Defendant Asserts Drilling Rights in Suit Over 1892 West Virginia Lease

WHEELING, W.Va. - A defendant in a suit for quiet title has filed a counterclaim disputing the chain of interest put forth by plaintiffs and asserting its own superior right to drill on a 3,800-acre tract in West Virginia. Trans Energy Inc., et al. v. EQT Corp., No. 1:11-cv-00075-FPS (N.D. W.Va.).

EQT Corp. filed its answer and counterclaim in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia on July 11 in response to the complaint filed two months earlier by Trans Energy Inc., et al., which says its claim is protected by 119 years of operation under …