Active Acquisition State
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Pennsylvania sits over the core of the Marcellus, and we buy across both windows — the dry-gas northeast (Susquehanna and Bradford anchor the core, with the fairway extending west into Lycoming and Tioga) and the wet-gas/condensate fairway in the southwest (Washington, northern Greene, and southern Allegheny), plus the deeper Utica/Point Pleasant beneath. We also routinely buy legacy conventional interests in the western counties, where production has been continuous since the 1859 Drake Well at Titusville. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) Bureau of Oil and Gas Management regulates drilling, and operators report production through PADEP's production reporting system.
Highlighted state with approximate basin locations shown in tan
The table below shows the top producing counties in Pennsylvania where we are most active, along with the primary operators and target formations in each area.
| County | Major Operators | Key Formations |
|---|---|---|
| Washington | Range Resources, EQT Corporation, CNX Resources, Expand Energy | Marcellus, Utica |
| Greene | EQT Corporation, CNX Resources, Expand Energy | Marcellus, Utica |
| Susquehanna | Coterra Energy, Expand Energy, Repsol | Marcellus |
| Bradford | Expand Energy, Repsol, Seneca Resources | Marcellus |
| Lycoming | Inflection Energy, Pennsylvania General Energy, Seneca Resources | Marcellus |
| Tioga | Seneca Resources, Repsol, Olympus Energy | Marcellus |
| Westmoreland | CNX Resources, Olympus Energy, Apex Energy | Marcellus, Utica |
| Allegheny | CNX Resources, Range Resources, Olympus Energy | Marcellus |
Five names cover most of the leased acreage. EQT Corporation, headquartered in Pittsburgh, is the largest natural gas producer in the United States and runs the southwest dry-gas core alongside CNX Resources. Range Resources still operates Washington County, where it drilled the Renz #1 vertical pilot in 2004 and the Gulla 9H in 2007 — the wells generally credited as the first commercial Marcellus completions. Coterra Energy (formed from the 2021 Cabot–Cimarex merger) holds the Susquehanna County dry-gas core. Expand Energy (the post-2024 Chesapeake/Southwestern combination) carries acreage in both fairways. Repsol picked up the former SWEPI/Shell northeast position in 2021; Seneca Resources, Olympus Energy, Inflection Energy, and Pennsylvania General Energy round out the list. Hundreds of small independents continue to work legacy conventional production across the western counties.
Operators ranked by the number of Pennsylvania counties where they hold the top active-well count. Counties where the operator runs the most active wells link through to the county detail page.
| Operator | Counties | Top Counties |
|---|---|---|
| DIVERSIFIED PROD LLC | 1 | Westmoreland |
| RANGE RESOURCES APPALACHIA LLC | 1 | Washington |
| EQT PROD CO | 1 | Greene |
| COTERRA ENERGY INC | 1 | Susquehanna |
| EXPAND OPER LLC | 1 | Bradford |
| KRIEBEL ACQUISITION CO LLC | 1 | Allegheny |
| EQT ARO LLC | 1 | Lycoming |
| SENECA RESOURCES CO LLC | 1 | Tioga |
Pennsylvania lease terms in the Marcellus typically include royalty rates of 1/8 (12.5%) on legacy leases through 18% to 20% on more recently negotiated leases. Pennsylvania does not have a broad forced pooling statute for shale wells — the state's 1961 Oil and Gas Conservation Law reaches only wells that penetrate to or below the Onondaga horizon. Because the Marcellus Shale lies above the Onondaga across most of the state, the Conservation Law's pooling provisions generally do not apply to Marcellus wells, which makes voluntary leasing of every mineral owner in a unit essential for operators. Bonus payments during the peak Marcellus leasing years (2008–2012) reached several thousand dollars per net mineral acre in core counties; current bonuses vary widely by county. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's 2010 Kilmer v. Elexco Land Services decision established that operators may deduct post-production costs from royalty payments under the "net-back" method unless the lease specifies otherwise — a major issue for many PA mineral owners. In Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Production Co. (Pa. 2020), the court held that the rule of capture applies to hydraulic fracturing, but a landowner can still pursue trespass if they prove an actual physical intrusion (e.g., proppant or fracture fluid) crossed the property line; the court left open whether induced fractures alone qualify as intrusion.
We buy mineral interests, royalty interests, NPRI, and ORRI across all producing Pennsylvania counties.
Not sure which type you own? Start with our mineral rights glossary for plain-English definitions of MI, RI, NPRI, and ORRI.
Pennsylvania is unique among major producing states in not imposing a traditional severance tax on oil and gas. Instead, the state assesses an annual "impact fee" under Act 13 of 2012, which is levied on each unconventional (shale) well based on age and the prior year's average natural gas price. Impact-fee revenue distributions to producing counties (Washington, Greene, Susquehanna, Bradford, Lycoming, and others) are published annually by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission. Pennsylvania has a long-running issue with post-production cost deductions on royalty checks; many PA mineral owners receive royalty payments net of meaningful gathering, processing, and transportation deductions, which reduces the effective royalty rate well below the stated lease percentage. Pennsylvania has no dormant mineral act, and title interpretation across the western counties is heavily shaped by the Dunham rule (covered in the FAQ below).
Pennsylvania mineral owners occasionally run into questions about severance-tax treatment, dormant mineral statutes, and non-participating royalty interests. These topics rarely drive a transaction, but understanding them helps you read a division order or evaluate an offer. The summaries below are starting points — verify against current statute text before relying on them.
