New Ohio Law Favors Mineral Owners

Ohio has made it easier for mineral owners to lease their land for oil and gas drilling.

Last month, Governor John Kasich signed House Bill 390 into law, making it easier for Ohio landowners to lease their property that borders state-owned land.

The new law gives the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources 45 days to pool Department Of Transportation (DOT) controlled land into units for oil and gas drilling. The law specifically impacts applications where a private mineral owner’s land abuts or adjoins the DOT’s mineral rights and/or when their applications constitute the entire pool and allows drillers up to two years to begin their drilling.

SECTION 715.10. For each application submitted under section 1509.28 of the Revised Code that encompasses a unit area for which all or a portion of the mineral rights are owned by the Department of Transportation and for which the Chief of the Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management has held a hearing before the effective date of this section, the Chief, not later than forty-five days after the effective date of this section, shall either issue an order denying or providing for the unit operation of a pool or part of a pool. However, the applicant is not required to commence any unit operations within twenty-four months of the effective date of any order issued in accordance with this section.