Utica Shale: Issues in Law, Practice and Policy
This 1.5 day conference will provide an overview of the legal issues presented as the State of Ohio and local landowners work within the industry to extract oil and gas from the Utica Shale. The conference will provide an introduction to hydrofracturing and oil and gas leasing. In addition to focusing on original leases, it will address the tax, accounting and estate planning issues that may arise in the context of those leasing relationships. It will address more advanced contracting, including purchase and sale agreements, financing agreements, and joint operating agreements. Finally, it will provide a context for discussing the environmental concerns that have arisen as a result of hydraulic fracturing and the economic development concerns and potential.
The program will be held at Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, 1801 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115.
There are two available parking lots on campus: the South garage, which is located next to the Wolstein Center, and the Student Center garage (underground), located on East 22nd Street. The max rate is $10. There are numerous private lots around campus on Euclid, Prospect and Chester as well.
Thursday, September 13 – 4.25 hours CLE
Afternoon Session: Shale Basics
12:45 - 1:00 p.m. Introductions
Dean Craig Boise, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
Dean Ned Hill, The Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University
Carter E. Strang, Tucker Ellis LLP, CMBA President
Brian Tucker, Publisher/Editorial Director, Crain's Cleveland Business
1:00 - 2:00 p.m. The Shale Revolution: Horizontal Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing
David Harris, Engineering Manager, Southern Midstream, Anadarko
2:00 - 2:45 p.m. Oil and Gas Leasing 101
Matthew W. Warnock, Bricker & Eckler LLP
2:45 - 3:00 p.m. Afternoon Break
3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Mineral Rights Issues
Split Estates - Lija Kaleps-Clark, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP
Title Issues / Title Work- Reed King, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC
4:00 - 5:30 p.m. Legislative and Regulatory Update
W. Jonathon Airey, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP
Mike McCormac, Ohio Department of Natural Resources
Heidi Gorovitz Robertson, Associate Dean and Professor of Law, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
5:30 - 6:30 p.m. Reception for all conference participants
Friday, September 14 – 5.75 hours CLE
7:45 - 8:15 a.m. Continental Breakfast
8:15 - 8:45 a.m. Oil and Gas 2.0
Robert Chase, Ph.D., Marietta College
8:45 - 10:15 a.m. Litigation: Contamination and Royalty Litigation; Lease Termination / Cancellation; Mineral Rights Disputes; Implied Covenants
Blake Watson, Professor of Law, University of Dayton
Thomas W. Baker, Tucker Ellis LLP
Keith Hall, Assistant Professor, LSU Law Center
10:15 -10:30 a.m. Break
10:30 -11:00 a.m. Lessons Learned from BP Spill Applied to Regulation of Extraction from Shale in Ohio
Heidi Gorovitz Robertson, Associate Dean and Professor of Law, Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
Maureen Brennan, Baker & Hostetler LLP
Keith Hall, Assistant Professor, LSU Law Center
11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. Track Sessions
Track One: Estate planning and Accounting/Tax Issues
Roger D. Proper, Critchfield, Critchfield & Johnston, Ltd.
James M. Rosa, CPA, PFS, Hill, Barth & King LLC
Track Two: Oil and Gas Contracts Panel
Topics include: Purchase and sale, financing, joint operating and exploration agreements; drilling and other service contracts agreements
Andrew R. Thomas, The Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University, Moderator
Glenn S. Krassen, Bricker & Eckler, LLP
Glenn E. Morrical, Tucker Ellis LLP
Donald P. Fischbach, Calfee Halter & Griswold LLP
12:30 p.m. Lunch
1:15 p.m. Keynote Addresses (no CLE credit)
David Mustine, JobsOhio
Josh E. Knights, The Nature Conservancy
2:15 – 3:00 p.m. Policy Issues Concerning the Hydraulic Fracturing of Shale in Ohio
Craig Kasper, P.E., Hull & Associates, Inc.
Mark Bonifas, P.E., Hull & Associates, Inc.
3:00 - 3:15 p.m. Afternoon Break
3:15 - 4:30 p.m. Economic Development Issues and Implications
Dan Shingler, Editor of SHALE Magazine, Crain's Cleveland Business, Moderator
Iryna Lendel, The Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs, Cleveland State University
Jim Samuel, Founder and Principal, Capitol Integrity Group
David Crandall, Fairmount Minerals
4:30 p.m. Adjourn