I know most of your folks are from Texas and Oklahoma, which is great because you have far more experience than us Pennsylvania folks do. Anyhow, I have heard of unscrupulous gas operators back feeding gas from main lines to give the appearance of production from gas wells from the early 1900s, thus extending the lease. How exactly would you try and prove an old gas well is not producing? Some of these old gas wells don’t even have meters on them, but the operators are still claiming they produce.
The short answer is it can be very hard. There is a meter somewhere. It might not be at the wellhead, but you can bet the gas is being measured. Are there multiple wells on the lease? If so, there is likely a local gathering point for all of the wells.
Good luck.
Actually the gas company admitted that there was no meter on the well and that there was no need for one since it was what they called a “pressure lease.” There is only one well on the lease.
Klaus, the meter doesn’t have to be at the wellhead. The important point is that it is being measured before gas is combined with other wells in the gathering system. I’m not intimately familiar with PA, but there are likely regulatory requirements that force your operator to measure gas from the lease/producing unit. Have you checked what is being reported to the state?
Nothing per this well is being reported to the DEP, I already checked.