For more than 100 years, the oil and gas industry has used the oil and gas lease as the primary method of entering into an agreement with a land owner to explore for and produce oil and gas. The oil and gas lease has evolved over the years, and the advent of the Marcellus Shale gas formation development has prompted additional changes and refinements to the lease.
Here are some of the more common provisions in the modern oil and gas lease, and some issues that affect land owners:

The Marcellus Shale has had and will continue to have a profound impact on the economy of our county and our region. While some are concerned about the environmental considerations related to deep gas development, there is no question that the Marcellus Shale will benefit most of us greatly.

This large deposit of natural gas runs from Canada and New York State, through most of Pennsylvania, and into parts of Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee. It typically runs from 5,000 to 9,000 feet below the surface. Washington County happens to sit on top of some of the most valuable gas deposits in the entire Marcellus play.