Chesapeake Energy faces another royalties lawsuit
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Marie Cusick
More than 50 landowners have filed a federal lawsuit against Chesapeake Energy, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. It’s the latest in a slew of lawsuits directed at the Oklahoma City-based driller, alleging it fraudulently withholds gas royalty money.
From the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review:
Chesapeake, which has more than 700 producing shale wells in the state, declined to comment. The other defendants, which include Texas-based Anadarko Petroleum — the ninth-biggest shale gas producer in the state — and Tulsa-based pipeline company Williams Partners, which last year acquired Access Midstream, did not return a call for comment.
Similar accusations have prompted federal and state investigations, Chesapeake has acknowledged, and led to several other lawsuits. The company agreed to pay $11 million to settle a class-action claim filed by thousands of leaseholders over deductions that state lawmakers are seeking to limit.
As StateImpact Pennsylvania has previously reported, Chesapeake has faced legal troubles over its royalty payments in Pennsylvania and other parts of the country where it operates.
The company recently disclosed it was subpoenaed by the U.S. Department of Justice on the matter. The royalty disputes have prompted the state legislature to take up several bills to bring more transparency to the process. The Senate recently passed two measures to give more protections to landowners. The bills await action in the House.
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