Gas Wells Property Tax Suit Picked Up by Virginia High Court

The Virginia Supreme Court announced Tuesday it will review whether underlying gas reserves should be included in the property tax assessment of gas wells and related infrastructure.

The Court of Appeals of Virginia held Wise County correctly determined that it couldn’t include the reserves in the assessment because the reserves were already subject to a separate tax under the Code of Virginia Section 58.1-3286, otherwise known as the Mineral Statute.

• Under the cost appraisal approach, and excluding the reserves, natural gas producer EQT Production Co. was stuck with higher valuations of $134.3 million in 2018 and 2019, along with $104.6 ...