PART I
Item 1.
Business
Introduction
ECA Marcellus Trust I is a statutory trust formed in March 2010 under the Delaware Statutory Trust Act, pursuant to a Trust Agreement, as
amended and restated (the "Trust Agreement"), among Energy Corporation of America ("ECA"), as Trustor, The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A., as Trustee (the "Trustee"), and
Wilmington Trust Company, as Delaware Trustee (the "Delaware Trustee"). The Trust maintains its offices at the office of the Trustee, at 919 Congress Avenue, Suite 500, Austin, Texas 78701. The
telephone number of the Trustee is 1-512-236-6555.
The
Trust makes copies of its reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), available at www.businesswire.com/cnn/ect.htm. The Trust's filings under
the Exchange Act are also available electronically from the website maintained by the SEC at http://www.sec.gov. The Trust will also provide electronic and paper copies of its filings free of charge
upon request to the Trustee.
General
The Trust does not conduct any operations or activities. The Trust's purpose is, in general, to hold the Royalty Interests (described below), to
distribute to the Trust unitholders cash that the Trust receives in respect of the Royalty Interests after the payment of Trust expenses, and to perform certain administrative functions in respect of
the Royalty Interests and the Trust units. The Trustee has no authority or responsibility for, and no involvement with, any aspect of the oil and gas operations on the properties to which the Royalty
Interests relate. The Trust derives all or substantially all of its income and cash flows from the Royalty Interests. The Trust is treated as a partnership for federal and state income tax purposes.
Initially,
the Trust owned royalty interests in the 14 Producing Wells described in the Prospectus (the "Producing Wells") and royalty interests in 52 horizontal natural gas development
wells to be drilled to the Marcellus Shale formation (the "PUD Wells") within the AMI, in which ECA held approximately 9,300 acres, of which it owned substantially all of the working interests, in
Greene County, Pennsylvania. The AMI consisted of the Marcellus Shale formation in approximately 121 square miles in Greene County, Pennsylvania.
ECA
completed its drilling obligation to the Trust under the Development Agreement as of November 30, 2011, approximately 2.3 years in advance of the required completion
date of March 31, 2014. Consequently, no additional wells have been or will be drilled for the Trust. As of December 31, 2016 the Trust owns Royalty Interests in the 14 Producing Wells
and the 40 development wells
(52.06 Equivalent PUD Wells) that are now completed and in production. The 14 Producing Wells and the 40 development wells (52.06 Equivalent PUD Wells) are sometimes herein called the
"Trust Wells".
The
royalty interests were conveyed from ECA's working interest in the Producing Wells and the PUD Wells limited to the Marcellus Shale formation (the "Underlying Properties"). The
royalty interest in the Producing Wells (the "PDP Royalty Interest") entitles the Trust to receive 90% of the proceeds (exclusive of any production or development costs but after deducting
post-production costs and any applicable taxes) from the sale of production of natural gas attributable to ECA's interest in the Producing Wells for a period of 20 years commencing on
April 1, 2010 and 45% thereafter. The royalty interest in the PUD Wells (the "PUD Royalty Interest" and together with the PDP Royalty Interest, the "Royalty Interests") entitles the Trust to
receive 50% of the proceeds (exclusive of any production or development costs but after deducting post-production costs and any applicable taxes) from the sale of production of natural gas
attributable to ECA's interest in the PUD Wells for a period of 20 years commencing on April 1, 2010 and 25% thereafter. As used herein, the term "Producing
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Wells"
means the 14 Producing Wells as defined above, and does not include the 40 PUD Wells, although they also have been completed and are producing. Approximately 50% of the originally estimated
natural gas production attributable to the Trust's Royalty Interests had been hedged through March 31, 2014. A more complete description of the hedge contracts (all of which have expired) is
provided in "Hedge Contracts Transferred to the Trust" below.
ECA
was obligated to drill all of the PUD Wells no later than March 31, 2014. As of November 30, 2011, ECA had fulfilled its drilling obligation to the Trust by drilling 40
PUD Wells (52.06 Equivalent PUD Wells), calculated as provided in the Development Agreement. The Trust was not responsible for any costs related to the drilling of development wells or any other
development or operating costs. The Trust's cash receipts in respect of the Royalty Interests is determined after deducting post-production costs and any applicable taxes associated with the Royalty
Interests, and the Trust's cash available for distribution includes any cash receipts from the hedge contracts and is reduced by Trust administrative expenses. Post-production costs generally consist
of costs incurred to gather, compress, transport, process, treat, dehydrate and market the natural gas produced. Charges (the "Post-Production Services Fee") payable to ECA for such post-production
costs on the related Greene County Gathering System were limited to $0.52 per MMBtu gathered until ECA fulfilled its drilling obligation in 2011; since then, ECA has been permitted to increase the
Post-Production Services Fee to the extent necessary to recover certain capital expenditures in the Greene County Gathering System.
Generally,
the percentage of production proceeds to be received by the Trust with respect to a well equals the product of (i) the percentage of proceeds to which the Trust is
entitled under the terms of the conveyances (90% for the Producing Wells and 50% for the PUD Wells) multiplied by (ii) ECA's net revenue interest in the well. ECA on average owns an 81.53% net
revenue interest in the Producing Wells. Therefore, the Trust is entitled to receive on average 73.37% of the proceeds of
production from the Producing Wells. With respect to the PUD Wells, the conveyance related to the PUD Royalty Interest provides that the proceeds from the PUD Wells are calculated on the basis that
the underlying PUD Wells are burdened only by interests that in total would not exceed 12.5% of the revenues from such properties, regardless of whether the royalty interest owners are actually
entitled to a greater percentage of revenues from such properties. As an example, assuming ECA owns a 100% working interest in a PUD Well, the applicable net revenue interest is calculated by
multiplying ECA's percentage working interest in the 100% working interest well by the unburdened interest percentage (87.5%) and such well would have a minimum 87.5% net revenue interest.
Accordingly, the Trust is entitled to a minimum of 43.75% of the production proceeds from the well provided in this example. To the extent ECA's working interest in a PUD Well is less than 100%, the
Trust's share of proceeds would be proportionately reduced.
As
described under "Duration of the Trust; Sale of Royalty Interests" below, the Trust is required to dissolve if the gross proceeds received by the Trust attributable to
the Royalty Interests over any four consecutive quarters are less than $1.5 million. Gross proceeds over the four consecutive quarters ended December 31, 2016 were $4.7 million.
Historical Target Distributions
The Trust makes quarterly cash distributions of substantially all of its cash receipts, after deducting Trust administrative expenses, including
the costs incurred as a result of being a publicly traded entity, on or about the 60
th
day following the completion of each quarter. Unless it is sooner liquidated, the Trust will
liquidate on or about March 31, 2030.
The
amount of Trust revenues and cash distributions to Trust unitholders depend on, among other things:
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natural gas prices received;
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the volume and Btu rating of natural gas produced and sold;
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post-production costs and any applicable taxes;
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administrative expenses of the Trust including expenses incurred as a result of being a publicly traded entity, and any changes in amounts
reserved for such expenses; and
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through March 31, 2014, the effects of the hedge arrangements.
The
effective date of the Trust was April 1, 2010, meaning the Trust has received the proceeds of production attributable to the PDP Royalty Interest from that date even though
the PDP Royalty Interest was not conveyed to the Trust until July 7, 2010. The amount of the quarterly distributions fluctuates from quarter to quarter, depending on the proceeds received by
the Trust, among other factors. There is no minimum required distribution. In order to provide support for cash distributions on the common units for a limited period of time, ECA agreed to
subordinate 4,401,250 of the Trust units it originally acquired, which constituted 25% of the outstanding Trust units. The subordinated units automatically converted into common units on a one-for-one
basis, and ECA's right to receive incentive distributions terminated, on December 31, 2012.
Pursuant
to IRC Section 1446, withholding tax on income effectively connected to a United States trade or business allocated to foreign partners should be made at the highest
marginal rate. Under Section 1441, withholding tax on fixed, determinable, annual, periodic income from United States sources allocated to foreign partners should be made at 30% of gross income
unless the rate is reduced by treaty. This release is intended to be a qualified notice to nominees and brokers as provided for under Treasury Regulation Section 1.1446-4(b) by ECA Marcellus
Trust I, and while specific relief is not specified for Section 1441 income, this disclosure is intended to suffice. Nominees and brokers should withhold 39.6% of the distribution made to
foreign partners.
The
Trust makes quarterly cash distributions of substantially all of its cash receipts, after deducting Trust administrative expenses, including the costs incurred as a result of being a
publicly traded entity,
on or about the 60
th
day following the completion of each quarter. Unless sooner liquidated, as discussed in detail below under the caption "The Trustee may, under certain
circumstances, sell the Royalty Interests and dissolve the Trust. Unless sooner terminated, the Trust will begin to terminate following the end of the 20 year period in which the Trust owns the
Term Royalty Interests" in Item 1A. Risk Factors, the Trust will liquidate on or about March 31, 2030 (the "Termination Date"). At the Termination Date, 50% of each of the PDP Royalty
Interest and the PUD Royalty Interest will revert automatically to ECA. The remaining 50% of each of the PDP Royalty Interest and the PUD Royalty Interest will be sold, and the net proceeds will be
distributed pro rata to the unitholders soon after the Termination Date. ECA will have a right of first refusal to purchase the remaining 50% of the Royalty Interests at the Termination Date. Because
payments to the Trust will be generated by depleting assets and the Trust has a finite life with the production from the Underlying Properties diminishing over time, a portion of each distribution
will represent a return of the original investment in the Trust units.
The
Trustee can authorize the Trust to borrow money to pay Trust administrative or incidental expenses that exceed cash held by the Trust. The Trustee may authorize the Trust to borrow
from the Trustee as a lender provided the terms of the loan are fair to the Trust unitholders, although the Trustee does not intend to make any such loans. The Trustee may also deposit funds awaiting
distribution in an account with itself, if the interest paid to the Trust at least equals amounts paid by the Trustee on similar deposits, and make other short term investments with the funds
distributed to the Trust. The Trustee may also hold funds awaiting distribution in a non interest bearing account.
The
Trust is responsible for paying all legal, accounting, tax advisory, engineering, printing costs and other administrative and out-of-pocket expenses incurred by or at the direction
of the Trustee. The Trust is also responsible for paying other expenses, including the expenses of tax return and
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Schedule K-1
preparation and distribution, and expenses incurred as a result of being a publicly traded entity, including costs associated with annual and quarterly reports to unitholders,
independent auditor fees and registrar and transfer agent fees.
The Administrative Services Agreement
The Trust and ECA are parties to an Administrative Services Agreement that obligates the Trust to pay ECA an administrative services fee for
accounting, bookkeeping and informational services to be performed by ECA on behalf of the Trust relating to the Royalty Interests. The annual fee of $60,000 is payable in equal quarterly
installments. Under certain circumstances, ECA
and the Trustee each may terminate the Administrative Services Agreement at any time following delivery of notice no less than 90 days prior to the date of termination.
The Development Agreement
In connection with the formation of the Trust, the Trust and ECA entered into a Development Agreement that obligated ECA to drill all of the PUD
Wells by March 31, 2014. ECA granted to the Trust a lien on ECA's interest in the Marcellus Shale formation in the AMI (except the Producing Wells and any other wells which were already
producing and not subject to the Royalty Interests) to secure the estimated amount of the drilling costs for the Trust's interests in the PUD Wells (the "Drilling Support Lien"). The original maximum
amount of the Drilling Support Lien was $91 million. As ECA fulfilled its drilling obligation over time, the total dollar amount recovered was proportionately reduced and the completed PUD
Wells were released from the lien. As of November 30, 2011, the Drilling Support Lien had been fully released.
For
purposes of ECA's drilling obligation, and subject to the following paragraph, ECA was credited with a full development well drilled if its working interest in the development well
drilled was 100%. Where ECA's working interest in a development well drilled was less than 100%, ECA was credited with a portion of a development well in the proportion that its working interest in
the development well bears to 100%. For example, if ECA's working interest in a development well drilled by ECA in connection with fulfilling its drilling obligation to the Trust was 50%, ECA was
credited with one-half of a development well for purposes of satisfying its drilling obligation in the period the development well was drilled.
Wells
drilled horizontally with a horizontal lateral distance (measured from the midpoint of the curve to the end of the lateral) of less than 2,500 feet counted as a Fractional well in
proportion to total lateral length divided by 2,500 feet. Wells with a horizontal lateral distance of greater than 2,500 feet (subject to a maximum of 3,500 feet) counted as one well plus a
Fractional well equal to the length drilled in excess of 2,500 (up to 3,500 feet) feet divided by 2,500 feet.
In
accordance with these provisions of the Development Agreement, ECA drilled 40 development wells (52.06 Equivalent PUD Wells) to fulfill its obligation to drill the 52 PUD Wells as
required.
ECA
was obligated to bear all of the costs of drilling and completing the PUD Wells. ECA was required to complete and equip each development well that reasonably appeared to ECA to be
capable of producing gas in quantities sufficient to pay completion, equipping and operating costs. ECA has drilled, completed and equipped each of the development wells.
ECA
has agreed not to drill and complete, and not to permit any other person within its control to drill and complete, any well on the lease acreage that would have a perforated segment
within 500 feet of any perforated interval of a PUD Well or Producing Well in the Marcellus Shale formation.
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Hedge Contracts Transferred to the Trust
In connection with the formation of the Trust, ECA transferred to the Trust natural gas derivative floor price contracts and entered into a
back-to-back swap agreement with the Trust to provide the Trust with the benefit of certain contracts entered into between ECA and third parties that, at the formation of the Trust, equated to
approximately 50% of the estimated natural gas to be produced by the Trust properties from April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2014. The swap contracts related to approximately 7,500 MMBtu
per day at a weighted average price of $6.78 per MMBtu for the period commencing as of April 1, 2010 through June 30, 2012. The price of the floor price hedge contracts was $5.00 per
MMBtu for the period commencing October 1, 2010 through March 31, 2014. After March 31, 2014, no hedge arrangements were in effect.
The
following table sets forth the volumes of natural gas covered by the natural gas hedge contracts and the floor price for each quarter during the term of the contracts.
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Swap Volume
(MMBtu)
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Swap Price
(MMBtu)
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Floor Volume
(MMBtu)
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Floor Price
(MMBtu)
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Second Quarter 2010
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682,500
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$
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6.75
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Third Quarter 2010
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690,000
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$
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6.75
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Fourth Quarter 2010
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690,000
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$
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6.75
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225,000
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$
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5.00
|
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First Quarter 2011
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675,000
|
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$
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6.75
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159,000
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$
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5.00
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Second Quarter 2011
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682,500
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$
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6.75
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210,000
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$
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5.00
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Third Quarter 2011
|
|
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690,000
|
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$
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6.82
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405,000
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$
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5.00
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Fourth Quarter 2011
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690,000
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$
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6.82
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384,000
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$
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5.00
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First Quarter 2012
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682,500
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$
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6.82
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369,000
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$
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5.00
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Second Quarter 2012
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682,500
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$
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6.82
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516,000
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$
|
5.00
|
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Third Quarter 2012
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1,305,000
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$
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5.00
|
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Fourth Quarter 2012
|
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1,362,000
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$
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5.00
|
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First Quarter 2013
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1,395,000
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$
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5.00
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Second Quarter 2013
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1,380,000
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$
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5.00
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Third Quarter 2013
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1,278,000
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$
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5.00
|
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Fourth Quarter 2013
|
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1,188,000
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$
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5.00
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First Quarter 2014
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1,092,000
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$
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5.00
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Marketing and Post-Production Services
Pursuant to the terms of the conveyances creating the Royalty Interests, ECA has the responsibility to market, or cause to be marketed, the
natural gas production related to the Underlying Properties. The terms of the conveyances creating the Royalty Interests do not permit ECA to charge any marketing fee when determining the proceeds
upon which the royalty payments are calculated. As a result, the proceeds to the Trust from the sales of natural gas production from the Underlying Properties are determined based on the same price
(net of post-production costs) that ECA receives for natural gas production attributable to ECA's retained interest.
ECA
markets the majority of its operated production and markets all of the natural gas produced from the Underlying Properties. ECA enters into gas sales arrangements with large
aggregators of supply, and these arrangements may be on a month-to-month basis or may be for a term of up to one year or longer. The natural gas is sold at a market price and any applicable
post-production costs are deducted.
All
of the production from the Producing Wells and the PUD Wells is currently gathered by ECA on the Greene County Gathering System that it operates and owns an interest in. The
Trust paid the initial Post-Production Services Fee of $0.52 per MMBtu for use of this system, including ECA's costs to gather, compress, transport, process, treat, dehydrate and market the gas. This
fee was fixed
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until
ECA's drilling obligation was satisfied in 2011; since then, ECA has been permitted to increase this fee to the extent necessary to recover certain capital expenditures on the Greene County
Gathering System made after the completion of the drilling period, provided the resulting charge does not exceed the prevailing charges in the area for similar services. This fee does not include the
cost of fuel used in the compression process or equivalent electricity charges when electric compressors are used, firm transportation charges on interstate gas pipelines, or other third-party
charges. The Trust's cash available for distribution is reduced by ECA's deductions for these post-production services.
