. SB 423 stipulates that only
tanks in "zones of critical concern" fall
under greater regulation (AOGR, April
2015, pg. 52).
Since then, the WVDEP has submitted
a legislative rule, which IOGAWV and
other groups commented on. After the

commenting process, Burd recounts,
the WVDEP submitted a modified version of the rule to the Joint Legislative
Rulemaking Review Committee's interim meeting in November. "That modified version included several provisions
that provided clarity and even greater
relief to all AST owners," Burd comments.
SEE WEST VIRGINIA PAGE 149

IOGAWV Winter Meeting - Charleston, W.V.
Tuesday, Feb. 2
8 a.m.-6 p.m. Registration Open, A-B Foyer,
Charleston Town Center Marriott
8 a.m. Breakfast, Salons A-D
Sponsored by C&J Energy Services,
Schlumberger Oilfield Services, and U.S.
Well Services Inc.
8-10:30 a.m. Technical Session, Salons A-D
Sponsored by C&J Energy Services
10:45 a.m.-Noon Technical Session, Salons
A-D
Sponsored by Schlumberger Oilfield Services
Noon-1:30 p.m. Past Presidents/Gunslingers
Luncheon, Salons E-F
Noon-1 p.m. Luncheon for Technical Session
Attendees, Pavilion
Sponsored by C&J Energy Services,
Schlumberger Oilfield Services, and U.S.
Well Services Inc.
Noon-1 p.m. Luncheon for the West Virginia
Desk & Derrick Club, Third Floor
1-2:15 p.m. Technical Session, Salons A-D
Sponsored by Schlumberger Oilfield Services
1-3 p.m. West Virginia Desk and Derrick
Club, Cumberland-Appalachian
2:30-5 p.m. Technical Session, Salons A-D
Sponsored by U.S. Well Services Inc.
5-6 p.m. GOpac Reception, Salons E-F
Admission by Donation Only
6-7:30 p.m. IOGAWV Membership & Legislative Reception, Ballroom
Sponsored by Dominion Field Services
and Dominion Transmission

Wednesday, Feb. 3
8 a.m. Registration Open, A-D Foyer,
Charleston Town Center Marriott
8 a.m. Breakfast, Foyer C-D
Sponsored by Danser Inc.
9-10:15 a.m. Morning Session, Ballroom
Governor Earl Ray Tomblin
Mike John, Northeast Natural Energy LLC
Paul M. Rady, Antero Resources (Invited)
James W. Crews, MarkWest Energy Partners
10:15 a.m. Morning Coffee Break
Sponsored by Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc.

10:30-11:30 a.m. Morning Session Continues, Ballroom
Dirk Straussfeld, Quantum Utility Generation
"2015 Merger & Acquisition Update, and
Marcellus & Utica Production Analysis,"
Tim Knobloch, James Knobloch Petroleum Consultants Inc.; and Martin
Shumway, Shumway Resources LLC
11:30 a.m. Break
Noon Producers' Luncheon, Ballroom
Sponsored by Antero Resources Corp.
12:30-2:15 p.m. Luncheon/Afternoon Speakers, Ballroom
"The State of the Insurance Market in the
Oil and Gas Industry," Michael J. Sicard,
USI Insurance Services
"What is on the Horizon for the (North
American) Natural Gas Industry?" Scott
Potter, RBN Energy LLC
Jeff LaFleur, American Electric Power
"Review of the Producers' Issues Committee Activities," Jeff Isner, IOGAWV
"Horizontal Well Unitization & Landowner
Protection Act of 2016," Jim McKinney,
EnerVest Ltd.
"Appalachian Gateway Negotiations," Scott
Freshwater, IOGAWV
"Aboveground Storage Tank Act," Doug
Malcolm, IOGAWV
2:15 p.m. Break
Sponsored by IOGAVW Insurance Program
and USI Insurance Services LLC
2:30 p.m. "Is Your Business Cyber Safe?/IT
Security," Benjamin L. Ellis, Arnett
Carbis Toothman LLP
5 p.m. Membership Reception, Salons A-B
Sponsored by Apex Pipeline Services Inc.
6 p.m. Membership Banquet and Oil &
Gas Reclamation Awards, Ballroom
Sponsored by BrickStreet Mutual Insurance
Co.
Awards Presentation by James Martin,
West Virginia Office of Oil and Gas;
Jon Hildreth, President IOGAWV; Kevin
Ellis, President WVONGA
Entertainment by The Capitol Steps, Sponsored by Ergon Oil Purchasing Inc./Ergon
Trucking Inc.

JANUARY 2016 111

American Oil and Gas Reporter - January 2016

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