Pennsylvania has no traditional percent-of-value severance tax on oil and gas as of 2026 — the only major producing state without one. In lieu of a severance tax, the state imposes an Act 13 impact fee on each unconventional (shale) well, a per-well annual amount that varies with well age and the prior year's average natural gas price published by the Public Utility Commission. Multiple percent-of-value severance bills have been introduced (most recently SB 910 in July 2025) but have not been enacted; verify current statute.
Pennsylvania counties impose ad valorem property tax on producing mineral interests in many but not all counties. The impact fee remains the primary state mineral tax. Post-production cost deductions on royalty are governed by Kilmer v. Elexco Land Services (Pa. 2010), which permits net-back royalty calculation unless the lease expressly forbids deductions.
Statutory citation: 58 Pa.C.S. §§2301-2318 (Act 13 impact fee)
Pennsylvania has no dormant mineral statute. Severed mineral interests remain in the holder's name indefinitely. Title interpretation in PA is heavily shaped by the Dunham rule (Dunham v. Kirkpatrick, 1882; reaffirmed in Butler v. Charles Powers Estate, 2013): an unspecific deed reservation or grant of "minerals" is presumed not to include oil and natural gas — including Marcellus shale gas — unless expressly stated, a presumption rebuttable only by clear and convincing evidence of contrary intent. Title cleanup is typically through quiet-title actions, Marketable Record Title Act procedures (68 Pa.C.S. §§5301 et seq., specifically §§5331-5337), or affidavits of heirship.
Pennsylvania recognizes NPRIs as cost-free royalty interests. Kilmer's holding addressed the Guaranteed Minimum Royalty Act and lessor royalties; PA courts have generally extended its post-production-cost reasoning to NPRI conveyances by analogy, but the conveying instrument language ultimately controls. The Dunham rule applies to NPRI conveyances drafted in generic mineral terms, so older PA deeds that purport to convey or reserve a "royalty in minerals" without specifically naming oil and gas are presumed under Dunham/Butler not to capture shale gas royalty — rebuttable only by clear and convincing evidence.
Need plain-English definitions? See our mineral rights glossary.
Pennsylvania does not impose a traditional percent-of-value severance tax — it is the only major producing state without one. Instead, the state imposes an Act 13 impact fee on each unconventional (shale) well, calculated based on the well's age and the prior year's average annual natural gas price published by the Public Utility Commission. The impact fee generates several hundred million dollars annually for state and local government, but it is structured as a per-well flat fee rather than a percentage of production value. Multiple legislative proposals to add a percent-of-value severance tax have been introduced but not enacted as of 2026; verify the current statute.
Yes, in many cases. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court's 2010 Kilmer v. Elexco Land Services decision held that operators may calculate royalties on a "net-back" basis — deducting gathering, processing, compression, and transportation costs from the wellhead value before applying the royalty fraction — unless the lease expressly prohibits these deductions. Many older PA leases are silent on post-production costs, which has led to royalty checks that reflect noticeably less than the stated lease percentage. If your lease has explicit "cost-free" or "no deductions" language, the operator generally must pay royalty on the gross value. Send us your lease and a recent check stub if you want — we will tell you what is being deducted and what your effective royalty rate actually is, no charge and no obligation to sell.
No, in practical terms. The 1961 Oil and Gas Conservation Law allows pooling only for wells that penetrate to or below the Onondaga horizon, and the Marcellus Shale lies above the Onondaga across most of the state, so the Conservation Law does not reach typical Marcellus wells. Marcellus operators must therefore obtain voluntary leases from every mineral owner within a drilling unit, which gives unleased mineral owners more leverage than in forced-pooling states like Oklahoma or Texas.
The Dunham rule is a Pennsylvania title doctrine that interprets ambiguous mineral conveyances. Under Dunham v. Kirkpatrick (1882) and its progeny, a deed reservation or grant of "minerals" without further specification is presumed not to include oil and natural gas unless the deed expressly says so. The rule has produced significant litigation over Marcellus-era title questions, and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court reaffirmed it in Butler v. Charles Powers Estate (2013), holding that a generic reservation of "minerals" did not include Marcellus shale gas. If you're relying on an old Pennsylvania deed to assert mineral ownership, the specific language matters significantly.
The Utica and Point Pleasant formations beneath the Marcellus have been productively developed in southwestern Pennsylvania, especially in Washington and Greene counties. Range Resources, EQT, and CNX have all drilled productive Utica wells in PA, though the play is generally less mature than the Ohio Utica core. On a southwest PA tract with a producing Marcellus well, we still pay separately for the undeveloped Utica below it — the Marcellus bench and the Point Pleasant DSU are different reserves on the same deed and we underwrite them as such.
Yes. We routinely buy mineral interests with legacy conventional production from the Upper Devonian sandstones, Oriskany sandstone, and shallow oil zones across western Pennsylvania. Many of these interests have been producing continuously for decades, and while individual royalty checks are typically modest, the underlying tracts often have meaningful Marcellus or Utica potential below the conventional production. Inherited PA mineral interests are very common and frequently include this kind of mixed legacy/shale potential.
Royalty rates on Pennsylvania Marcellus leases range from 1/8 (12.5%) on legacy leases through 18% to 20% on more recently negotiated leases in competitive areas. Lease bonus payments during the peak Marcellus leasing years (2008–2012) reached several thousand dollars per net mineral acre in core counties; current bonuses vary widely by county and operator activity. Your stated lease percentage is only part of the picture — under Kilmer (2010), post-production cost deductions can materially reduce the effective rate. Both factors flow into how we value an interest.
Many Pennsylvaniamineral and royalty interests are held by heirs who live elsewhere. If that's you, our metro pages address the inheritance, ancillary-probate, and tax mechanics specific to your home state:
See all mineral rights FAQ.
State-specific guides covering the legal mechanics that come up most often for owners considering a sale.