ECA
may enter into arrangements with third parties to provide gathering, transportation, processing and other reasonable post-production services, including transportation on downstream
interstate pipelines. Such additional post-production costs will be expressed as either (1) a cost per MMBtu or Mcf or (2) a percentage of the gross production from a well. To the extent
that post-production costs are expressed as a cost per MMBtu or Mcf, such costs may be deducted by the purchaser of the natural gas prior to payment being made to ECA for such production. At other
times, ECA will make payments directly to the third parties providing such post-production services. In either instance, the Trust's cash available for distribution will be reduced by the costs paid
by ECA for such post-production services provided by third parties. If the post-production costs are expressed as a percentage of the gross production from a well, then the volume of production from
that well actually available for sale is less than the applicable percentage charged, and as a result the reserves associated with that well that are attributable to the Royalty Interests are reduced
accordingly.
The
post-production costs for the Trust's natural gas produced and sold averaged $0.70 and $0.64 per MMBtu for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. Such costs
may increase or decrease in the future. The post-production costs attributable to third party arrangements may be costs established by arms-length negotiations or pursuant to a state or federal
regulatory proceeding. ECA is permitted to deduct from the proceeds payable to the Trust other post-production costs necessary to make the natural gas from the Underlying Properties marketable, so
long as such costs do not materially exceed the charges prevailing in the area for similar services.
ECA
has an agreement with Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC ("Columbia") to provide firm transportation downstream of ECA's Greene County Gathering System for 50,000 MMBtu per day.
This firm transportation arrangement, which terminates July 31, 2021, has been in effect since August 1, 2011 and is at Columbia's filed tariff rate, which is currently $0.1878 per MMBtu
at one hundred percent load factor. This firm transportation is an additional post-production cost and the Trust bears its proportionate share of such costs.
ECA
may enter into similar gas supply arrangements and post-production service arrangements for the natural gas to be produced from the Underlying Properties. Any new gas supply
arrangements or those entered into for providing post-production services, will be utilized in determining the proceeds for the Underlying Properties.
Competition and Markets
The natural gas industry is highly competitive. ECA competes with major oil and gas companies and independent oil and gas companies for oil and
gas leases, equipment, personnel and markets for the sale of natural gas. Many of these competitors are financially stronger than ECA, but even financially troubled competitors can affect the market
because they may need to sell natural gas regardless of price to attempt to maintain cash flow. The Trust is subject to the same competitive conditions as ECA and other companies in the natural gas
industry.
Natural
gas competes with other forms of energy available to customers, primarily based on price. These alternate forms of energy include electricity, coal and fuel oils. Changes in the
availability or price of natural gas or other forms of energy, as well as business conditions, conservation, legislation,
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regulations
and the ability to convert to alternate fuels and other forms of energy may affect the demand for natural gas.
Future
prices for natural gas will directly affect Trust distributions, estimates of reserves attributable to the Trust's interests, and estimated and actual future net revenues to the
Trust. In view of the many uncertainties that affect the supply and demand for natural gas, neither the Trust nor ECA can make reliable predictions of future gas supply or demand, future gas prices or
the effect of future gas prices on the Trust.
Natural Gas Regulation
The availability, terms and cost of transportation significantly affect sales of natural gas. The interstate transportation and sale for resale
of natural gas is subject to federal regulation, including regulation of the terms, conditions and rates for interstate transportation, storage and various other matters, primarily by the FERC.
Federal and state regulations govern the price and
terms for access to natural gas pipeline transportation. The FERC's regulations for interstate natural gas transmission in some circumstances may also affect the intrastate transportation of natural
gas.
Although
natural gas prices are currently unregulated, Congress historically has been active in the area of natural gas regulation. Neither ECA nor the Trust can predict whether new
legislation to regulate natural gas prices might be proposed, what proposals, if any, might actually be enacted by Congress or the various state legislatures, and what effect, if any, the proposals
might have on the operations of the Underlying Properties. Sales of condensate and natural gas liquids are not currently regulated and are made at market prices.
Environmental Matters and Regulation
The operations of the properties composing the Underlying Properties are subject to stringent and complex federal, state and local laws and
regulations governing environmental protection, the discharge, emission or release of materials into the environment and employee health and safety. These laws and regulations may, among other
things:
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restrict the types, quantities and concentration of various substances that can be released into the environment in connection with production
activities;
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require remedial measures to mitigate pollution from former and ongoing operations, such as requirements to close pits and plug abandoned
wells; and
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enjoin some or all of the operations of the Underlying Properties based upon environmental protection concerns such as non-compliance with
permits issued pursuant to such environmental laws and regulations.
Failure
to comply with these laws and regulations may trigger a variety of administrative, civil and criminal enforcement measures, including the assessment of monetary penalties, the
imposition of remedial requirements and the issuance of orders enjoining future operations or imposing additional requirements on such operations. Certain environmental statutes impose strict joint
and several liability for costs required to clean up and restore sites where hazardous substances have been disposed or otherwise released. The costs to comply with these laws, rules and regulations
affects profitability. Moreover, compliance with these laws, rules and regulations may also restrict the rate of oil and natural gas production below the rate that would otherwise be possible.
Additionally, Congress and federal and state agencies periodically revise environmental laws and regulations, and any changes that result in more stringent and costly waste handling, disposal and
cleanup requirements for the oil and natural gas industry could have a significant impact on the operating costs of the properties comprising the Underlying Properties.
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The following is a summary of the existing laws, rules and regulations to which the operations of the properties composing the Underlying Properties are subject
that may be material to the operation of the Underlying Properties.
Environmental, Health and Safety Regulation.
The exploration, development and production operations of ECA are subject to stringent and
comprehensive
federal, state and local laws and regulations governing the discharge, emission or release of materials into the environment or otherwise relating to environmental protection or human health and
safety. These laws and regulations may, among other things, require the acquisition of permits to conduct construction, drilling, water withdrawal and waste disposal operations; govern the amounts and
types of substances that may be disposed or released into the environment; limit or prohibit construction or drilling activities in sensitive areas such as wetlands, wilderness areas or areas
containing endangered or threatened species or their habitats; require investigatory and remedial actions to mitigate pollution conditions arising from ECA's operations or attributable to former
operations; and impose obligations to reclaim and abandon well sites, impoundments and pits. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in the assessment of administrative, civil and
criminal penalties, the imposition of remedial obligations and the issuance of orders enjoining some or all of ECA's operations in affected areas.
The
trend in environmental regulation has been to place more restrictions and limitations on activities that may affect the environment, and thus, any future changes in environmental
laws and regulations or re-interpretation of enforcement policies that result in more stringent or costly construction, drilling, water withdrawal, waste handling, storage, transport, disposal, or
remediation requirements could have a material adverse effect on ECA's capital expenditures, results of operations and financial position. ECA may be unable to pass on increased compliance costs to
its customers. Moreover, accidental loss of well control, or releases or spills may occur in the course of ECA's operations, and ECA could incur significant costs and liabilities as a result of such
incidents, including any third party claims for damage to property and natural resources or personal injury. Although ECA believes that it is in substantial compliance with existing environmental laws
and regulations and that continued compliance with current requirements would not have a material adverse effect on ECA's capital expenditures, results of operations or financial position, ECA might
not be able to maintain such compliance in the future.
The
following is a summary of significant existing environmental, health and safety laws and regulations to which ECA's business operations are subject and for which compliance may have
a material adverse impact on ECA's capital expenditures, results of operations or financial position.
Hazardous Substances and Wastes.
The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended, ("CERCLA"),
also known as the
Superfund law and comparable state laws impose liability without regard to fault or the legality of the original conduct on certain classes of persons who are considered to be jointly and severally
responsible for the release of a "hazardous substance" into the environment. These persons include current and prior owners or operators of the site where the release occurred and entities that
disposed or arranged for the disposal of the hazardous substances found at the site. Under CERCLA, these "responsible persons" may be liable for the costs of cleaning up the hazardous substances that
have been released into the environment, for damages to natural resources, and for the costs of certain health studies. CERCLA also authorizes the EPA and, in some instances, third parties to act in
response to threats to the public health or the environment and then to seek to recover from the responsible classes of persons the costs they incur. It is not uncommon for neighboring landowners and
other third parties to file claims for personal injury and property damage allegedly caused by the release of hazardous substances or other pollutants into the environment. ECA handles materials in
the course of ECA's operations that may be regulated as hazardous substances.
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ECA
also generates solid and hazardous wastes that are subject to the requirements of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, as amended ("RCRA"), and comparable state statutes. RCRA
imposes strict requirements on the generation, storage, treatment, transportation and disposal of hazardous wastes. In the course of its operations, ECA generates petroleum hydrocarbon wastes and
ordinary
industrial wastes that may be classified as hazardous wastes under CERCLA and comparable state laws. On December 28, 2016, the EPA entered into a settlement with environmental groups wherein it
agreed to decide by March 2019 whether to revise the Agency's current determination exempting oil and gas wastes from regulation as RCRA hazardous wastes.
ECA
currently owns or leases, and in the past may have owned or leased, properties that have been used for numerous years to explore and produce oil and natural gas. Although ECA may
have utilized operating and disposal practices that were standard in the industry at the time, hydrocarbons and wastes may have been disposed of or released at or from the properties owned or leased
by ECA or at or from the other locations where these hydrocarbons and wastes have been taken for treatment or disposal. In addition, certain of these properties have been operated by third parties
whose treatment and disposal or release of hydrocarbons and wastes was not under ECA's control. These properties and wastes disposed thereon may give rise to liability under CERCLA, RCRA and analogous
state laws. Under these laws, ECA could be required to investigate, remove or remediate previously disposed wastes, to clean up contaminated property and to perform response actions to prevent future
contamination.
Air Emissions.
The Clean Air Act, as amended, and comparable state laws and regulations restrict the emission of air pollutants from
many sources and
also impose various monitoring and reporting requirements. These laws and regulations may require ECA to obtain pre-approval for the construction or modification of certain projects or facilities
expected to produce or significantly increase air emissions, obtain and strictly comply with stringent air permit requirements or utilize specific equipment or technologies to control emissions.
Obtaining permits has the potential to delay the development of ECA's properties. While ECA may be required to incur certain capital expenditures during the next few years for air pollution control
equipment or other air emissions-related issues, ECA does not believe that such requirements have a material adverse effect on its operations.
In
December 2009, the EPA published its findings that emissions of carbon dioxide, methane and other greenhouse gases (collectively, "GHGs") present an endangerment to public health and
the environment because emissions of such gases are, according to the EPA, contributing to warming of the Earth's atmosphere and other climatic changes. These findings allow the EPA to adopt and
implement regulations that would restrict emissions of GHGs under existing provisions of the federal Clean Air Act. Accordingly, the EPA has adopted regulations that could trigger permit review for
GHG emissions from certain stationary sources. Those regulations were challenged in federal court and the Supreme Court has upheld the EPA's authority to regulate GHG emissions from stationary
sources, concluding sources that trigger air permitting requirements based on their traditional criteria pollutant emissions must include a limit for greenhouse gases in their permit. The EPA has also
issued regulations that require the establishment and reporting of an inventory of GHG emissions from specified stationary sources, including certain onshore oil and natural gas exploration,
development and production facilities. On October 23, 2015, the EPA finalized its "Clean Power Plan" regulations under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to limit GHG emissions from
existing power plants. Several states, trade groups and companies have challenged the legality of EPA's 111(d) rule for existing power plants in federal court. On February 9, 2016, the Supreme
Court granted an emergency stay preventing EPA from implementing the Clean Power Plan until the D.C. Circuit issues a decision on the legality of the rule and disposition of a writ of certiorari, to
the extent such a writ is sought. EPA has finalized regulations that require control of methane emissions from new sources in the oil and gas industry and
target ozone-forming pollutants from existing sources in areas that do not meet federal ozone health standards. EPA has also issued several Information Collection Requets to industry seeking
assistance in
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developing
a program for regulating methane emissions from existing oil and gas sources as well. ECA does not believe the proposed regulation will have a material adverse effect on its operations.
More
than one-third of the states have begun taking actions to control and/or reduce emissions of GHGs, primarily through the planned development of GHG emission inventories and/or
regional GHG cap and trade programs. Although most of the state-level initiatives have to date focused on large sources of GHG emissions, such as coal-fired electric plants, it is possible that
smaller sources of emissions could become subject to GHG emission limitations or allowance purchase requirements in the future. Any one of these climate change regulatory and legislative initiatives
could have a material adverse effect on ECA's business, capital expenditures, financial condition and results of operations.
The
adoption and implementation of any regulations imposing reporting obligations on, or limiting emissions of GHGs from, ECA's equipment and operations could require ECA to incur costs
to reduce emissions of GHGs associated with its operations or could adversely affect demand for the natural gas it produces. Legislation or regulations that may be adopted to address climate change
could also affect the markets for ECA's products by making its products more or less desirable than competing sources of energy. To the extent that its products are competing with higher GHG-emitting
energy sources, ECA's products may become more desirable in the market with more stringent limitations on GHG emissions. To the extent that its products are competing with lower GHG-emitting energy,
ECA's products may become less desirable in the market with more stringent limitations on greenhouse gas emissions. ECA cannot predict with any certainty at this time how these possibilities may
affect its operations.
Finally,
some scientists have concluded that increasing concentrations of GHGs in the Earth's atmosphere may produce climate changes that have significant physical effects, such as
increased frequency and severity of storms, droughts, and floods and other climatic events; if any such effects were to occur, they could have an adverse effect on ECA's assets and operations.
Water Discharges.
The Federal Water Pollution Control Act, as amended ("Clean Water Act"), and analogous state laws impose restrictions
and strict
controls regarding the discharge of pollutants into navigable waters. Pursuant to the Clean Water Act and analogous state laws, permits must be obtained to discharge pollutants into state waters or
waters of the United States. Any such discharge of pollutants into regulated waters must be performed in accordance with the terms of the permit issued
by EPA or the analogous state agency. The term "waters of the United States" has been broadly defined to include certain inland water bodies, including certain wetlands and intermittent streams. In
May 2015, the EPA finalized a new definition of "waters of the United States" that broadens the scope of regulated waters. Several states, trade groups and companies have challenged the legality of
EPA's new definition for "waters of the United States" in various federal courts and in October 2015, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a nationwide stay of the rule. ECA believes that even if
upheld this will not have a material adverse effect on the cash distributions to the Trust unitholders.
The
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has adopted a new permitting policy concerning surface water discharges from wastewater treatment facilities handling flowback
fluids and produced waters from oil and gas well sites that could result in increased requirements for treatment of these fluids and limitations on their discharge to receiving waters. In April 2015,
EPA proposed technology-based pretreatment standards under the Clean Water Act for discharges of effluent from unconventional oil and gas extraction facilities to publicly owned treatment works
("POTWs"). If ECA is unable to remove and dispose of water at a reasonable cost and within applicable environmental rules, ECA's ability to produce gas commercially and in commercial quantities from
the Underlying Properties could be impaired.
Spill
prevention, control and countermeasure requirements under federal law require appropriate containment berms and similar structures to help prevent the contamination of navigable
waters in the event of a petroleum hydrocarbon tank spill, rupture or leak. In addition, the Clean Water Act and
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analogous
state laws, including in Pennsylvania, require individual permits or coverage under general permits for discharges of storm water runoff from certain types of facilities.
Endangered Species Act.
The federal Endangered Species Act, as amended ("ESA"), restricts activities that may affect endangered and
threatened
species or their habitats. As a result of a settlement reached in 2011, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service ("FWS") is required to make a determination on whether to list numerous species as
endangered or threatened under the ESA over the next several years. The designation of previously unidentified endangered or threatened species could cause ECA to incur additional costs or become
subject to operating restrictions or bans in the affected areas.
Employee Health and Safety.
The operations of ECA are subject to a number of federal and state laws
and regulations, including the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act, as amended ("OSHA"), and comparable state statutes, whose purpose is to protect the health and safety of workers. In
addition, the OSHA hazard communication standard, the EPA community right-to-know regulations under Title III of the federal Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act and comparable state statutes
require that information be maintained concerning hazardous materials used or produced in ECA's operations and that this information be provided to employees, state and local government authorities
and citizens.
State Regulation.
Pennsylvania regulates the drilling for, and the production, gathering, storage, transport and sale of natural gas,
including
imposing requirements for obtaining drilling permits, the method of developing new fields, the spacing and operation of wells, production rates and the prevention of waste of natural gas resources.
Any and all chemicals or other materials involved in the process must be disclosed and approved per statute. PADEP continues to implement new regulations specifically applicable to the development of
unconventional gas wells. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission is charged with enforcement of the gas well impact fees, penalties for nonpayment, and additional requirements resulting from the
adoption of the amendments. Proposed regulations and new requirements resulting from the amendments could require ECA to incur increased operating costs. Realized prices are not currently subject to
state regulation or other similar direct economic regulation, but they could become subject to such regulation in the future. The effect of these regulations may be to limit the amounts of natural gas
that may be produced from ECA's and to limit the number of wells or locations ECA can drill.
