The Houston Business Journal posted an article yesterday about Barnett Shale owners suing Chesapeake Energy over mineral rights. The dispute involves 4000 acres of land, and “the complaint says Chesapeake allegedly violated lease agreements by underpaying on royalty payments from gas produced on the plaintiffs’ land in Tarrant and Johnson counties.”
We’ve posted before about Chesapeake’s issues with lease compliance. While they may be trying to squeeze extra money out of historically low gas prices, it’s equally possible that the E&P company does not have robust energy software that can automate much of the lease management process. Without it, companies are left with confusing spreadsheets that can be difficult to parse for exceptions, drill dates, deadlines and the like.
Particularly as companies grow, like Chesapeake is, simpler solutions used for managing compliance become less scalable. Over time, solid oil and gas software is required to avoid expensive and complicated lawsuits like the ones Chesapeake is facing at the moment.
For more on how custom software solutions can automate compliance and protect your company from lease jeopardy, download our lease compliance white paper now!