Source: http://www.kjeanrl.com/full-blog/ianyoungblog3
Timestamp: 2019-04-20 00:19:41+00:00

Document:
The rationale for forced pooling in general, is “a mineral interest owner who refuses to enter into a lease should not be permitted to forestall development and production of the oil and gas resources.”[xv] Without forced pooling, a single landowner could make it nearly impossible for the mineral companies to harvest resources in an efficient manner.[xvi] Gas companies would have to build more wells and compensation to those who consented to the drilling would decrease.[xvii] Additionally, forced pooling is preferred by those who believe the gas companies would extract natural gas from the land without the landowners’ consent and without compensation.
While these steps are a start to regulating forced pooling in the modern age of resource excavation, more is required to ensure landowners are treated fairly. The legislature must act to ensure that its landowners concerns are taken seriously and strike a better balance between the gas and oil industry and the residents who provide them with the resources they require to stay in business. This should require increasing the percentage of landowners needed to consent to the drilling operations, and taking more consideration to the health, safety, and environmental concerns. An equitable result for both sides is possible, but it will require the legislature to fairly balance the interests of the gas companies, landowners and the state.
[i] Sarah Min, U.S. oil and gas boom powers nation’s fastest-growing industry, CBS News (Feb. 7, 2019), https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-oil-and-gas-boom-powers-nations-fastest-growing-industry/ [https://perma.cc/LV8U-ZLBT].
[iii] Anthony Hahn, ‘Forced pooling’: Erie residents wary of controversial fracking practice, Daily Camera (Mar. 22, 2017), http://www.dailycamera.com/erie-news/ci_30865262/forced-pooling-erie-residents-wary-controversial-fracking-practice [https://perma.cc/QJ9D-5UQS].
[iv] Wildgrass Oil and Gas Comm. v. Colorado, No. 1:19-cv-00190-WYD at 1 (D. Colo. filed Jan. 23, 2019).
[vi] Colo. Rev. Stat. § 34-60-102 (2018); Colo. Rev. Stat. § 34-60-107 (2018).
[vii] Colo. Rev. Stat. § 34-60-116 (2018).
[viii] Wildgrass Oil and Gas Comm. v. Colorado, No. 1:19-cv-00190-WYD at 4,6 (D. Colo. filed Jan. 23, 2019).
[ix] Colo. Rev. Stat. § 34-60-116 (2018).
[xiii] Pooling For Horizontal Wells: Can They Teach An Old Dog New Tricks, Rocky Mt. Min. L. Inst. 8A-1 13 (2010).
[xiv] Colo. Rev. Stat. § 34-60-116 (2018).
[xv] What is “Forced” Pooling and Why is it Important?, Emerging Energy Insights (Apr. 25, 2017), https://www.emergingenergyinsights.com/2017/04/forced-pooling-important/.
[xvi] See Zachary Grey, Mineral Rights – What is Forced Pooling?, Frascona (July 11, 2018), https://frascona.com/mineral-rights-forced-pooling/.
[xvii] Marie C. Baca, When Landowners Can’t Say No to Drilling, ProPublica (May 18, 2011), https://www.propublica.org/article/forced-pooling-when-landowners-cant-say-no-to-drilling [https://perma.cc/7JDX-9G59].
[xviii] Wildgrass Oil and Gas Comm., No. 1:19-cv-00190-WYD at 22- 24.
[xxi] Chase Woodruff, Coloradans Battle Frackers for Control of Their Back Yards, Westword (Feb. 5, 2019), https://www.westword.com/news/coloradans-battle-frackers-for-control-of-their-back-yards-11207326 [https://perma.cc/U64Q-R8PG].
[xxiii] Kerns v. Chesapeake Expl., L.L.C., No. 18-3636, 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 3450 at 6 (6th Cir. Feb. 4, 2019).
[xxiv]John Fryar, Colorado Lawmakers approve changes to forced pooling of oil, gas mineral rights, Longmont Times (May 7, 2018), http://www.timescall.com/news/coloradonews/ci_31860494/colorado-lawmakers-approve-changes-forced-pooling-oil-gas [https://perma.cc/MF2E-7NKN].

References: v. 
 § 34
 § 34
 § 34
 v. 
 § 34
 § 34
 v.