ECA
believes that its continued compliance with existing requirements will not have a material adverse effect on the cash distributions to the Trust unitholders. On December 24,
2015, ECA received a Notice of Violation ("NOV") from PADEP relating to ECA's operation of various water impoundments constructed on numerous well pad sites situated in Greene and Clearfield counties
covering some of the Underlying Properties. ECA responded to PADEP on January 22, 2016, and stated that it believed ECA had been in compliance with all underlying rules and regulations
regarding the operation of the impoundments and followed best management practices associated with the operation of the same. ECA has been communicating directly with PADEP in order to address the
matters set forth in the NOV. The NOV as issued is neither an order or final action of the PADEP and it has not resulted in any fine or assessment to date. However, pursuant to the conveyances any
expenses incurred by ECA related to the NOV and the ultimate resolution of the NOV by ECA are not deductible from the proceeds due to the Trust and therefore should not affect cash distributions to
Trust unitholders. As such, there were no material capital expenditures for remediation or pollution control activities for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, with respect to the
Underlying Properties.
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Description of the Trust Units
Each Trust unit is a unit of beneficial interest in the Trust and is entitled to receive cash distributions from the Trust on a pro rata basis.
The Trust has 17,605,000 common units outstanding, consisting of 13,203,750 originally issued common units and 4,401,250 originally issued subordinated units that automatically converted to common
units as of December 31, 2012.
Distributions and Income Computations
Cash distributions to Trust unitholders are made from available funds of the Trust for each calendar quarter. Production payments due to the
Trust with respect to any calendar quarter are accrued based on estimated production volumes attributable to the Trust properties during such quarter (as measured at ECA metering systems) and market
prices for such volumes. ECA makes a payment to the Trust equal to such accrued amounts within 30 days of the end of each such calendar quarter. After receipt of such payment, the Trustee
determines for such calendar quarter the amount of funds available for distribution to the Trust unitholders. Available funds are the excess cash, if any, received by the Trust over the Trust's
expenses for that quarter, reduced by any net increases to reserves. Any difference between the payment made by ECA to the Trust with respect to a calendar quarter and the actual cash production
payments relative to the Trust properties received by ECA will be netted to or against future payments by ECA to the Trust.
The
amount of available funds for distribution each quarter is payable to the Trust unitholders of record on or about the 45th day following the end of such calendar quarter or
such later date as the Trustee determines is required to comply with legal or stock exchange requirements. The Trust distributes available cash on or about the 60th day (or the next succeeding
business day following such day if such day is not a business day) following such calendar quarter to each person who was a Trust unitholder of record on the quarterly record date.
Unless
otherwise advised by counsel or the IRS, the Trustee will treat the income and expenses of the Trust for each month as belonging to the Trust unitholders of record on the first
business day of the month.
Transfer of Trust Units
Trust unitholders may transfer their Trust units in accordance with the Trust Agreement. The Trustee does not require either the transferor or
transferee to pay a service charge for any transfer of a Trust unit. The Trustee may require payment of any tax or other governmental charge imposed for a transfer. The Trustee may treat the owner of
any Trust unit as shown by its records as the owner of the Trust unit. The Trustee will not be considered to know about any claim or demand on a Trust unit by any party except the record owner. A
person who acquires a Trust unit after any quarterly record date will not be entitled to any distribution relating to that quarterly record date. Delaware law governs all matters affecting the title,
ownership or transfer of Trust units.
Periodic Reports
The Trustee files all required Trust federal and state income tax and information returns. The Trustee prepares and mails to each Trust
unitholder a Schedule K-1 to enable unitholders to correctly report their respective share of the income and deductions of the Trust. The Trustee also causes to be prepared and filed reports
required to be filed under the Exchange Act and by the rules of the New York Stock Exchange.
Each
Trust unitholder and such unitholder's representatives may examine, for any proper purpose, during reasonable business hours, the records of the Trust.
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Liability of Trust Unitholders
Under the Delaware Statutory Trust Act, Trust unitholders will be entitled to the same limitation of personal liability extended to stockholders
of private corporations for profit under
the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. Nevertheless, courts in jurisdictions outside of Delaware may not give effect to such limitation.
Voting Rights of Trust Unitholders
The Trustee or Trust unitholders owning at least 10% of the outstanding Trust units may call meetings of Trust unitholders. The Trust will be
responsible for all costs associated with calling a meeting of Trust unitholders unless such meeting is called by the Trust unitholders, in which case the Trust unitholders will be responsible for all
costs associated with calling such meeting of Trust unitholders. Meetings must be held in such location as is designated by the Trustee in the notice of such meeting. The Trustee must send written
notice of the time and place of the meeting and the matters to be acted upon to all of the Trust unitholders at least 20 days and not more than 60 days before the meeting. Trust
unitholders representing a majority of Trust units outstanding must be present or represented to have a quorum. Each Trust unitholder is entitled to one vote for each Trust unit owned.
Unless
otherwise required by the Trust Agreement, a matter may be approved or disapproved by the vote of a majority of the Trust units held by the Trust unitholders at a meeting where
there is a quorum. This is true, even if a majority of the total outstanding Trust units did not approve it. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding Trust units is
required to:
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dissolve the Trust (except in accordance with its terms);
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remove the Trustee or the Delaware Trustee;
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amend the Trust Agreement, the royalty conveyances, the Administrative Services Agreement, the Development Agreement, the Royalty Interest Lien
and the hedge agreements (except with respect to certain matters that do not adversely affect the right of Trust unitholders in any material respect);
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merge or consolidate the Trust with or into another entity; or
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-
approve the sale of all or any material part of the assets of the Trust,
except
that if any of the matters listed above (except removal of the Trustee or the Delaware Trustee) would result in a materially disproportionate benefit to ECA or its affiliates compared to other
owners of common units, the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of common units and a majority of Trust units is required.
In
addition, certain amendments to the Trust Agreement may be made by the Trustee without approval of the Trust unitholders. The Trustee must consent before all or any part of the Trust
assets can be sold except in connection with the dissolution of the Trust or limited sales directed by ECA in conjunction with its sale of Underlying Properties.
Description of the Trust Agreement
The Trust was created under Delaware law to acquire and hold the Royalty Interests for the benefit of the Trust unitholders pursuant to an
agreement between ECA, the Trustee and the Delaware Trustee. The Royalty Interests are passive in nature and neither the Trust nor the Trustee has any control over or responsibility for costs relating
to the operation of the Underlying Properties. Neither ECA nor other operators of the Underlying Properties have any contractual commitments to the Trust
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to
provide additional funding or to conduct further drilling on or to maintain their ownership interest in any of these properties.
The
Trust Agreement provides that the Trust's business activities are limited to owning the Royalty Interests and any activity reasonably related to such ownership, including activities
required or permitted by the terms of the conveyances related to the Royalty Interests. As a result, the Trust is not permitted to acquire other oil and gas properties or royalty interests. The Trust
is not able to issue any additional Trust units.
Duties and Powers of the Trustee
The duties of the Trustee are specified in the Trust Agreement and by the laws of the State of Delaware, except as modified by the Trust
Agreement. The Trustee's principal duties consist of:
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collecting cash attributable to the Royalty Interests;
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paying expenses, charges and obligations of the Trust from the Trust's assets;
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making cash distributions to the unitholders;
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causing to be prepared and distributed a Schedule K-1 for each Trust unitholder and preparing and filing tax returns on behalf of the
Trust; and
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causing to be prepared and filed reports required to be filed under the Exchange Act and by the rules of any securities exchange or quotation
system on which the Trust units are listed or admitted to trading.
If
a Trust liability is contingent or uncertain in amount or not yet currently due and payable, the Trustee may create a cash reserve to pay for the liability. If the Trustee determines
that the cash on hand and the cash to be received are insufficient to cover the Trust's liability, the Trust may borrow funds required to pay the liabilities. The Trust may borrow the funds from any
person, including the Trustee or its affiliates. The terms of such indebtedness, if funds were loaned by the entity serving as Trustee or Delaware Trustee, would be similar to the terms which such
entity would grant to a similarly situated commercial customer with whom it did not have a fiduciary relationship, and such entity shall be entitled to enforce its rights with respect to any such
indebtedness as if it were not then serving as Trustee or Delaware Trustee. If the Trustee borrows funds, the Trust unitholders will not receive distributions until the borrowed funds are repaid.
Responsibility and Liability of the Trustee
The duties and liabilities of the Trustee are set forth in the Trust Agreement. The Trust Agreement provides that (i) the Trustee shall
not have any duties or liabilities, including fiduciary duties, except as expressly set forth in the Trust Agreement, and (ii) the duties and liabilities of the Trustee as set forth in the
Trust Agreement replace any other duties and liabilities, including fiduciary duties, to which the Trustee might otherwise be subject.
The
Trustee does not make business decisions affecting the assets of the Trust, and the Trustee's functions under the Trust Agreement are ministerial in nature. In discharging its duty
to Trust unitholders, the Trustee may act in its discretion and will be liable to the Trust unitholders only for fraud, gross negligence or acts or omissions constituting bad faith. The Trustee will
not be liable for any act or omission of its agents or employees unless the Trustee acted with fraud, in bad faith or with gross negligence in their selection and retention. The Trustee will be
indemnified individually or as the Trustee for any liability or cost that it incurs in the administration of the Trust, except in cases of fraud, gross negligence or bad faith. The Trustee has a lien
on the assets of the Trust as security for this indemnification and its compensation as Trustee.
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Assets of the Trust
The assets of the Trust consist of the Royalty Interests, the Administrative Services Agreement, and any cash and temporary investments being
held for the payment of expenses and liabilities and for distribution to the Trust unitholders.
Liabilities of the Trust
Because the Trust does not conduct an active business and the Trustee has little power to incur obligations, it is expected that the Trust will
incur liabilities only for routine administrative expenses, such as the Trustee's fees and accounting, engineering, legal, tax advisory and other professional fees.
Fees and Expenses
The Trust is responsible for paying all legal, accounting, tax advisory, engineering, printing and other administrative and out-of-pocket
expenses incurred by or at the direction of the Trustee or the Delaware Trustee. The Trust is also responsible for paying expenses of tax returns and Schedule K-1 preparation and distribution,
as well as expenses incurred as a result of its being a publicly traded entity, including costs associated with annual and quarterly reports to unitholders, independent auditor fees and registrar and
transfer agent fees.
Duration of the Trust; Sale of Royalty Interests
The Trust is expected to remain in existence until the Termination Date, which is March 31, 2030. The Trust will dissolve prior to the
Termination Date if:
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the Trust sells all of the Royalty Interests;
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gross proceeds attributable to the Royalty Interests over any four consecutive quarters are less than $1.5 million;
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the holders of a majority of the outstanding Trust units vote in favor of dissolution; or
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the Trust is judicially dissolved.
The
Trustee would then sell all of the Trust's assets, either by private sale or public auction, and distribute the net proceeds of the sale to the Trust unitholders.
ECA's Right of First Refusal
ECA has a right of first refusal to purchase the Perpetual Royalty Interests upon termination of the Trust. This right of first refusal provides
that the Trustee will use commercially reasonable efforts to retain a third-party advisor to market the Perpetual Royalty Interests within 30 business days of the termination of the Trust. If the
Trustee receives a bid from a proposed purchaser other than ECA, prior to selling all or part of the Perpetual Royalty Interests, it will be required to give notice (the "Offer Notice") to ECA,
identifying the proposed purchaser and setting forth the proposed sale price, payment terms and other material terms of the proposed sale. ECA would then have 30 days from receipt of the Offer
Notice to elect, by notice to the Trustee, to purchase the subject properties offered for sale on the terms and conditions set forth in the Offer Notice. If ECA makes such election, the proposed
purchaser would be entitled to receive reimbursement of its reasonable and documented expenses incurred in connection with its review and analysis of the subject properties and bid preparation. ECA
and the Trust would share equally the cost of reimbursement to the proposed purchaser.
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If
ECA does not give notice within the 30-day period following the Offer Notice, the Trust may sell such properties to the identified purchaser on terms and conditions that are
substantially the same as those previously set forth in such Offer Notice.
If,
after a reasonable marketing period, no bid is received on any or all of the Perpetual Royalty Interests from any party other than ECA, then, as a condition to the sale, ECA shall
obtain, at the Trust's expense, and deliver to the Trustee, a fairness opinion from a nationally-recognized valuation firm with expertise in fairness opinions stating that the proposed sale price to
be paid by ECA to the Trust for the properties is fair to the Trust.
Federal Income Tax Considerations
The Trust's federal income tax reporting position is that it should be classified as a partnership for federal and applicable state income tax
purposes. This position relies on the opinion of counsel to ECA and the Trust rendered in connection with the initial public offering of the Trust Units, in which counsel opined that at least 90% of
the Trust's gross income will be qualifying income within the meaning of Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The Trust's federal income tax reporting positions are
consistent with the Federal Income Tax Considerations section in the Trust's prospectus ("the Prospectus") filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended (the "Securities Act"), on July 1, 2010 in connection with the offering of its common units to the public (the "Federal Income Tax Considerations Section in the Prospectus"). However,
as discussed in detail below under Item 1A. Risk FactorsTax Risks Related to the Trust's Common Units, the Trust has not requested a ruling from the IRS regarding its United States
federal income tax reporting positions and its positions may not be sustained by a court or if contested by the IRS. Additional information regarding the opinion and tax matters is discussed in the
Federal Income Tax Considerations Section in the Prospectus.
Miscellaneous
The Trustee may consult with counsel, accountants, tax advisors, geologists and engineers and other parties the Trustee believes to be qualified
as experts on the matters for which advice is sought. The Trustee will be protected for any action it takes in good faith reliance upon the opinion of the expert.
The
Delaware Trustee and the Trustee may resign at any time or be removed with or without cause at any time by a vote of not less than a majority of the outstanding Trust units. Any
successor must be a bank or trust company meeting certain requirements including having combined capital, surplus and undivided profits of at least $20 million, in the case of the Delaware
Trustee, and $100 million, in the case of the Trustee.
Item 1A.
Risk Factors
Natural gas prices fluctuate due to a number of factors that are beyond the control of the Trust and ECA, and
lower prices would reduce proceeds to the Trust and cash distributions to unitholders.
The Trust's reserves and quarterly cash distributions are highly dependent upon the prices realized from the sale of natural gas. Natural gas
prices can fluctuate widely on a month-to-month basis in response to a variety of factors that are beyond the control of the Trust and ECA. These factors include, among
others:
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weather conditions and seasonal trends;
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regional, domestic and foreign supply and perceptions of supply of natural gas;
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availability of imported liquefied natural gas, or LNG;
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the level of demand and perceptions of demand for natural gas;
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anticipated future prices of natural gas, LNG and other commodities;
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technological advances affecting energy consumption and energy supply;
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U.S. and worldwide political and economic conditions;
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the price and availability of alternative fuels;
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the proximity, capacity, cost and availability of gathering and transportation facilities;
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the volatility and uncertainty of regional pricing differentials;
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acts of force majeure;
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governmental regulations and taxation; and
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energy conservation and environmental measures.
Lower
natural gas prices will reduce proceeds to which the Trust is entitled and may ultimately reduce the amount of natural gas that is economic to produce from the Underlying
Properties. As a result, the operator of any of the Underlying Properties could determine during periods of low natural gas prices to shut in or curtail production from wells on the Underlying
Properties. In addition, the operator of the Underlying Properties could determine during periods of low natural gas prices to plug and abandon marginal wells that otherwise may have been allowed to
continue to produce for a longer period under conditions of higher prices. Specifically, ECA may abandon any well or property if it reasonably believes that the well or property can no longer produce
natural gas in commercially economic quantities. This could result in termination of the portion of the royalty interest relating to the abandoned well or property, and ECA would have no obligation to
drill a replacement well. In making such decisions, ECA is required under the applicable conveyance to act as a reasonably prudent operator in the AMI under the same or similar circumstances as it
would act if it were acting with respect to its own properties, disregarding the existence of the Royalty Interests as burdens affecting such property. The volatility of natural gas prices also
reduces the accuracy of estimates of future cash distributions to Trust unitholders.
Actual reserves and future production may be less than current estimates, which could reduce cash
distributions by the Trust and the value of the Trust units.
The value of the Trust units and the amount of future cash distributions to the Trust unitholders will depend upon, among other things, the
accuracy of the reserves estimated to be attributable to the Trust's Royalty Interests. The Trust's reserve quantities and revenues are based on estimates of reserve quantities and revenues for the
Underlying Properties. See "The underlying propertiesNatural gas reserves" in the Prospectus for a discussion of the method of allocating Proved reserves to the Trust. It is not possible
to measure underground accumulations of natural gas in an exact way, and estimating reserves is inherently uncertain. Ultimately, actual production and revenues for the Underlying Properties could
vary negatively and in material amounts from estimates and those variations could be material. Petroleum engineers are required to make subjective estimates of underground accumulations of natural gas
based on factors and assumptions that include:
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historical production from the area compared with production rates from other producing areas;
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natural gas prices, production levels, Btu content, production expenses, transportation costs, severance and excise taxes and capital
expenditures; and
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the assumed effect of governmental regulation.
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Changes
in these assumptions or actual production costs incurred and results of actual development and production costs could materially decrease reserve estimates.
