Real Estate & Property Law

Expansion of the Cunningham Storage Field Located in Pratt and Kingman Counties, Kansas

By Alan Ackerman

Many utilities have arrived at a conclusion that their storage fields effectively 'leak', or 'travel outside the original contemplated storage area.'  We can find a number of recent filings such as the Pratt and Kingman County example above in which the gas storage companies are required to expand its area which serves as a 'buffer' in order to protect its gas interest.  This occurs where there is other gas or oil facilities in nearby areas, raising the question of whether the gas is spread so as to allow other producers to utilize the stored gas and production as part of the producer's production.  This can frequently be determined by what are called 'markers,' which serve to determine whether the gas has migrated from the storage area to other nearby production areas.  The process is one which results in owners of nearby mineral rights to lose the respective resource asset, often resulting in an eminent domain proceeding.
 

Although the list of owners is 'confidential', it can be obtained with the agreement that the information will remain confidential.  This is in line with many state FOIA requirements of confidentiality barring communications with owners in a proposed right-of-way

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on October 29, 2009 (boomark / email).