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Oil & Gas Leases Mineral Leases

BCLP

2023 Recap: Important US Oil and Gas Decisions

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In 2023, the US oil and gas industry witnessed significant legal developments that highlight the importance of careful drafting. This recap, together with my prior analysis, captures some of the pivotal case law that defined...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Federal Court In Ohio Rules That Driller Must Establish Marketability of Each Gas Product Under Market Enhancement Clause

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Let’s assume you own 95 acres in Greene County, Pennsylvania. In 2019, you signed an oil and gas lease with ABC Exploration. During the negotiations, you agreed that only those post-production costs which actually...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Landowners Should Be Careful Before Making Representations About Prior Oil and Gas Development on their Property

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Before signing oil and gas leases, landowners should pay close attention to lease provisions asking for warranties and representations about prior oil and gas development on the land. These provisions are often buried in a...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Ohio Federal Court Allows Subsurface Trespass Suit To Move Forward

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

This is a familiar yet troubling question. Imagine you own 135 acres in Washington County. You have received offers from several oil and gas drillers but have not yet signed a lease. Your neighbor, however, did sign a lease...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Can Retroactive Pooling and Unitization Revive An Expired Lease?

As we have written about before, a troubling issue facing landowners in the Marcellus Shale region is the practice of retroactive pooling and unitization. Retroactive pooling and unitization occurs when a driller records an...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Ohio Court of Appeals Upholds Depth Severance Clause in Lease

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Let’s assume you own 125 acres in Greene County, Pennsylvania. A landman from XYZ Gas Co. approaches you about a new oil and gas lease. The lease purports to grant XYZ Gas Co. exclusive drilling rights to the Marcellus...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Federal Appeals Court Rules That Driller Must Establish Marketability of Each Gas Product under Market Enhancement Clause

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Many Pennsylvania oil and gas leases have what is commonly known as a “market enhancement” royalty clause (“MEC”). These MEC leases typically prohibit the deduction of any post-production costs that are incurred transforming...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Market Enhancement Clauses in Pennsylvania After Dressler Family, LP v. PennEnergy Resources, LLC

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Many Pennsylvania landowners have leases with “market enhancement” royalty clauses. These clauses typically prohibit the deduction of any post-production costs that are incurred transforming the gas into marketable form. Once...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Pore Space Ownership: The North Dakota Supreme Court Issues Landmark Decision

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Let’s assume you own a 93-acre farm in Tioga County. In 1986 your grandfather sold the oil and gas rights to his neighbor, John Mize. In the early 1990’s, Mr. Mize signed an oil and gas lease with XYZ Drilling. Several years...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Pennsylvania Superior Court Rules that Royalty Clause Referencing Both ‘Gross Proceeds’ and ‘At the Well’ Was Ambiguous

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Let’s assume that you own 125 acres in Tioga County. In 2017, you negotiate a new oil and gas lease with XYZ Drilling. During the negotiations, you insist on a “gross royalty” which prohibits the deduction of...more

Holland & Hart LLP

Risky Business: Uncertain Outcomes for Application of Bankruptcy Code 365

Holland & Hart LLP on

Variations in How States Treat Oil & Gas Leases Make Dispositions Complicated - Ability of a debtor to assume, assign, or reject oil and gas “leases” under section 365 of the Bankruptcy Code - Section 365(a) of the...more

Gray Reed

Limitations Title Not Precluded by Late Acknowledgment

Gray Reed on

Scribner v. Wineinger, et al. affirms that acquisition of a Texas oil and gas leasehold by limitations is not defeated if the adverse possessor’s acknowledgement of a claimant’s title comes too late....more

Bennett Jones LLP

Operators May Reduce Annual Compensation Under Surface Lease Agreements

Bennett Jones LLP on

On March 19, 2019, the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench (ABQB) ruled in Karve Energy Inc. v Drylander Ranch Ltd., 2019 ABQB 298 that the Surface Rights Board (Board) does not have the authority to interfere with the amount of...more

Opportune LLP

What Does Record BLM Oil & Gas Lease Auction Mean For Valuation?

Opportune LLP on

On September 7, 2018 the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) third-quarter oil and gas lease sale in New Mexico broke all previous records for BLM lease sales across the country, generating $972.48 million in bonus bids for 142...more

Blank Rome LLP

Pennsylvania Superior Court Splits from Own Precedent and Allows Unilateral Oil and Gas Lease Severance in Montgomery

Blank Rome LLP on

Action Item: Lessees of oil and gas leases in Pennsylvania who have been assigned or are assigning less than all of the geologic strata under lease should give careful attention to whether those leases have been severed...more

Stinson LLP

North Dakota Supreme Court Addresses What Creates a Fiduciary Relationship with a Land Broker

Stinson LLP on

On September 21, 2015, the North Dakota Supreme Court found that a fiduciary relationship between an oil company and its landman could exist depending upon the existence of a confidential relationship. Irish Oil...more

Gray Reed

You Own the Oil. Do You Own the Rock?

Gray Reed on

Riddle: What’s the difference between a hydrocarbon molecule and the underground structure which the molecule inhabits? Answer: In Texas, you can own one and not the other, according to Lightning Oil Co. v. Anadarko E&P...more

Gray Reed

Consider The Retained Acreage Clause

Gray Reed on

Have you ever wondered about the original purpose of the retained acreage clause? According to Professor Kramer, it was “to prevent the lessee from losing those portions of a lease that had productive wells thereon if the...more

Beveridge & Diamond PC

DOI Proposes Overhaul Of Federal And Indian Mineral Lease Royalty Valuation Standards

On January 6, 2015, the Department of the Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue (“ONRR”) issued a proposed regulation that would substantially modify existing regulations in 30 C.F.R. Part 1206 for the valuation for...more

Baker Donelson

OCS Operators and Lenders Beware - Comment Period Ending on BOEM Risk Management, Financial Assurance and Loss Prevention Notice...

Baker Donelson on

Monday, November 17, 2014, is the last day to provide comments to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in connection with its Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) with respect to risk management, financial...more

K&L Gates LLP

CO2 Separation Anxiety—Is the cost of separating CO2 from casinghead gas a “production” or “post-production” cost for purposes of...

K&L Gates LLP on

In a recent decision, the Supreme Court of Texas concluded that the cost of removing carbon dioxide (“CO2”) from casinghead gas after completing enhanced oil recovery operations is a “post-production” cost, thus clarifying...more

BakerHostetler

BLM Agrees to Complete Hydraulic Fracturing EIS for Leases in California

BakerHostetler on

A recent agreement between environmentalists and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) may open the floodgates to challenges of the sufficiency of Environmental Assessments (EA) or Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for oil...more

K&L Gates LLP

“2 Sign or Not 2 Sign:” Which Statute of Frauds Governs Oil & Gas Leases?

K&L Gates LLP on

In a recent decision, the Pennsylvania Superior Court resolved an open question of state law regarding which one of two alternative statutes of frauds apply to oil and gas leases, in the process making clear that for an oil...more

McNees Wallace & Nurick LLC

Post-Production Issues and Oil & Gas Leases

So your oil and gas lease has now converted from the primary term to the secondary term – now what? There are several issues that a landowner or mineral interest owner should be aware of at this stage of the lease. ...more

BakerHostetler

Federal Court Holds that an Eastern Ohio Oil and Gas Lease Expired before Drilling in a Potentially Costly Ruling

BakerHostetler on

In a recent case, Cameron v. Hess Corporation, Case No. 2:12-CV-00168 (September 24, 2013), the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio held that an eastern Ohio oil and gas lease entered into by Hess...more

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