In
particular, reserve estimates for fields that do not have a lengthy production history are less reliable than estimates for fields with lengthy production histories. A lack of
production history may contribute to inaccuracy in estimates of proved reserves, future production rates and the timing of development expenditures. The Producing Wells have been operational for less
than seven and a half years, and many of the PUD Wells have been operational for less than five years. Furthermore, the use of horizontal drilling methods on the Underlying Properties is a relatively
recent development in the Marcellus Shale, with ECA commencing the drilling of its first horizontal well in the Marcellus Shale in 2007. The minimal operational history for horizontal wells in the
Marcellus Shale formation may also contribute to the inaccuracy of estimates of Proved reserves. A material and adverse variance of actual production, revenues and expenditures from those underlying
reserve estimates, including variances attributable to a lack of production history within the Marcellus Shale formation, would have a material adverse effect on the financial condition, results of
operations and cash flows of the Trust and would reduce cash distributions to Trust unitholders.
Further,
the reserve report estimating the Trust's proved reserves, future production and income attributable to the Trust's Royalty Interests as of December 31, 2016 was
prepared, in accordance with applicable regulations, using a weighted benchmark price adjusted for differentials resulting in an average natural gas price of $1.84 per Mcf during 2016, as described in
Appendix A to this report. At the date of this report, the weighted benchmark natural gas price, adjusted for differentials, for production in which the Trust has an interest is below $1.84. A
reserve report prepared using the
current lower value would result in lower proved reserves, future production and income attributable to the Trust's Royalty Interests.
The generation of proceeds for distribution by the Trust depends in part on gathering, transportation and
processing facilities owned by ECA and others. Any limitation in the availability of those facilities could interfere with sales of natural gas production from the Underlying Properties.
The amount of natural gas that may be produced and sold from any well to which the Underlying Properties relate is subject to curtailment in
certain circumstances, such as by reason of weather conditions, pipeline interruptions due to scheduled and unscheduled maintenance, failure of tendered gas to meet quality specifications of gathering
lines or downstream transporters, excessive line pressure which prevents delivery of gas, physical damage to the gathering system or transportation system or lack of contracted capacity on such
systems. The curtailments may vary from a few days to several months. In many cases, ECA is provided limited notice, if any, as to when production will be curtailed and the duration of such
curtailments. If ECA is forced to reduce production due to such a curtailment, the revenues of the Trust and the amount of cash distributions to the Trust unitholders would similarly be reduced due to
the reduction of proceeds from the sale of production.
The generation of proceeds for distribution by the Trust depends in part on the ability of ECA and/or its
customers to obtain service on transportation facilities owned by third party pipelines. Any limitation in the availability of those facilities and/or any increase in the cost of service on those
facilities could interfere with sales of natural gas production from the Underlying Properties.
Natural gas that is gathered on the Greene County Gathering System, including natural gas produced from the Underlying Properties, is currently
shipped on two interstate natural gas transportation pipelines. ECA or its purchasers have contracted with those pipelines for firm or interruptible transportation service. The rates for service on
the transportation pipelines are regulated by the FERC and are subject to increase if the pipeline demonstrates that the existing rates are unjust and unreasonable.
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ECA
has an agreement with Columbia to provide firm transportation downstream of ECA's Greene County Gathering System for 50,000 MMBtu per day. This firm transportation arrangement, which
terminates July 31, 2021, has been in effect since August 1, 2011 and is at Columbia's filed tariff rate,
which is currently $0.1878 per MMBtu at a one hundred percent load factor. This firm transportation is an additional post-production cost, and the Trust bears its proportionate share of such costs.
In
the future, ECA may seek to obtain additional firm transportation capacity, but such capacity may not be available. In addition, to the extent ECA's customers or ECA became dependent
on interruptible service, and to the extent that either pipeline receives requests for service that exceed the capacity of the pipeline, the pipeline will honor requests by its firm customers first,
and will then allocate remaining capacity, if any, to interruptible shippers. As a result, ECA or its customers may be unable to obtain all or a part of any requested interruptible capacity service on
the transportation pipelines. Any inability of ECA or its customers to procure sufficient capacity to transport the natural gas gathered on the Greene County Gathering System will decrease and/or
delay the receipt of any proceeds that may be associated with natural gas production from wells on the Underlying Properties. In addition, any increase in transportation rates paid by ECA for
production attributable to the Trust's interests will decrease the proceeds received by the Trust.
Due to the Trust's lack of industry and geographic diversification, adverse developments in the Trust's
existing area of operation could adversely impact its financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and reduce its ability to make distributions to the unitholders.
The Underlying Properties are operated for natural gas production only and are focused exclusively in the Marcellus Shale formation in Greene
County, Pennsylvania. In particular, the concentration of the Underlying Properties in the Marcellus Shale formation in Greene County could disproportionately expose the Trust's interests to
operational and regulatory risk in that area. Due to the lack of diversification in industry type and location of the Trust's interests, adverse developments in the natural gas market or the area of
the Underlying Properties could have a significantly greater impact on the Trust's financial condition, results of operations and cash flows than if the Trust's Royalty Interests were more
diversified.
The Trust units may lose value as a result of title deficiencies with respect to the Underlying Properties.
The existence of a material title deficiency with respect to the Underlying Properties can reduce the value or render a property worthless, thus
adversely affecting the distributions to unitholders. ECA does not obtain title insurance covering mineral leaseholds. Additionally, undeveloped acreage has greater risk of title defects than
developed acreage.
Prior
to the drilling of the PUD Wells, ECA obtained preliminary title reviews to ensure there were no obvious defects in title to the leasehold. However, a title review is not title
insurance, and in the event
of a material title problem in the future, proceeds available for distribution to unitholders, and the value of the Trust units, may be reduced.
The Trust is passive in nature and has no stockholder voting rights in ECA, managerial, contractual or other
ability to influence ECA, or control over the field operations of, sale of natural gas from, or development of, the Underlying Properties.
Neither the Trust nor the Trust unitholders has any voting rights with respect to ECA and therefore none of them has any managerial, contractual
or other ability to influence ECA's activities or operations of the natural gas properties. In addition, pursuant to the Administrative Services Agreement and the Development Agreement, ECA may
transfer operations of any or all of the Trust properties. Any third-party operators may not have the operational expertise of ECA within the AMI.
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Natural
gas properties are typically managed pursuant to an operating agreement among the working interest owners in the properties. The typical operating agreement contains procedures whereby the
owners of the working interests in the property designate one of the interest owners to be the operator of the property. Under these arrangements, the operator is typically responsible for making all
decisions relating to drilling activities, sale of production, compliance with regulatory requirements and other matters that affect the property. Neither the Trustee nor the Trust unitholders has any
contractual ability to influence or control the field operations of, sale of natural gas from, or any future development of, the Underlying Properties. The Trust units are a passive investment that
entitles the Trust only to receive cash distributions attributable to the Royalty Interests.
ECA may sell all or a portion of the Underlying Properties, subject to and burdened by the Royalty Interests,
and any such purchaser could have a weaker financial position and/or be less experienced in natural gas development and production than ECA.
Trust unitholders will not be entitled to vote on any sale of the Underlying Properties if the Underlying Properties are sold subject to and
burdened by the Royalty Interests and the Trust will not receive any proceeds from any such sale. The purchaser would be responsible for all of ECA's obligations relating to the Royalty Interests on
the portion of the Underlying Properties sold, and ECA would have no continuing obligation to the Trust for those properties. Additionally, ECA may enter into farmout or joint venture arrangements
with respect to the wells burdened by the Royalty
Interests. Any purchaser, farmout counterparty or joint venture partner could have a weaker financial position and/or be less experienced in natural gas development and production than ECA.
The natural gas reserves estimated to be attributable to the Underlying Properties of the Trust are depleting
assets and production from those reserves will diminish over time. Furthermore, the Trust is precluded from acquiring other oil and gas properties or Royalty Interests to replace the depleting assets
and production.
The proceeds payable to the Trust from the Royalty Interests are derived from the sale of the production of natural gas from the Underlying
Properties. The natural gas reserves attributable to the Underlying Properties are depleting assets, which means that the reserves of natural gas attributable to the Underlying Properties will decline
over time. As a result, the quantity of natural gas produced from the Underlying Properties will decline over time. Based on the estimated production volumes in the original reserve report described
in the Prospectus, the gas production from proved producing reserves attributable to the PDP Royalty Interest was projected to decline at an average rate of approximately 8.5% per year over the life
of the Trust. With respect to the PUD Wells, as of the Trust formation date, the production rate was expected to decline approximately 37.3% during the first year of production, approximately 14.7%
during the next three to five years of production and approximately 8.0% per year for the remainder of the economically productive life of the well. These production characteristics were generally
consistent with other development wells in the AMI. The anticipated rate of decline as originally projected was an estimate and actual decline rates may vary from those estimates. The average decline
rate for the 40 PUD Wells for which ECA now has at least 24 months of production data was approximately 43.5% during the first year.
Future
maintenance may affect the quantity of Proved reserves that can be economically produced from the Underlying Properties to which the wells relate. The timing and size of these
projects will depend on, among other factors, the market prices of natural gas. ECA has no contractual obligation to make capital expenditures on the Underlying Properties in the future. Furthermore,
for properties on which ECA is not designated as the operator, ECA has no control over the timing or amount of those capital expenditures. ECA also has the right to non-consent and not participate in
the capital expenditures on properties for which it is not the operator, in which case ECA and the Trust will not receive the production resulting from such capital expenditures. If ECA or other
operators of the wells
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to
which the Underlying Properties relate do not implement maintenance projects when warranted, the future rate of production decline of Proved reserves may be higher than the rate currently expected
by ECA or estimated in the reserve report.
The
Trust Agreement provides that the Trust's business activities are limited to owning the Royalty Interests and any activity reasonably related to such ownership, including activities
required or permitted by the terms of the conveyances related to the Royalty Interests. As a result, the Trust is not permitted to acquire other oil and gas properties or royalty interests to replace
the depleting assets and production attributable to the Trust.
The amount of cash available for distribution by the Trust will be reduced by the amount of post-production
costs, applicable taxes associated with the Trust's interest, and Trust expenses.
The Royalty Interests and the Trust bear certain costs and expenses that reduce the amount of cash received by the Trust or available for
distribution by the Trust to the holders of the Trust units. These costs and expenses include those described below.
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Substantially all of the production from the Producing Wells and the PUD Wells utilize the Greene County Gathering System. The Trust paid the
initial Post-Production Services Fee to ECA for use of such system, which includes ECA's costs to gather, compress, transport, process, treat, dehydrate and market the gas. This fee was fixed until
ECA's obligation to drill the PUD Wells was satisfied in 2011; thereafter, ECA is permitted to increase this fee to the extent necessary to recover certain capital expenditures on the Greene County
Gathering System, provided the resulting charge does not exceed the prevailing charges in the area for similar services. Additionally, the Trust is charged for the cost of fuel used in the compression
process or equivalent electricity charges when electric compressors are used.
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Any third party post-production costs incurred and associated with the Trust's interests reduces cash received by the Trust or available for
distribution by the Trust to the holders of the Trust units, including any amounts paid by ECA for transportation on downstream interstate pipelines. Such post-production costs include the costs
incurred in connection with ECA's agreement with a third party to obtain firm transportation downstream of the Greene County Gathering System for 50,000 MMBtu per day at the third party's filed tariff
rate, which equates to $0.1878 per MMBtu at a one hundred percent load factor. The rate is subject to adjustments, which may be retroactive, by regulatory authorities.
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Taxes allocated to or imposed on the Trust include Pennsylvania franchise tax and any applicable property, ad valorem, production, severance,
excise and other similar taxes. Currently, there are no taxes in Pennsylvania related to the production or severance of oil and natural gas in Pennsylvania; however, there have been proposals to enact
a severance tax, none of which were adopted, in both the Pennsylvania Senate Finance Committee and the House Energy and Environmental Resources Committees, and lawmakers may propose other taxes in the
future. If adopted, such taxes would be a post-production cost that is borne by the Trust.
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The Trust bears 100% of Trust administrative expenses, including fees paid to the Trustee and the Delaware Trustee and an annual administrative
services fee of $60,000 payable to ECA.
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The Trust is also responsible for paying other expenses, including costs associated with annual and quarterly reports to unitholders, tax
return and Schedule K-1 preparation and distribution, independent auditor fees and registrar and transfer agent fees.
The
amount of costs and expenses borne by the Trust may vary materially from quarter-to-quarter. The extent by which the costs and expenses described above are higher or lower in any
quarter will directly decrease or increase the amount received by the Trust and available for distribution to the unitholders.
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A decrease in the differential between the price realized by ECA for natural gas produced from the Underlying
Properties and the NYMEX or other benchmark price of natural gas could reduce the proceeds to the Trust and therefore the cash distributions by the Trust and the value of Trust units.
The prices received for ECA's natural gas production have historically exceeded the relevant benchmark prices, such as NYMEX, that were used for
calculating hedge positions; during all of 2015 and 2016, however, the prices received were lower than the benchmark prices, and this dynamic could continue in the future. The difference between the
price received and the benchmark price is called a differential. The differential may vary significantly due to market conditions, the quality and location of production and other factors. ECA cannot
accurately predict natural gas differentials.
Further decreases in the differential between the realized price of natural gas and the benchmark price for natural gas could reduce the proceeds to the Trust and, accordingly, reduce the cash
distributions by the Trust and the value of the Trust units.
The Trust has no hedges in place to protect against the price risk inherent in holding interest in natural
gas, a commodity that is frequently characterized by significant price volatility.
At the formation of the Trust, approximately fifty percent of the estimated natural gas production attributable to the Royalty Interests was
hedged from April 1, 2010 through March 31, 2014. From inception through the termination of the hedge arrangements, the Trust received approximately $35 million that it would not
have received without the hedge arrangements. The last of the hedge arrangements expired March 31, 2014. Consequently, unitholders no longer have the benefit of any hedge arrangements, and all
production is subject to the price risks inherent in holding interests in natural gas, a commodity that is frequently characterized by significant price volatility.
Natural gas wells are subject to operational hazards that can cause substantial losses. ECA maintains
insurance but may not be adequately insured for all such hazards.
There are a variety of operating risks inherent in natural gas production and associated activities, such as fires, leaks, explosions,
mechanical problems, major equipment failures, blow-outs, uncontrollable flow of natural gas, water or drilling fluids, casing collapses, abnormally pressurized formations and natural disasters. The
occurrence of any of these or similar accidents that temporarily or permanently halt the production and sale of natural gas at any of the Underlying Properties will reduce Trust distributions by
reducing the amount of proceeds available for distribution.
Additionally,
if any of such risks or similar accidents occur, ECA could incur substantial losses as a result of injury or loss of life, severe damage or destruction of property, natural
resources and equipment, regulatory investigation and penalties and environmental damage and clean-up responsibility. If ECA experiences any of these problems, its ability to conduct operations and
perform its obligations to the Trust could be adversely affected. While ECA maintains insurance coverage it deems appropriate for these risks with respect to the Underlying Properties, ECA's
operations may result in liabilities exceeding such insurance coverage or liabilities not covered by insurance. If a well is damaged, ECA would have no obligation to drill a replacement well or make
the Trust whole for the loss. The Trust does not maintain any type of insurance against any of the risks of conducting oil and gas exploration and production or related activities.
The Trustee may, under certain circumstances, sell the Royalty Interests and dissolve the Trust. Unless
sooner terminated, the Trust will begin to terminate following the end of the 20-year period in which the Trust owns the Term Royalty Interests.
The Trustee must sell the Royalty Interests if unitholders approve the sale or vote to dissolve the Trust. The Trustee must also sell the
Royalty Interests if the gross proceeds to the Trust attributable to the Royalty Interests over any four consecutive quarters are less than $1.5 million. Sale of all the
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Royalty
Interests will result in the dissolution of the Trust. The net proceeds of any such sale will be distributed to the Trust unitholders. Unless sooner terminated, the Trust will begin to
liquidate on the Termination Date. The Trust unitholders will not be entitled to receive any proceeds from the sale of production from the Underlying Properties following such date. The Term Royalty
Interests will automatically revert to ECA at the Termination Date, while the Perpetual Royalty Interests will be sold and the proceeds will be distributed to the unitholders (including ECA to the
extent of any Trust units it owns) at the Termination Date or soon thereafter. ECA has a right of first refusal to purchase the Perpetual Royalty Interests upon termination of the Trust.
If the Trust cannot meet the New York Stock Exchange continued listing requirements, the NYSE may delist the
common units.
The Trust's common units are currently listed on the NYSE. In the future, if the Trust is unable to meet the continued listing requirements of
the NYSEwhich require, among other things, that the average closing price of the common units remain at or above $1.00 over 30 consecutive trading daysthe common units could
be delisted if the Trust is unable to regain compliance. A delisting of our common units could negatively impact the Trust by, among other things, reducing the liquidity and market price of the common
units and reducing the number of investors willing to hold or acquire the common units.
The Private Investors may sell additional Trust units, and such sales could have an adverse effect on the
trading price of the common units.
As of December 31, 2016, ECA held no common units, while select Private Investors held common units. In connection with the Trust's
formation, the Trust and the Private Investors entered into a registration rights agreement, pursuant to which the Trust in 2012 filed a registration statement on Form S-3, to facilitate sales
of common units by such holders. If the Private Investors were to sell or offer to sell a substantial number of common units, the market price of the units could be adversely affected.
Conflicts of interest could arise between ECA and the Trust unitholders.
