Law firm informs public of gas and oil drilling at public meeting - Other Community News - Ohioans for Responsible Rural Development

Lancaster Eagle-Gazette
Published February 1, 2012

By Jeff Barron

LANCASTER -- Property owners should use caution if they are approached to lease their land for oil and gas drilling, a local law firm warns.

"The first thing you should do is not sign," Dagger, Johnston, Miller, Ogilvie & Hampson LLP attorney Nicholas Grilli said Tuesday. "Then if you are presented with a lease, I would first contact an attorney who is versed in oil and gas law."

Grilli's law firm hosted a public meeting at the Fairfield County Agricultural Center to inform property owners of oil drilling in Ohio.

Tom Stewart, executive vice president of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association described the technical aspects of how drilling works.

Chris Penrose, of the Ohio State University Extension Service, and Dick Poling, of R.C. Poling Co., also were scheduled to speak and answer questions.

Stewart said Ohio has 64,378 active wells, with most in the eastern portion of the state. The wells usually are tapped into the Utica Shale formation.

"Oil and gas development is just exploding across the state," Stewart said.

He said technological advances are the reason for the increase of wells.

Grilli said oil and gas companies are offering a lot of money for the right to drill on land, with third parties also wanting to lease the land.

He said the leases are quite complex.

Read the full story on the Lancaster Eagle-Gazette website.