W.Va. Landowner Asks for State High Court Ruling on Drillers' Land Use

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A West Virginia landowner has moved to obtain an opinion from his state's high court on whether a gas drilling company can utilize his surface land to explore for gas and oil on neighboring tracts that were not part of the original parcel that drillers' assert mineral rights to. C_ain v. XTO Energy Inc., et al._, No. 11-C-165 W.Va. Cir. Ct., Marion Cty.).

Richard Cain filed the Motion to Certify Question on June 21, on the same day he asked the Marion County (W.Va.) Circuit Court to enjoin XTO Energy Inc. from utilizing 12 of his 105 …