As a working interest owner in the Underlying Properties, ECA could have interests that conflict with the interests of the Trust and the Trust
unitholders. For example:
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ECA's interests may conflict with those of the Trust and the Trust unitholders in situations involving the development, maintenance, operation
or abandonment of the Underlying Properties. Additionally, ECA may abandon a well which is uneconomic to it while such well is still generating revenue for the Trust unitholders. ECA may make
decisions with respect to expenditures and decisions to allocate resources on projects in other areas that adversely affect the Underlying Properties, including reducing expenditures on these
properties, which could cause gas production to decline at a faster rate and thereby result in lower cash distributions by the Trust in the future. In making such decisions, ECA is required under the
applicable conveyance to act as a reasonably prudent operator in the AMI under the same or similar circumstances as it would act if it were acting with respect to its own properties, disregarding the
existence of the royalty interests as burdens affecting such property.
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ECA may sell some or all of the Underlying Properties. Any such sale may not be in the best interests of the Trust unitholders. Any purchaser
may lack ECA's experience in the Marcellus Shale or its creditworthiness.
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ECA may, without the consent of the Trust unitholders, require the Trust to release Royalty Interests with an aggregate value to the Trust of
up to $5.0 million during any 12-month period. These releases will be made only in connection with the sale by ECA of the Underlying
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The Trust is administered by a Trustee who cannot be replaced except at a special meeting of Trust
unitholders.
The business and affairs of the Trust are administered by the Trustee. Voting rights of Trust unitholders are more limited than those of
stockholders of most public corporations. For example, there is no requirement for annual meetings of Trust unitholders or for an annual or other periodic re-election of the Trustee. The Trust
Agreement provides that the Trustee may only be removed and replaced by the holders of a majority of the outstanding Trust units, including Trust units held by ECA, if any, at a special meeting of
Trust unitholders called by either the Trustee or the holders of not less than 10% of the outstanding Trust units. As a result, it will be difficult for public unitholders to remove or replace the
Trustee without the cooperation of ECA (if at the time it holds a significant percentage of total Trust units) or other holders of a substantial percentage of the outstanding Trust units.
Trust unitholders have limited ability to enforce provisions of the Royalty Interests, and ECA's liability to
the Trust is limited.
The Trust Agreement permits the Trustee and the Trust to sue ECA or any other future owner of the Underlying Properties to enforce the terms of
the conveyances creating the PDP and PUD Royalty Interests. If the Trustee does not take appropriate action to enforce provisions of these conveyances, Trust unitholders' recourse would be limited to
bringing a lawsuit against the Trustee to compel the Trustee to take specified actions. The Trust Agreement expressly limits a Trust unitholder's ability to directly sue ECA or any other third party
other than the Trustee. As a result, Trust unitholders will not be able to sue ECA or any future owner of the Underlying Properties to enforce these rights. Furthermore, the Royalty Interest
conveyances provide that, except as set forth in the conveyances, ECA is not liable to the Trust for the manner in which it performs its duties in operating the Underlying Properties as long as it
acts in good faith.
Courts outside of Delaware may not recognize the limited liability of the Trust unitholders provided under
Delaware law.
Under the Delaware Statutory Trust Act, Trust unitholders will be entitled to the same limitation of personal liability extended to stockholders
of corporations under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware. Nevertheless, courts in jurisdictions outside of Delaware may not give effect to such limitation.
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ECA is subject to complex federal, state, local and other laws and regulations that could adversely affect
the cost, manner or feasibility of conducting its operations or expose ECA to significant liabilities.
ECA's natural gas exploration, production and transportation operations are subject to complex and stringent laws and regulations. In order to
conduct its operations in compliance with these laws and regulations, ECA must obtain and maintain numerous permits, drilling bonds, approvals and certificates from various federal, state and local
governmental authorities and engage in extensive reporting. ECA may incur substantial costs in order to maintain compliance with these existing laws and regulations. Further, in light of the explosion
and fire on the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, as well as recent incidents involving the release of natural gas and fluids as a result of drilling activities in the Marcellus
Shale, there has been a variety of regulatory initiatives at the federal and state level to restrict oil and gas drilling operations in certain locations. Any increased regulation or suspension of oil
and gas exploration and production, or revision or reinterpretation of existing laws and regulations, that arises out of these incidents or otherwise could result in delays and higher operating costs.
Such costs or significant delays could have a material adverse effect on ECA's business, financial condition and results of operations. ECA must also comply with laws and regulations prohibiting fraud
and market manipulations in energy markets. To the extent
ECA is a shipper on interstate pipelines, it must comply with the tariffs of such pipelines and with federal policies related to the use of interstate capacity.
Laws
and regulations governing natural gas exploration and production may also affect production levels. ECA is required to comply with federal and state laws and regulations governing
conservation matters, including provisions related to the unitization or pooling of the natural gas properties; the establishment of maximum rates of production from natural gas wells; the spacing of
wells; the plugging and abandonment of wells; and removal of related production equipment. These and other laws and regulations can limit the amount of natural gas ECA can produce from its wells,
limit the number of wells it can drill, or limit the locations at which it can conduct drilling operations, which in turn could negatively impact Trust distributions, estimated and actual future net
revenues to the Trust and estimates of reserves attributable to the Trust's interests.
Pennsylvania
historically has not imposed a severance tax on the production of natural gas. However, over the past few years there have been several proposals to initiate one. Most
recently, in February 2016 the Governor of Pennsylvania proposed a flat 6.5 percent severance tax on the value of natural gas at the wellhead. Under the Governor's current proposal, the amount
paid in impact fees paid on unconventional gas wells could be taken as a credit against the severance tax. Prior proposals included severance taxes of 5 percent, later reduced to
3.5 percent, plus 4.7 cents per thousand cubic feet of natural gas extracted. Any such severance tax, if adopted, would be a cost that would be borne by the Trust and could materially reduce
distributions to unitholders.
New
laws or regulations, or changes to existing laws or regulations, may unfavorably impact ECA, could result in increased operating costs and have a material adverse effect on ECA's
financial condition and results of operations. For example, Congress has previously considered legislation that, if adopted in its proposed form, would subject companies involved in natural gas and
oil exploration and production activities to, among other items the elimination of most U.S. federal tax incentives and deductions available to natural gas exploration and production activities, and
the prohibition or additional regulation of private energy commodity derivative and hedging activities. Additionally, the Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board has proposed amendments to
Pennsylvania's oil and gas regulations to update existing requirements regarding the drilling, casing, cementing, testing, monitoring and plugging of oil and gas wells, and the protection of water
supplies, including reporting the list of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing or to stimulate the well.
Additionally,
state and federal regulatory authorities may expand or alter applicable pipeline safety laws and regulations, compliance with which may require increased capital costs on
the part of ECA
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and
third party downstream natural gas transporters. These and other potential regulations could increase ECA's operating costs, reduce ECA's liquidity, delay ECA's operations, increase direct and
third party post production costs associated with the Trust's interests or otherwise alter the way ECA conducts its business, which could have a material adverse effect on ECA's financial condition,
results of operations and cash flows and which could reduce cash received by or available for distribution, including any amounts paid by ECA for transportation on downstream interstate pipelines.
The ability of ECA to satisfy its obligations to the Trust depends on the financial position of ECA, and in
the event of a default by ECA in its obligations to the Trust, or in the event of ECA's bankruptcy, it would be expensive and time-consuming for the Trust to exercise its remedies.
ECA is a privately held, independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, production, gathering and aggregation and sale of
natural gas and oil, primarily in the Appalachian Basin, Gulf Coast and Rocky Mountain regions in the United States and in New Zealand. ECA is also the operator of all of the Producing Wells and all
of the PUD Wells. The conveyances also provide that ECA is obligated to market, or cause to be marketed, the natural gas production related to the Underlying Properties. Due to the Trust's reliance on
ECA to fulfill these numerous obligations, the value of the Royalty Interests and its ultimate cash available for distribution will be highly dependent on ECA's performance. ECA is not a reporting
company and does not file periodic reports with the SEC. Therefore, Trust unitholders do not have access to financial information of ECA.
The
ability of ECA to perform its obligations to the Trust will depend on ECA's future financial condition and economic performance and access to capital, which in turn will depend upon
the supply and demand for natural gas and oil, prevailing economic conditions and financial, business and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of ECA.
Due
to uncertainty under Pennsylvania law, the Royalty Interests conveyed by ECA to the Trust might not be treated as real property interests, or as interests in hydrocarbons in place or
to be produced. As a result, the Royalty Interests might be treated as unsecured claims of the Trust against ECA in the event of ECA's bankruptcy. The Royalty Interest Lien is intended to provide
security to the Trust should the Royalty Interests be subject to such a challenge. If the PDP Royalty Interest or the PUD Royalty Interest were determined not to be a real property interest owned by
the Trust, the Trust's remedy would be to foreclose on the Trust's Royalty Interest Lien to cause the Trust to receive a volume of natural gas production from the Trust properties calculated in
accordance with the provisions of the conveyances of the Royalty Interests to the Trust. Foreclosure on the Royalty Interest Lien is exercisable only following a bankruptcy filing of ECA or its
successor and based on an uncured payment default occurring under the conveyances of the Royalty Interests to the Trust existing at the time of, or occurring after, such bankruptcy filing. The process
of foreclosing to enforce the Royalty
Interest Lien would be expensive and time-consuming, and the resulting delays and expenses could reduce Trust distributions substantially or eliminate them for an unpredictable period of time.
The
proceeds of the Royalty Interests may be commingled, for a period of time, with proceeds of ECA's retained interest. The Trust may not have adequate facts to trace its entitlement to
funds in the commingled pool of funds and that other persons may, in asserting claims against ECA's retained interest, be able to assert claims to the proceeds that should be delivered to the Trust.
In addition, during a bankruptcy of ECA, payments of the royalties may be delayed or deferred; in addition, the obligation to pay royalties may be disaffirmed or cancelled. In either situation, the
Trust may need to look to the Royalty Interest Lien to replace its rights under the Royalty Interests. During the pendency of any bankruptcy proceedings involving ECA, the Trust's ability to foreclose
on the Royalty Interest Lien, and the ability to collect cash payments from customers being held in ECA's accounts that are attributable to production from the Trust properties, may be stayed by the
bankruptcy court. Delay in realizing on the collateral for the Royalty Interest Lien is possible, and a bankruptcy court might not permit such foreclosure. The bankruptcy also might delay the
execution of a new agreement with
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another
driller or operator. If the Trust were to enter into a new agreement with a drilling or operating partner, the new partner might not achieve the same levels of production or sell natural gas
at the same prices as ECA was able to achieve.
The operations of ECA are subject to environmental laws and regulations that may result in significant costs
and liabilities.
The natural gas exploration and production operations of ECA in the Marcellus Shale are subject to stringent and comprehensive federal, state
and local laws and regulations governing the discharge, emission or release of materials into the environment or otherwise relating to environmental protection. These laws and regulations may impose
numerous obligations that are applicable to ECA's operations including the acquisition of a permit before conducting drilling; water withdrawal or waste disposal operations; govern the amounts and
types of substances that may be disposed or released into the environment; limit or prohibit construction or drilling activities in sensitive areas such as wetlands, wilderness areas or areas
containing endangered or threatened species or their habitats; require investigatory and response actions to mitigate pollution conditions arising from ECA's operations or attributable to former
operations; and impose obligations to reclaim and abandon well sites, impoundments and pits. Failure to comply with these laws and regulations may result in the assessment of administrative, civil or
criminal penalties; the imposition of investigatory or remedial obligations and the issuance of orders enjoining some or all of ECA's operations in affected areas.
There
is inherent risk of incurring significant environmental costs and liabilities in the performance of ECA's operations due to its handling of petroleum hydrocarbons and wastes,
because of air emissions and wastewater discharges related to its operations, and as a result of historical industry operations and waste disposal practices. Under certain environmental laws and
regulations, ECA could be subject to joint and several strict liabilities for the removal or remediation of previously released materials or property contamination regardless of whether ECA was
responsible for the release or contamination or if the operations were not in compliance with all applicable laws at the time those actions were taken. Private parties, including the owners of
properties upon which ECA's wells are drilled and facilities where ECA's petroleum hydrocarbons or wastes are taken for reclamation or disposal may also have the right to pursue legal actions to
enforce compliance, as well as to seek damages for non-compliance with environmental laws and regulations or for personal injury or property damage or to recover some or all of the costs of the
removal or remediation of released materials. In addition, the risk of accidental spills or releases could expose ECA to significant liabilities that could have a material adverse effect on its
financial condition or results of operations. Changes in environmental laws and regulations occur frequently, and any changes that result in more stringent or costly waste handling, storage,
transport, disposal or cleanup requirements could require ECA to make significant expenditures to attain and maintain compliance and may otherwise have a material adverse effect on its results of
operations, competitive position or financial condition. ECA may not be able to recover some or any of these costs from insurance.
Climate change laws and regulations restricting emissions of "greenhouse gases" could result in increased
operating costs and reduced demand for the natural gas that ECA produces while the physical effects of climate change could disrupt ECA's production and cause ECA to incur significant costs in
preparing for or responding to those effects.
In December 2009, the EPA published its findings that emissions of GHGs present a danger to public health and the environment. These findings
allow the agency to adopt and implement regulations that would restrict emissions of GHGs under existing provisions of the federal Clean Air Act. Accordingly, the EPA has adopted regulations that
could trigger permit review for GHG emissions from certain stationary sources. Those regulations were challenged in federal court and the Supreme Court has upheld the EPA's authority to regulate GHG
emissions from stationary sources, concluding
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sources
that trigger air permitting requirements based on their traditional criteria pollutant emissions must include a limit for GHGs in their permit. The EPA has also issued regulations that require
the establishment and reporting of an inventory of GHG emissions from specified stationary sources, including certain onshore oil and natural gas exploration, development and production facilities. In
October 2015, the EPA finalized its "Clean Power Plan" regulations under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to limit GHG emissions from existing power plants. Several states, trade groups and
companies
have challenged the legality of the EPA's Section 111(d) rule for existing power plants in federal court. On February 9, 2016, the Supreme Court granted an emergency stay preventing EPA
from implementing the Clean Power Plan until the D.C. Circuit issues a decision on the legality of the rule and disposition of a writ of certiorari, to the extent such a writ is sought. President
Trump has publicly stated that it is a top priority of his administration to eliminate the Clean Power Plan. The EPA has finalized regulations that require control of methane emissions from new
sources in the oil and gas industry and target ozone-forming pollutants from existing sources in areas that do not meet federal ozone health standards. The EPA has also issued several Information
Collection Requets to industry seeking assistance in developing a program for regulating methane emissions from existing oil and gas sources as well.
At
the state level, more than one-third of the states, either individually or through multi-state regional initiatives, already have begun implementing legal measures to control or
reduce emissions of GHGs. The adoption and implementation of any regulations imposing reporting obligations on, or limiting emissions of GHGs from, ECA's equipment and operations could require ECA to
incur costs to reduce emissions of GHGs associated with its operations or could adversely affect demand for the natural gas that it produces. Finally, some scientists have concluded that increasing
concentrations of GHGs in the Earth's atmosphere may produce climate changes that have significant physical effects, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, droughts, and floods and other
climatic events; if any such effects were to occur, they could have an adverse effect on ECA's assets and operations.
Tax Risks Related to the Trust's Common Units
The Trust's tax treatment depends on its status as a partnership for United States federal income tax
purposes. At the inception of the Trust, the Trust received an opinion from tax counsel that the Trust will be treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes. If the Internal
Revenue Service were to treat the Trust as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes, then its cash available for distribution to you would be substantially reduced.
The anticipated after-tax economic benefit of an investment in the Trust units depends largely on the Trust being treated as a partnership for
United States federal income tax purposes. At the inception of the Trust, ECA and the Trust received an opinion from tax counsel that the Trust would be treated as a partnership for United States
federal income tax purposes. In order for the Trust to be treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes, current law requires that 90% or more of our gross income for every
taxable year consist of "qualifying income," as defined in Section 7704 of the Internal Revenue Code. The Trust may not meet this requirement or current law may change so as to cause, in either
event, the Trust to be treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes or otherwise subject the Trust to taxation as an entity.
Although the Trust does not believe based upon its current activities that it is so treated, a change in current law could cause it to be treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax
purposes or otherwise subject it to taxation as an entity. The Trust has not requested, and does not plan to request, a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service, which we referred to as the IRS, on
this or any other tax matter affecting it.
If
the Trust was treated as a corporation for United States federal income tax purposes, it would pay United States federal income tax on its taxable income at the corporate tax rate,
which is currently a maximum of 35%, and would likely be required to pay state income tax. Distributions to you would generally be taxed again as corporate distributions, and no income, gains, losses,
deductions or credits
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would
flow through to you. Because a tax would be imposed upon the Trust as a corporation, its cash available for distribution to you would be substantially reduced. Therefore, treatment of the Trust
as a corporation would result in a material reduction in the anticipated cash flow and after-tax return to you, likely causing a substantial reduction in the value of the Trust units.
The
Trust Agreement provides that if a law is enacted or existing law is modified or interpreted in a manner that subjects the Trust to taxation as a corporation or otherwise subjects it
to entity-level taxation for United States federal income tax purposes, the target distribution amounts may be adjusted to reflect the impact of that law on the Trust.
