Gas driller increases royalty settlement for landowners

Natural gas drilling company Chesapeake Energy increased the settlement it is offering to landowners who say the company took too much money from their drilling royalties.

The new proposed class-action settlement filed in court earlier this month totals $11 million, compared with the previous $7.5 million offer, the Scranton, Pa., Times-Tribune reported.

{mosads}The increased amount is meant to resolve disputes among attorneys for various plaintiffs, The Times-Tribune said. It includes thousands of dollars more in up-front payments to landowners, plus other financial incentives.

The case stems from 2013 allegations that Chesapeake improperly charged landowners so-called post-production fees out of the royalty checks they receive from the gas produced on their land.

It has angered landowners, and caused Pennsylvania’s attorney general and the U.S. Justice Department to investigate Chesapeake.

Under the settlement, landowners would get back 55 percent of post-production costs charged through June. Going forward, they would only have to pay 66 percent of post-production, compared with the current 100 percent.

Some landowners involved in the case told The Times-Tribune that the new proposed settlement is still not enough.