If the Trust were subjected to a material amount of additional entity-level taxation by Pennsylvania or any
other states, the Trust's cash available for distribution to you would be reduced.
The Trust is required to pay Pennsylvania franchise tax on its capital stock value, as determined pursuant to the statute and apportioned to
Pennsylvania. The current tax rate of 0.045% was completely phased out effective January 1, 2016, though it could be readopted by the General Assembly in its annual budget process. Changes in
current state law may subject the Trust to additional entity-level taxation by Pennsylvania or other states. Because of widespread state budget deficits and other reasons, several states are
evaluating ways to subject partnerships to entity-level taxation through the imposition of state income, franchise and other forms of taxation. Imposition of any additional taxes on the Trust may
substantially reduce the cash available for distribution to you and, therefore, negatively impact the value of an investment in the Trust units.
If enacted, severance taxes in Pennsylvania could materially increase the applicable taxes that are borne by
the Trust.
Although Pennsylvania historically has not imposed a severance tax on the production of natural gas, in February 2016 the Governor of
Pennsylvania proposed a flat 6.5 percent severance tax on the value of natural gas at the wellhead. Under the Governor's current proposal, the amount paid in impact fees paid on unconventional
gas wells could be taken as a credit against the severance tax. Prior proposals included severance taxes of 5 percent, later reduced to 3.5 percent, plus 4.7 cents per thousand cubic
feet of natural gas extracted. Any such severance tax, if adopted, would be a cost that would be borne by the Trust and could materially reduce distributions to unitholders.
The tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships or an investment in our Trust units could be affected by
recent and potential legislative, judicial or administrative changes and differing interpretations, possibly on a retroactive basis.
The current United States federal income tax treatment of publicly traded partnerships, including the Trust, or an investment in the Trust
units, may be modified by administrative, legislative or judicial interpretation at any time. In the past, Congress has considered substantive changes to the existing United States federal income tax
laws that affect certain publicly traded partnerships. Any modification to the United States federal income tax laws or interpretations thereof could cause the Trust to be taxed as a corporation or
make it difficult or impossible to meet the requirements for the Trust to be treated as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes, affect or cause us to change our business
activities, affect the tax considerations of an investment in the Trust, change the character or treatment of portions of the Trust income and adversely affect an investment in the Trust's units.
Moreover, any modification to the United States federal income tax laws and interpretations thereof may or may not be applied retroactively. Any potential change in law or interpretation thereof could
negatively impact the value of an investment in the Trust units.
Under
current law for the taxable year ending December 31, 2017, the highest marginal United States federal income tax rate applicable to ordinary income of individuals is 39.6%
and the highest
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marginal
United States federal income tax rate applicable to long-term capital gains (generally, capital gains on certain assets held for more than 12 months) of individuals is 20%. These rates
are subject to change by new legislation at any time.
In
addition, a 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income from a variety of sources earned by individuals. For these purposes, net investment income generally includes
a Trust unitholder's allocable share of the Trust income and gain realized by a Trust unitholder from a sale of the Trust units. The tax will be imposed on the lesser of (i) the Trust
unitholder's net income from all investments, or (ii) the amount by which the Trust unitholder's adjusted gross income exceeds $250,000 (if the Trust unitholder is married and filing jointly)
or $200,000 (if the Trust unitholder is unmarried).
Recently
enacted federal legislation applicable to the Trust for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2017 alters the procedures for auditing large partnerships and also
alters the procedures for assessing and collecting income taxes due (including applicable penalties and interest) as a result of an audit. Unless the Trust is eligible to (and chooses to) elect to
issue revised Schedules K-1 to our Trust unitholders with respect to an audited and adjusted return, the IRS may assess and collect income taxes (including any applicable penalties and
interest) directly from the Trust in the year in which the audit is completed under the new rules. If the Trust is required to pay income taxes, penalties and interest as the result of audit
adjustments, cash available for distribution to Trust unitholders may be substantially reduced. In addition, because payment would be due for the taxable year in which the audit is completed, Trust
unitholders during that taxable year would bear the expense of the adjustment even if they were not Trust unitholders during the audited taxable year.
The Trust prorates items of income, gain, loss and deduction between transferors and transferees of the Trust
units each month based upon the ownership of the Trust units on the first day of each month, instead of on the basis of the date a particular unit is transferred
.
The Trust prorates items of income, gain, loss and deduction between transferors and transferees of the Trust units each month based upon the
ownership of the Trust units on the first day of each month, instead of on the basis of the date a particular unit is transferred. The use of this proration method may not be permitted under existing
Treasury Regulations, and, accordingly, the Trust's counsel was unable to opine as to the validity of this method. If the IRS were to challenge this method or new Treasury Regulations were issued, we
may be required to change the allocation of items of income, gain, loss and deduction among the Trust unitholders. If the IRS contests the federal income tax positions the Trust takes, the market for
the Trust units may be adversely impacted, the cost of any IRS contest will reduce the Trust's cash available for distribution to you and items of income, gain, loss and deduction may be reallocated
among Trust unitholders.
If the IRS contests the United States federal income tax positions the Trust takes, the market for the Trust
units may be adversely impacted and the cost of any IRS contest will reduce the Trust's cash available for distribution to you.
The Trust has not requested a ruling from the IRS with respect to its treatment as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes
or any other matter affecting the Trust. The IRS may adopt positions that differ from the conclusions of the Trust's counsel expressed in the Prospectus or from the positions the Trust takes. It may
be necessary to resort to administrative or court proceedings to attempt to sustain some or all of the conclusions of the Trust's counsel or the positions the Trust takes. A court may not agree with
some or all of the conclusions of the Trust's counsel or positions the Trust takes. Any contest with the IRS may materially and adversely impact the market for the Trust units and the price at which
they trade. In addition, the Trust's costs of any contest with the IRS will be borne indirectly by the Trust unitholders because the costs will reduce the Trust's cash available for distribution.
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You will be required to pay taxes on your share of the Trust's income even if you do not receive any cash
distributions from the Trust.
Because the Trust unitholders will be treated as partners to whom the Trust will allocate taxable income which could be different in amount than
the cash the Trust distributes, you will be required to pay any United States federal income taxes and, in some cases, state and local income taxes on your share of the Trust's taxable income even if
you receive no cash distributions from the Trust. You may not receive cash distributions from the Trust equal to your share of the Trust's taxable income or even equal to the actual tax liability that
result from that income.
Tax gain or loss on the disposition of the Trust units could be more or less than expected.
If you sell your Trust units, you will recognize a gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and your tax basis in those
Trust units. Because distributions in excess of your allocable share of the Trust's net taxable income decrease your tax basis in your Trust units, the amount, if any, of such prior excess
distributions with respect to the Trust units you sell will, in effect, become taxable income to you if you sell such Trust units at a price greater than your tax basis in those Trust units, even if
the price you receive is less than your original cost. Furthermore, a substantial portion of the amount realized, whether or not representing gain, may be taxed as ordinary income due to potential
recapture items, including depletion recapture.
Tax-exempt entities and non-United States persons face unique tax issues from owning the Trust units that may
result in adverse tax consequences to them.
Investment in Trust units by tax-exempt entities, such as individual retirement accounts (known as IRAs), and non-United States persons raises
issues unique to them. For example, some of the Trust income allocated to organizations exempt from United States federal income tax, including IRAs and other retirement plans, may be unrelated
business taxable income which would be taxable to them. Distributions to non-United States persons may be reduced by withholding taxes at the highest applicable effective tax rate, and non-United
States persons may be required to file United States federal income tax returns and pay tax on their share of the Trust's taxable income.
The Trust will treat each purchaser of Trust units as having the same economic attributes without regard to
the actual Trust units purchased. The IRS may challenge this treatment, which could adversely affect the value of the Trust units.
Due to a number of factors, including the Trust's inability to match transferors and transferees of Trust units, the Trust will adopt positions
that may not conform to all aspects of existing Treasury Regulations. A successful IRS challenge to those positions could adversely affect the amount of tax benefits available to you. It also could
affect the timing of these tax benefits or the amount of gain from your sale of Trust units and could have a negative impact on the value of the Trust units or result in audit adjustments to your tax
returns.
A Trust unitholder whose Trust units are loaned to a "short seller" to cover a short sale of Trust units may
be considered as having disposed of those Trust units. If so, he would no longer be treated for tax purposes as a partner with respect to those Trust units during the period of the loan and may
recognize gain or loss from the disposition.
Because a Trust unitholder whose Trust units are loaned to a "short seller" to cover a short sale of Trust units may be considered as having
disposed of the loaned Trust units, the Trust unitholder may no longer be treated for United States federal income tax purposes as a partner with respect to those Trust units during the period of the
loan to the short seller and the unitholder may recognize gain or loss from such disposition. Moreover, during the period of the loan to the short seller, any of the Trust's
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income,
gain, loss or deduction with respect to those Trust units may not be reportable by the unitholder and any cash distributions received by the unitholder as to those Trust units could be fully
taxable as ordinary income. The Trust's counsel has not rendered an opinion regarding the treatment of a unitholder where Trust units are loaned to a short seller to cover a short sale of Trust units;
therefore, Trust unitholders desiring to assure their status as partners and avoid the risk of gain recognition from a loan to a short seller are urged to modify any applicable brokerage account
agreements to prohibit their brokers from loaning their Trust units.
The Trust will adopt certain valuation methodologies that may affect the income, gain, loss and deduction
allocable to the Trust unitholders. The IRS may challenge this treatment, which could adversely affect the value of the Trust units.
The United States federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of Trust units will depend in part on the Trust's estimates
of the relative fair market values, and the initial tax bases of the Trust's assets. Although the Trust may from time to time consult with professional appraisers regarding valuation matters, the
Trust will make many of the relative fair market value estimates itself. These estimates and determinations of basis are subject to challenge and will not be binding on the IRS or the courts. If the
estimates of fair market value or basis are later found to be incorrect, the character and amount of items of income, gain, loss or deductions previously reported by Trust unitholders might change,
and Trust unitholders might be required to adjust their tax liability for prior years and incur interest and penalties with respect to those adjustments. It also could affect the amount of gain from
unitholders' sale of Trust units and could have a negative impact on the value of the Trust units or result in audit adjustments to unitholders' tax returns without the benefit of additional
deductions.
The sale or exchange of 50% or more of the Trust's capital and profits interests during any twelve-month
period will result in the termination of the Trust's partnership status for United States federal income tax purposes.
The Trust will be considered to have technically terminated for United States federal income tax purposes if there is a sale or exchange of 50%
or more of the total interests in its capital and profits within a twelve-month period. For purposes of determining whether the 50% threshold has been met, multiple sales of the same Trust unit within
any twelve-month period will be counted only once. The Trust's termination would, among other things, result in the closing of its taxable year for all Trust unitholders, which would result in the
Trust filing two tax returns (and the Trust unitholders could receive two Schedules K-1) for one calendar year. The IRS has previously announced a relief procedure whereby if a publicly traded
partnership that has technically terminated requests and the IRS grants special relief, among other things, the partnership will be required to provide only a single Schedule K-1 to unitholders
for the tax year in which the termination occurs. In the case of a unitholder reporting on a taxable year other than a calendar year ending December 31, the closing of the Trust's taxable year
may also result in more than twelve months of the Trust's taxable income being includable in his taxable income for the year of termination. A technical termination would not affect the Trust's
classification as a partnership for United States federal income tax purposes, but instead, the Trust would be treated as a new partnership for tax purposes. If treated as a new partnership, the Trust
must make new tax elections and could be subject to penalties if the Trust is unable to determine that a technical termination occurred.
Certain United States federal income tax preferences currently available with respect to natural gas
production may be eliminated as a result of future legislation.
In recent years, the U.S. government's budget proposals and other proposed legislation have included the elimination of certain key U.S. federal
income tax incentives currently available to oil and
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natural
gas exploration and production. If enacted into law, these proposals would eliminate certain tax preferences applicable to taxpayers engaged in the exploration or production of natural
resources. These changes include, but are not limited to (i) the repeal of the percentage depletion allowance for oil and natural gas properties, (ii) the elimination of current
deductions for intangible drilling and development costs, (iii) the elimination of the deduction for U.S. production activities and (iv) the increase in the amortization period from two
years to seven years for geophysical costs paid or incurred
in connection with the exploration for or development of, oil and natural gas within the U.S. It is unclear whether any such changes will be enacted or how soon any such changes would become
effective. The passage of any legislation as a result of these proposals or any other similar changes in U.S. federal income tax laws could negatively affect our financial condition and results of
operations.
Item 1B.
Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.
Item 2.
Properties.
The Underlying Properties
The Underlying Properties consist of the working interests owned by ECA and the Private Investors in the Marcellus Shale formation in Greene
County, Pennsylvania arising under leases and farmout agreements related to properties from which the PDP Royalty Interest and the PUD Royalty Interest were conveyed. As of December 31, 2016,
the total natural gas reserves attributable to the Trust interests were 40.7 Bcf. ECA continues to be the operator of all of the wells subject to the Royalty Interests although it is not contractually
obligated to the Trust to remain so. The reserves attributable to the Royalty Interests include the reserves that are expected to be produced from the Marcellus Shale formation (subject to the terms
of the conveyances creating the Net Profits Interests) during the remaining portion of the 20-year period in which the Trust owns the Royalty Interests as well as the residual interest in the reserves
that the Trust will sell on or shortly following the Termination Date.
Natural Gas Reserves
Ryder Scott estimated natural gas reserves attributable to the Royalty Interests as of December 31, 2016. Numerous uncertainties are
inherent in estimating reserve volumes and values, and the estimates are subject to change as additional information becomes available. The reserves actually recovered and the timing of production of
the reserves may vary significantly from the estimates.
Proved reserves of the Royalty Interests.
The following table sets forth, certain estimated Proved reserves, estimated future net cash
flows and the
discounted present value thereof attributable to the Royalty Interests, as of December 31, 2016, in each case derived from the Ryder Scott reserve report. The reserve report was prepared by
Ryder Scott in accordance with criteria established by the SEC. In accordance with the SEC's rules, the reserves presented below were determined using the twelve-month unweighted arithmetic average of
the first-day-of-the-month price for the period from January 1, 2016 through December 31, 2016, without giving effect to any derivative transactions, and were held constant for the life
of the properties. This yielded an average realized price for natural gas of $1.84 per Mcf. The net revenues attributable to the Trust's reserves are net of the Trust's obligation to reimburse ECA for
post-production costs. The reserves and cash flows attributable to the Trust's interests include only the reserves attributable to the Underlying Properties that are expected to be produced within the
remaining portion of the 20-year period in which the Trust owns the Royalty Interests as well as the
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residual
interest in the reserves that the Trust will own on the Termination Date. A summary of the Ryder Scott reserve report dated January 18, 2017 is included as Appendix A to this
report.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Proved reserves
|
|
Proved Gas
Reserves
(MMcf)
|
|
Estimated
Future Net
Cash Flows
|
|
Discounted
Estimated
Future Net
Cash Flows(1)
|
|
|
|
|
|
(Dollars in thousands)
|
|
Royalty Interests:
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Proved Developed
|
|
|
40,687
|
|
$
|
46,534
|
|
$
|
24,337
|
|
-
(1)
-
The
present values of future net cash flows for the Royalty Interests were determined using a discount rate of 10% per annum.
Information
concerning historical changes in net Proved reserves attributable to the Royalty Interests, and the calculation of the standardized measure of discounted future net cash
flows related thereto, is contained in the unaudited supplemental information contained elsewhere in this report. The Trust has not filed reserve estimates covering the Royalty Interests with any
other federal authority or agency.
The Reserve Report
Technologies.
The reserve report was prepared using decline curve analysis to determine the reserves of individual Producing Wells.
Internal Controls.
Ryder Scott, the independent petroleum engineering consultant, estimated, in accordance with appropriate engineering,
geologic,
and evaluation principles and techniques that are in accordance with practices generally accepted in the petroleum industry, and definitions and guidelines established by the SEC, all of the proved
reserve information in this report. These reserves estimation methods and techniques are widely taught in university petroleum curricula and throughout the industry's ongoing training programs.
Although these appropriate engineering, geologic, and evaluation principles and techniques that are in accordance with practices generally accepted in the petroleum industry are based upon established
scientific concepts, the application of such principles involves extensive judgment and is subject to changes in existing knowledge and technology, economic conditions and applicable statutory and
regulatory provisions. These same industry wide applied techniques are used in determining our estimated reserve quantities. The technical persons responsible for preparing the reserves estimates
presented herein meet the requirements regarding qualifications, independence, objectivity and confidentiality set forth in the Society of Petroleum Engineers' Standards Pertaining to the Estimating
and Auditing of Oil and Gas Reserves Information. ECA's internal control over its reserve reporting process is designed to result in accurate and reliable estimates in compliance with applicable
regulations and guidance. Internal reserve preparation is performed by staff reservoir engineers and geoscientists before review by the Reservoir Engineering Manager. These individuals consult
regularly with Ryder Scott during the reserve estimation process to review properties, assumptions, and any new data available. Additionally, ECA's senior management reviewed and approved all Ryder
Scott reserve reports contained herein.
ECA's
reserves are reviewed by the Senior Reservoir Engineer. The Senior Reservoir Engineer has a Bachelor of Science degree in Petroleum Engineering. She has over four years of oil and
gas industry experience in Reservoir Engineering. During that time, she has focused on reserves estimates and economics.
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Sale and Abandonment of Underlying Properties
ECA and any transferee will have the right to abandon its interest in any well or property composing a portion of the Underlying Properties if,
in its opinion, such well or property ceases to produce or is not capable of producing in commercially paying quantities. To reduce or eliminate the potential conflict of interest between ECA and the
Trust in determining whether a well is capable of producing in commercially paying quantities, ECA is required under the applicable conveyance to act as a reasonably prudent operator in the AMI under
the same or similar circumstances would act if it were acting with respect to its own properties, disregarding the existence of the royalty interests as a burden affecting such property.
ECA
generally may sell all or a portion of its interests in the Underlying Properties, subject to and burdened by the Royalty Interests, without the consent of the Trust unitholders. In
addition, ECA may, without the consent of the Trust unitholders, require the Trust to release Royalty Interests with an aggregate value to the Trust not to exceed $5.0 million during any
twelve-month period. These releases will be made only in connection with a sale by ECA of the Underlying Properties and are conditioned upon the Trust receiving an amount equal to the fair value to
the Trust of such Royalty Interests. ECA operates all of the wells subject to the Royalty Interests although it is not contractually obligated to the Trust to continue as the operator. Any net sales
proceeds paid to the Trust are distributable to Trust unitholders for the quarter in which they are received. ECA has not identified for sale any of the Underlying Properties.
Title to Properties
The Underlying Properties are subject to certain burdens that are described in more detail below. To the extent that these burdens and
obligations affect ECA's rights to production and the value of production from the Underlying Properties, they have been taken into account in calculating the Trust's interests and in estimating the
size and the value of the reserves attributable to the Royalty Interests.
ECA
acquired its interests in the Underlying Properties through a variety of means, including through the acquisition of oil and gas leases by ECA directly from the mineral owner,
through assignments of oil and gas leases to ECA by the lessee who originally obtained the leases from the mineral owner, through Farmout agreements that grant ECA the right to earn interests in the
properties covered by such agreements by drilling wells, and through acquisitions of other oil and gas interests by ECA.
ECA's
interests in the natural gas properties composing the Underlying Properties are typically subject, in one degree or another, to one or more of the
following:
-
-
royalties and other burdens, express and implied, under gas leases;
-
-
production payments and similar interests and other burdens created by ECA or its predecessors in title;
-
-
a variety of contractual obligations arising under operating agreements, Farmout agreements, production sales contracts and other agreements
that may affect the properties or their titles;
-
-
liens that arise in the normal course of operations, such as those for unpaid taxes, statutory liens securing unpaid suppliers and contractors
and contractual liens under operating agreements that are not yet delinquent or, if delinquent, are being contested in good faith by appropriate proceedings;
-
-
pooling, unitization and communitization agreements, declarations and orders;
-
-
easements, restrictions, rights-of-way and other matters that commonly affect property;
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-
-
conventional rights of reassignment that obligate ECA to reassign all or part of a property to a third party if ECA intends to release or
abandon such property; and
-
-
rights reserved to or vested in the appropriate governmental agency or authority to control or regulate the Underlying Properties and the
Royalty Interests therein.
ECA
believes that the burdens and obligations affecting the Underlying Properties and the Royalty Interests are conventional in the industry for similar properties. ECA also believes
that the burdens and obligations do not, in the aggregate, materially interfere with the use of the Underlying Properties and will not materially adversely affect the value of the Royalty Interests.
ECA
believes that its title to the Underlying Properties, and the Trust's title to the Royalty Interests, is good and defensible in accordance with standards generally accepted in the
oil and gas industry, subject to such exceptions as are not so material as to detract substantially from the use or value of such properties or Royalty Interests. Prior to drilling each PUD Well, ECA
obtained a preliminary title review to ensure there were no obvious defects in title to the well. ECA conducted a more thorough title examination of the drill site tract prior to drilling any of the
PUD Wells.
It
is unclear under Pennsylvania law whether the Royalty Interests would be treated as real property interests. Nevertheless, ECA has recorded the conveyances of the Royalty Interests in
the real property records of Pennsylvania in accordance with local recording acts. ECA also has granted to the Trust the Royalty Interest Lien to provide protection to the Trust, in the event of a
bankruptcy of ECA, against the risk that the Royalty Interests were not considered real property interests.
Description of the Royalty Interests
The Royalty Interests were conveyed to the Trust by ECA by means of conveyance instruments that have been recorded in the appropriate real
property records in Greene County, Pennsylvania, where the natural gas properties to which the Underlying Properties relate are located. The PDP Royalty Interest burdens the existing working interests
owned by ECA in the Producing Wells. ECA has an average working interest of approximately 93% in these wells.
The
PUD Royalty Interest initially burdened 50% of all of the interests of ECA in the Marcellus Shale formation in the AMI. ECA's interests in the natural gas properties to which the PUD
Wells relate consist of an average working interest of 100%. The conveyance related to the PUD Royalty Interest, however, provided that the proceeds from the PUD Wells would be calculated on the basis
that the PUD Wells were only burdened by interests that in total would not exceed 12.5%. If ECA's interest in any of the wells subject to the PUD Royalty Interest is subject to burdens in excess of
12.5%, such burdens will be fully allocated against ECA's retained interest in such well, the net effect of which is that the Trust will receive payments with respect to the PUD Royalty Interest as if
the burdens affecting the PUD Wells were in total 12.5% (proportionately reduced).
Generally,
the percentage of production proceeds received by the Trust with respect to a well equals the product of (i) the percentage of proceeds to which the Trust is entitled
under the terms of the conveyances (90% for the Producing Wells and 50% for the PUD Wells) multiplied by (ii) ECA's net revenue interest in the well. ECA on average owns an 81.53% net revenue
interest in the Producing Wells. Therefore, the Trust is entitled to receive on average 73.37% of the proceeds of production from the Producing Wells. With respect to the PUD Wells, the conveyance
related to the PUD Royalty Interest provides that the proceeds from the PUD Wells will be calculated on the basis that the underlying PUD Wells are burdened only by interests that in total would not
exceed 12.5% of the revenues from such properties, regardless of whether the royalty interest owners are actually entitled to a greater percentage of revenues from such properties. As an example,
assuming ECA owns a 100% working interest in a PUD Well, the applicable net revenue interest is calculated by multiplying ECA's percentage working interest in the 100% working interest well by the
unburdened interest
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percentage
(87.5%), and such well would have a minimum 87.5% net revenue interest. Accordingly, the Trust is entitled to a minimum of 43.75% of the production proceeds from the well provided in this
example. To the extent ECA's working interest in a PUD Well is less than 100%, the Trust's share of proceeds would be proportionately reduced.
PDP Royalty Interest.
The conveyances creating the PDP Royalty Interest entitle the Trust to receive an amount of cash for each
calendar quarter
equal to 90% of the proceeds (exclusive of any production or development costs but after deducting post-production costs and any applicable taxes) from the sale of estimated natural gas production
attributable to the Producing Wells regardless of whether such amounts have actually been received by ECA from the purchases of the natural gas produced. Proceeds from the sale of natural gas
production attributable to the Producing Wells in any calendar quarter means:
-
-
the amount calculated based on estimated production volumes attributable to the Producing Wells;
in
each case, after deducting the Trust's proportionate share of:
-
-
any taxes levied on the severance or production of the natural gas produced from the Producing Wells and any property taxes attributable to the
natural gas production attributable to the Producing Wells; and
-
-
post-production costs, which generally consist of costs incurred to gather, compress, transport, process, treat, dehydrate and market the
natural gas produced. Charges payable to ECA for such post-production costs on the Greene County Gathering System were limited to $0.52 per MMBtu of natural gas gathered until ECA fulfilled its
drilling obligation in 2011, after which ECA was permitted to increase the Post-Production Service Fee to the extent necessary to recover certain capital expenditures in the Greene County Gathering
System. Additionally, the Trust is charged for the cost of fuel used in the compression process, including equivalent electricity charges in instances when electric compressors are used.
Proceeds
payable to the Trust from the sale of natural gas production attributable to the Producing Wells in any calendar quarter are not subject to any deductions for any expenses
attributable to exploration, drilling, development, operating, maintenance or any other costs incident to the production of natural gas attributable to the Producing Wells, including any costs to plug
and abandon a Producing Well.
PUD Royalty Interest.
The conveyance creating the PUD Royalty Interest entitles the Trust to receive an amount of cash for each
calendar quarter
equal to 50% of the proceeds (after deducting post-production costs and any applicable taxes) from the sale of estimated natural gas production attributable to the PUD Wells regardless of whether such
amounts have actually been received by ECA from the purchase of the natural gas produced. Proceeds from the sale of natural gas production, if any, attributable to the PUD Wells in any calendar
quarter means:
-
-
the amount calculated based on estimated production volumes attributable to the PUD Wells;
in
each case after deducting the Trust's proportionate share of:
-
-
any taxes levied on the severance or production of the natural gas produced from the PUD Wells and any property taxes attributable to the gas
produced from the PUD Wells; and
-
-
post-production costs, which generally consist of costs incurred to gather, compress, transport, process, treat, dehydrate and market the
natural gas produced. Charges payable to ECA for such post-production charges on the Greene County Gathering System were limited to $0.52 per MMBtu of gas gathered until ECA fulfilled its drilling
obligation in 2011, after which ECA was permitted to increase the Post-Production Services Fee to the extent necessary to recover certain
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capital
expenditures in the Greene County Gathering System. Additionally, the Trust is charged for the cost of fuel used in the compression process, including equivalent electricity charges in
instances when electric compressors are used.
Proceeds,
if any, payable to the Trust from the sale of natural gas attributable to the PUD Wells in any calendar quarter:
-
-
are determined on the basis that ECA's working interest with respect to the PUD Wells is not subject to burdens (landowner's royalties and
other similar interests) in excess of 12.5% of the proceeds from natural gas production attributable to ECA's interest; and
-
-
are subject to any deductions for any expenses attributable to exploration, drilling, development, operating, maintenance or any other costs
incident to the production of natural gas attributable to the underlying PUD properties, including any costs to plug and abandon a well included in the underlying PUD properties.
Royalty Interest Lien
Under the laws of Pennsylvania, it is not clear that the Royalty Interests conveyed by ECA to the Trust would be treated as real property
interests. Therefore, ECA has granted to the Trust a lien (the "Royalty Interest Lien") to provide protection to the Trust, exercisable in the event of a bankruptcy of ECA, against the risk that the
Royalty Interests were not considered real property interests. More specifically, the Royalty Interest Lien is a lien in the Subject Interest and the Subject Gas, to the extent and only to the extent
that such Subject Interest and Subject Gas pertains to Gas in, under and that may be produced, saved or sold from the Marcellus Shale formation from the wellbore
of the Producing Wells and the PUD Wells, sufficient to cause the Trust to receive a volume of Trust Gas calculated in accordance with the provisions of the conveyances of the Royalty Interests.
The
Royalty Interest Lien does not include ECA's retained interest in the PUD and Producing Wells and the AMI or other interest of ECA in the AMI, and ECA has the right to lien,
mortgage, sell or otherwise encumber the ECA retained interest subject to the Royalty Interest Lien.
ECA
has recorded the conveyances of the Royalty Interests and a Mortgage/Fixture Filing in the real estate records of Greene County, Pennsylvania and has filed a corresponding UCC-1
Financing Statement in the Office of the Secretary of State of West Virginia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The
conveyances also provide that if ECA's interest with respect to the PDP properties is greater than what was warranted to the Trust in the conveyances, ECA will have the right to
offset against amounts owed to the Trust, the difference between what the Trust actually receives from PDP Royalty Interest and what the Trust should have received from the PDP Royalty Interest had
ECA's interest been the amount warranted.
Additional Provisions
If a controversy arises as to the sales price of any production, then for purposes of determining gross
proceeds:
-
-
amounts withheld or placed in escrow by a purchaser are not considered to be received by the owner of the underlying property until actually
collected;
-
-
amounts received by the owner of the underlying property and promptly deposited with a nonaffiliated escrow agent will not be considered to
have been received until disbursed to it by the escrow agent; and
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-
-
amounts received by the owner of the underlying property and not deposited with an escrow agent will be considered to have been received.
The
Trustee is not obligated to return any cash received from the Royalty Interests. However, any overpayments made to the Trust by ECA due to adjustments to prior calculations of
proceeds or otherwise will reduce future amounts payable to the Trust until ECA recovers the overpayments.
The
conveyances generally permit ECA to sell, without the consent or approval of the Trust unitholders, all or any part of its interest in the Underlying Properties, if the Underlying
Properties are sold, subject to and burdened by the Royalty Interests. The Trust unitholders are not entitled to any proceeds of any sale of ECA's interest in the Underlying Properties that remains
subject to and burdened by the Royalty Interests. Following any such sale, the proceeds attributable to the transferred property will be calculated pursuant to the conveyances as described in this
report, and paid by the purchaser or transferee to the Trust.
ECA
or any transferee of an Underlying Property will have the right to abandon any well or property if it reasonably believes the well or property ceases to produce or is not capable of
producing in commercially paying quantities. In making such decisions, ECA or any transferee of an Underlying Property is required under the applicable conveyance to act as a reasonably prudent
operator in the AMI under the same or similar circumstances would act if it were acting with respect to its own properties, disregarding the existence of the Royalty Interests as burdens affecting
such property. Upon termination of the lease, that portion of the Royalty Interests relating to the abandoned property will be extinguished.
ECA
may, without the consent of the Trust unitholders, require the Trust to release Royalty Interests with an aggregate value to the Trust up to $5.0 million during any
twelve-month period. These releases will be made only in connection with a sale by ECA of the Underlying Properties and are conditioned upon the Trust receiving an amount equal to the fair value to
the Trust of such Royalty Interests.
ECA
must maintain books and records sufficient to determine the amounts payable for the Royalty Interests to the Trust. Quarterly and annually, ECA must deliver to the Trustee a
statement of the
computation of the proceeds for each computation period as well as quarterly drilling and production results.
Item 3.
Legal Proceedings.
None.
Item 4.
Mine Safety Disclosures.
Not applicable.
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to
be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
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ECA MARCELLUS TRUST I
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By:
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THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, N.A., as Trustee
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By:
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/s/ SARAH NEWELL
Sarah Newell
Vice President
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March 10,
2017
The
Registrant, ECA Marcellus Trust I, has no principal executive officer, principal financial officer, board of directors or persons performing similar functions. Accordingly, no
additional signatures are available and none have been provided. In signing the report above, the Trustee does not imply that it has performed any such function or that such function exists pursuant
to the terms of the Trust Agreement under which it serves.
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Appendix A
January 18,
2017
ECA
Marcellus Trust I
The Bank of New York Mellon Trust Company, N.A.
919 Congress Avenue, Suite 500
Austin, Texas 78701
Gentlemen:
At
your request, Ryder Scott Company, L.P. (Ryder Scott) has prepared an estimate of the proved reserves, future production, and income attributable to certain royalty interests
of ECA Marcellus Trust I (the Trust) as of December 31, 2016. The Trust was formed by Energy Corporation of America (ECA) to own royalty interests in natural gas properties owned and
operated by ECA in the Marcellus Shale formation in Greene County, Pennsylvania. The reserves and income data were estimated based on the definitions and disclosure guidelines of the United States
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) contained in Title 17, Code of Federal Regulations, Modernization of Oil and Gas Reporting, Final Rule released January 14, 2009 in the Federal Register
(SEC regulations). Our third party study, completed on January 18, 2017 and presented herein, was prepared for public disclosure by the Trust in filings made with the SEC in accordance with the
disclosure requirements set forth in the SEC regulations. The properties evaluated by Ryder Scott represent 100 percent of the total net proved reserves of the Trust as of December 31,
2016.
The
estimated reserves and future net income amounts presented in this report, as of December 31, 2016, are related to hydrocarbon prices. The hydrocarbon prices used in the
preparation of this report are based on the average prices during the 12-month period prior to the "as of date" of this report, determined as the unweighted arithmetic averages of the prices in effect
on the first-day-of-the-month for each month within such period, as required by the SEC regulations. Actual future prices may vary significantly from the prices required by SEC regulations; therefore,
volumes of reserves actually recovered and the amounts of income actually received may differ significantly from the estimated quantities presented in this report. The results of this study are
summarized as follows.
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SEC PARAMETERS
Estimated Net Reserves and Income Data
Certain Royalty Interests of
ECA Marcellus Trust I
As of December 31, 2016
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Total
Proved
Producing
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Net Remaining Reserves
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GasMMCF
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40,687
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Income Data
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Future Gross Revenue
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$
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75,014,566
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Deductions
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28,480,879
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Future Net Income (FNI)
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$
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46,533,687
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Discounted FNI @ 10%
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$
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24,336,564
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All
gas volumes are reported on an "as sold basis" expressed in millions of cubic feet (MMCF) at the official temperature and pressure bases of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and 14.73 psia.
The
estimates of the reserves, future production, and income attributable to properties in this report were prepared using the economic software package PHDWin Petroleum Economic
Evaluation Software, a copyrighted program of TRC Consultants. The program was used at the request of the Trust. Ryder Scott has found this program to be generally acceptable, but notes that certain
summaries and calculations may vary due to rounding and may not exactly match the sum of the properties being summarized. Furthermore, one line economic summaries may vary slightly from the more
detailed cash flow projections of the same properties, also due to rounding. The rounding differences are not material.
The
future gross revenue is normally presented after the deduction of production taxes, but in the State of Pennsylvania, these are zero. Furthermore, the Trust owns only a royalty
interest, and the deductions shown as "Other" deductions in the cash flows incorporate the Trust's share of post-production costs including gathering, compression, and transportation fees. The future
net income is before the deduction of state and federal income taxes and general administrative overhead, and has not been adjusted for outstanding loans that may exist nor does it include any
adjustment for cash on hand or undistributed income. Gas reserves account for 100 percent of total future gross revenue from proved reserves.
The
discounted future net income shown above was calculated using a discount rate of 10 percent per annum compounded monthly. Future net income was discounted at four other
discount rates which were also compounded monthly. These results are shown in summary form as follows.
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Discounted Future
Net Income
As of
December 31, 2016
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Discount Rate
Percent
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Total Proved
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5
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$
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32,282,461
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8
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$
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27,034,718
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12
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$
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22,099,709
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15
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$
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19,389,562
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The
results shown above are presented for your information and should not be construed as our estimate of fair market value.
Reserves Included in This Report
The proved reserves included herein conform to the definition as set forth in the Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulations
Part 210.4-10(a). An abridged version of the SEC reserves definitions from 210.4-10(a) entitled "Petroleum Reserves Definitions" is included as an attachment to this report. The various proved
reserve status categories are defined under the attachment entitled "Petroleum Reserves Status Definitions and Guidelines" in this report.
No
attempt was made to quantify or otherwise account for any accumulated gas production imbalances that may exist. The proved gas volumes presented herein do not include volumes of gas
consumed in operations as reserves.
Reserves
are "estimated remaining quantities of oil and gas and related substances anticipated to be economically producible, as of a given date, by application of development projects
to known accumulations." All reserve estimates involve an assessment of the uncertainty relating the likelihood that the actual remaining quantities recovered will be greater or less than the
estimated quantities determined as of the date the estimate is made. The uncertainty depends chiefly on the amount of
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reliable
geologic and engineering data available at the time of the estimate and the interpretation of these data. The relative degree of uncertainty may be conveyed by placing reserves into one of
two principal classifications, either proved or unproved. Unproved reserves are less certain to be recovered
than proved reserves, and may be further sub-classified as probable and possible reserves to denote progressively increasing uncertainty in their recoverability. At the Trust's request, this report
addresses only the proved reserves attributable to the properties evaluated herein.
Proved
oil and gas reserves are "those quantities of oil and gas which, by analysis of geoscience and engineering data, can be estimated with reasonable certainty to be economically
producible from a given date forward." The proved reserves included herein were estimated using deterministic methods. The SEC has defined reasonable certainty for proved reserves, when based on
deterministic methods, as a "high degree of confidence that the quantities will be recovered."
Proved
reserve estimates will generally be revised only as additional geologic or engineering data become available or as economic conditions change. For proved reserves, the SEC states
that "as changes due to increased availability of geoscience (geological, geophysical, and geochemical), engineering, and economic data are made to the estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) with time,
reasonably certain EUR is much more likely to increase or remain constant than to decrease." Moreover, estimates of proved reserves may be revised as a result of future operations, effects of
regulation by governmental agencies or geopolitical or economic risks. Therefore, the proved reserves included in this report are estimates only and should not be construed as being exact quantities,
and if recovered, the revenues therefrom, and the actual costs related thereto, could be more or less than the estimated amounts. At the request of ECA and the Trust, the economic reserves for these
properties were projected beyond April 1, 2030, which is the "minimum", contractual reversion date of the Trust.
ECA's
operations may be subject to various levels of governmental controls and regulations. These controls and regulations may include, but may not be limited to, matters relating to
land tenure and leasing, the legal rights to produce hydrocarbons, production practices, environmental protection, marketing and pricing policies, royalties, various taxes and levies including income
tax and are subject to change from time to time. Such changes in governmental regulations and policies may cause volumes of proved reserves actually recovered and amounts of proved income actually
received to differ significantly from the estimated quantities.
The
estimates of proved reserves presented herein were based upon a detailed study of the properties in which the Trust owns an interest; however, we have not made any field examination
of the properties. No consideration was given in this report to potential environmental liabilities that may exist nor were any costs included for potential liabilities to restore and clean up
damages, if any, caused by past operating practices.
Estimates of Reserves
The estimation of reserves involves two distinct determinations. The first determination results in the estimation of the quantities of
recoverable oil and gas and the second determination results in the estimation of the uncertainty associated with those estimated quantities in accordance with the definitions set forth by the
Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulations Part 210.4-10(a). The process of estimating the quantities of recoverable oil and gas reserves relies on the use of certain generally accepted
analytical procedures. These analytical procedures fall into three broad categories or methods: (1) performance-based methods; (2) volumetric-based methods; and (3) analogy. These
methods may be used individually or in combination by the reserve evaluator in the process of estimating the quantities of reserves. Reserve evaluators must select the method or combination of methods
which in their professional judgment is most appropriate given the nature and amount of reliable geoscience and engineering data available at the time of the estimate, the established or
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anticipated
performance characteristics of the reservoir being evaluated, and the stage of development or producing maturity of the property.
In
many cases, the analysis of the available geoscience and engineering data and the subsequent interpretation of this data may indicate a range of possible outcomes in an estimate,
irrespective of the method selected by the evaluator. When a range in the quantity of reserves is identified, the evaluator must determine the uncertainty associated with the incremental quantities of
the reserves. If the reserve quantities are estimated using the deterministic incremental approach, the uncertainty for each discrete incremental quantity of the reserves is addressed by the reserve
category assigned by the evaluator. Therefore, it is the categorization of reserve quantities as proved, probable and/or possible that addresses the inherent uncertainty in the estimated quantities
reported. For proved reserves, uncertainty is defined by the SEC as reasonable certainty wherein the "quantities actually recovered are much more likely than not to be achieved." The SEC states that
"probable reserves are those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than proved reserves but which, together with proved reserves, are as likely as not to be recovered." The SEC
states that "possible reserves are those additional reserves that are less certain to be recovered than probable reserves and the total quantities ultimately recovered from a project have a low
probability of exceeding proved plus probable plus possible reserves." All quantities of reserves within the same reserve category must meet the SEC definitions as noted above.
Estimates
of reserves quantities and their associated reserve categories may be revised in the future as additional geoscience or engineering data become available. Furthermore,
estimates of reserves
quantities and their associated reserve categories may also be revised due to other factors such as changes in economic conditions, results of future operations, effects of regulation by governmental
agencies or geopolitical or economic risks as previously noted herein.
All
of the proved reserves for the properties included herein were estimated by performance methods. These performance methods include, but may not be limited to, decline curve analysis
which utilized extrapolations of historical production and pressure data available through November 2016. The data utilized in this analysis were furnished to Ryder Scott by ECA and were considered
sufficient for the purpose thereof.
To
estimate economically recoverable proved oil and gas reserves and related future net cash flows, we consider many factors and assumptions including, but not limited to, the use of
reservoir parameters derived from geological, geophysical and engineering data that cannot be measured directly, economic criteria based on current costs and SEC pricing requirements, and forecasts of
future production rates. Under the SEC regulations 210.4-10(a)(22)(v) and (26), proved reserves must be anticipated to be economically producible from a given date forward based on existing
economic conditions including the prices and costs at which economic producibility from a reservoir is to be determined. While it may reasonably be anticipated that the future prices received for the
sale of production and the operating costs and other costs relating to such production may increase or decrease from those under existing economic conditions, such changes were, in accordance with
rules adopted by the SEC, omitted from consideration in making this evaluation.
ECA
has informed us that they have furnished us all of the material accounts, records, geological and engineering data, and reports and other data required for this investigation. In
preparing our forecast of future proved production and income, we have relied upon data furnished by ECA with respect to property interests owned, production and well tests from examined wells, normal
direct costs of operating the wells or leases, the Pennsylvania impact fee, other costs such as gathering and/or transportation fees, product prices based on the SEC regulations, adjustments or
differentials to product prices, and pressure measurements. Ryder Scott reviewed such factual data for its reasonableness; however, we have not conducted an independent verification of the data
furnished by
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ECA.
We consider the factual data used in this report appropriate and sufficient for the purpose of preparing the estimates of reserves and future net revenues herein.
In
summary, we consider the assumptions, data, methods and analytical procedures used in this report appropriate for the purpose hereof, and we have used all such methods and procedures
that we consider necessary and appropriate to prepare the estimates of reserves herein. The proved reserves included herein were determined in conformance with the United States Securities and
Exchange
Commission (SEC) Modernization of Oil and Gas Reporting; Final Rule, including all references to Regulation S-X and Regulation S-K, referred to herein collectively as the "SEC
Regulations." In our opinion, the proved reserves presented in this report comply with the definitions, guidelines and disclosure requirements as required by the SEC regulations.
Future Production Rates
Our forecasts of future production rates for the producing properties included herein are based on historical performance data and the
established decline trend of each well. Future production rates may be more or less than estimated because of changes including, but not limited to, reservoir performance, operating conditions related
to surface facilities, compression and artificial lift, pipeline capacity and/or operating conditions, producing market demand and/or allowables or other constraints set by regulatory bodies.
Hydrocarbon Prices
The hydrocarbon prices used herein are based on SEC price parameters using the average prices during the 12-month period prior to the "as of
date" of this report, determined as the unweighted arithmetic averages of the prices in effect on the first-day-of-the-month for each month within such period.
ECA
furnished us with the above mentioned average prices in effect on December 31, 2016. These initial SEC hydrocarbon prices were determined using the 12-month average
first-day-of-the-month benchmark prices appropriate to the geographic area where the hydrocarbons are sold. These benchmark prices are prior to the adjustments for differentials as described herein.
The table below summarizes the "benchmark price" and "price reference" used for the geographic area included in the report.
The
product prices that were actually used to determine the future gross revenue for each property reflect adjustments to the benchmark prices for gravity, quality, local conditions,
and/or distance from market, referred to herein as "differentials." The differentials used in the preparation of this report were furnished to us by ECA. The differentials furnished to us were
accepted as factual data and reviewed by us for their reasonableness; however, we have not conducted an independent verification of the data used by ECA to determine these differentials.
In
addition, the table below summarizes the net volume weighted benchmark price adjusted for differentials and referred to herein as the "average realized price." The average realized
price shown in the table below was determined from the total future gross revenue before production taxes and the total net reserves for the geographic area and presented in accordance with SEC
disclosure requirements for the geographic area included in the report.
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Geographic Area
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Product
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Price
Reference
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Average
Benchmark
Price
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Average
Realized
Price
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North America
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United States
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Gas
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Henry Hub
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$2.49/MMBTU
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$1.84/MCF
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Table of Contents
The
effects of derivative instruments designated as price hedges of gas quantities are not reflected in our individual property evaluations.
Costs
Operating costs for the leases and wells in this report were furnished by ECA. They are based on the operating expense reports of ECA and
include only those costs directly applicable to the leases or wells. For operated properties, the operating costs include an appropriate level of corporate general administrative and overhead costs.
Post-production costs, including gathering, compression, and transportation fees, are shown as "Other" deductions. The costs furnished to us were accepted as factual data and reviewed by us for their
reasonableness; however, we have not conducted an independent verification of the operating cost data used by ECA. No deduction was made for loan
repayments, interest expenses, or exploration and development prepayments that were not charged directly to the leases or wells. All costs were held constant throughout the life of the properties. It
should be noted that the Trust only owns a royalty interest in the subject wells and is only burdened by its share of the previously mentioned post-production costs. The operating expenses supplied by
ECA were used only to determine the economic life of each property. As mentioned previously, the economic reserves for these properties were projected beyond April 1, 2030, which is the
"minimum", contractual reversion date of the Trust, since the economic limit for each property as calculated in the cash flows was found to extend beyond that date.
Standards of Independence and Professional Qualification
Ryder Scott is an independent petroleum engineering consulting firm that has been providing petroleum consulting services throughout the world
since 1937. Ryder Scott is employee-owned and maintains offices in Houston, Texas; Denver, Colorado; and Calgary, Alberta, Canada. We have over eighty engineers and geoscientists on our permanent
staff. By virtue of the size of our firm and the large number of clients for which we provide services, no single client or job represents a material portion of our annual revenue. We do not serve as
officers or directors of any privately-owned or publicly-traded oil and gas company and are separate and independent from the operating and investment decision-making process of our clients. This
allows us to bring the highest level of independence and objectivity to each engagement for our services.
Ryder
Scott actively participates in industry-related professional societies and organizes an annual public forum focused on the subject of reserves evaluations and SEC regulations. Many
of our staff have authored or co-authored technical papers on the subject of reserves related topics. We encourage our staff to maintain and enhance their professional skills by actively participating
in ongoing continuing education.
Prior
to becoming an officer of the Company, Ryder Scott requires that staff engineers and geoscientists have received professional accreditation in the form of a registered or certified
professional engineer's license or a registered or certified professional geoscientist's license, or the equivalent thereof, from an appropriate governmental authority or a recognized self-regulating
professional organization.
We
are independent petroleum engineers with respect to the Trust or ECA. Neither we nor any of our employees have any financial interest in the subject properties and neither the
employment to do this work nor the compensation is contingent on our estimates of reserves for the properties which were reviewed.
The
results of this study, presented herein, are based on technical analysis conducted by teams of geoscientists and engineers from Ryder Scott. The professional qualifications of the
undersigned, the technical person primarily responsible for overseeing the evaluation of the reserves information discussed in this report, are included as an attachment to this letter.
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Terms of Usage
The results of our third party study, presented in report form herein, were prepared in accordance with the disclosure requirements set forth in
the SEC regulations and intended for public disclosure as an exhibit in filings made with the SEC by the Trust.
The
Trust makes periodic filings on Form 10-K with the SEC under the 1934 Exchange Act. Furthermore, the Trust has certain registration statements filed with the SEC under the
1933 Securities Act into which any subsequently filed Form 10-K is incorporated by reference. We have consented to the incorporation by reference in the registration statement on
Form S-3 of the Trust of the references to our name as well as to the references to our third party report for the Trust, which appears in the December 31, 2016 annual report on
Form 10-K of the Trust. Our written consent for such use is included as a separate exhibit to the filings made with the SEC by the Trust.
We
have provided the Trust with a digital version of the original signed copy of this report letter. In the event there are any differences between the digital version included in
filings made by the Trust and the original signed report letter, the original signed report letter shall control and supersede the digital version.
The
data and work products used in the preparation of this report are available for examination by authorized parties in our offices. Please contact us if we can be of further service.
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Very truly yours,
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RYDER SCOTT COMPANY, L.P.
TBPE Firm Registration No. F-1580
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/s/ STEPHEN E. GARDNER
Stephen E. Gardner, P.E.
Colorado License No. 44720
Senior Vice President
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SEG (FWZ)/pl
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[Seal]
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Professional Qualifications of Primary Technical Person
The conclusions presented in this report are the result of technical analysis conducted by teams of geoscientists and engineers from Ryder Scott
Company, L.P. Mr. Stephen E. Gardner is the primary technical person responsible for the estimate of the reserves, future production and income.
Mr. Gardner,
an employee of Ryder Scott Company, L.P. (Ryder Scott) since 2006, is a Senior Vice President responsible for ongoing reservoir evaluation studies worldwide.
Before joining Ryder Scott, Mr. Gardner served in a number of engineering positions with Exxon Mobil Corporation. For more information regarding Mr. Gardner's geographic and job specific
experience, please refer to the Ryder Scott Company website at www.ryderscott.com/Experience/Employees.
Mr. Gardner
earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Brigham Young University in 2001 (summa cum laude). He is a licensed Professional Engineer in the
States of Colorado and Texas. Mr. Gardner is also a member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and the Society of Petroleum Evaluation Engineers, currently serving in the latter
organization's Denver Chapter as Program Chair.
In
addition to gaining experience and competency through prior work experience, the Texas Board of Professional Engineers requires a minimum of 15 hours of continuing education
annually, including at least one hour in the area of professional ethics, which Mr. Gardner fulfills. As part of his 2016 continuing education hours, Mr. Gardner attended the SPEE Annual
Meeting held in Truckee, California which included technical sessions involving various reserves evaluation and reporting topics, unconventional resource issues, regulatory updates, statistical
methods, financial considerations, ethics, and a short course on SPEE Monograph 4. In September 2016, Mr. Gardner participated in a conference held in Houston, Texas which focused on current
technical, financial, and regulatory aspects in estimating and reporting oil and gas reserves, including low-price environment issues. In addition, Mr. Gardner attended various SPEE technical
seminars and internal company training during 2016 covering topics such as financial evaluations and commodity pricing, analysis software, statistics, SEC comment letter trends, and more.
Based
on his educational background, professional training and more than 11 years of practical experience in the estimation and evaluation of petroleum reserves,
Mr. Gardner has attained the professional qualifications as a Reserves Estimator set forth in Article III of the "Standards Pertaining to the Estimating and Auditing of Oil and Gas
Reserves Information" promulgated by the Society of Petroleum Engineers as of February 19, 2007.
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