News & Analysis as of

Oil & Gas Liability

Alston & Bird

Emerging Climate Liability: Understanding State Climate Change Superfund Bills

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States are increasingly holding the fossil fuel sector liable for costs related to climate change. Our Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources Group unpacks what companies need to know about these new state “superfund”...more

Oliva Gibbs LLP

Lessons in Chemistry: SCOTUS Declines Review in OPA Case

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The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal addressing whether a mixture of petroleum and chemicals constitutes “oil” under the Oil Pollution Act (OPA). In doing so, the Court has effectively rejected the efforts of...more

Gray Reed

Broad Form Indemnities in Construction Contracts (UPDATED)

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Broad form indemnities are common in Texas construction contracts, even though indemnifying someone for their own negligence is a tough pill to swallow.  ...more

Oliva Gibbs LLP

The Texas Division Order Statute: How It Works and Who It Serves to Protect

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A division order is a statement executed by all owners of interests in an oil and gas well.  The division order’s essential purpose is to “authorize and direct to whom and in what proportion to distribute” proceeds from the...more

Gray Reed

Who is responsible for the negligence of the “company man” on the well?

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Parkman v. W&T Offshore, Inc., et al features two contractors playing hot potato over liability for a company man’s alleged negligence. The takeaway: Write your Master Service Agreement to address your liability concerns, and...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Enforces Partnership Agreement’s Unambiguous Exculpation Provision Waiving Fiduciary Duties and Presuming...

On December 19, 2022, Chief Justice Seitz issued an opinion for a unanimous Delaware Supreme Court, sitting en banc, reversing and remanding the Delaware Court of Chancery’s decision in Bandera Master Fund LP v. Boardwalk...more

Gray Reed

Texas Court Addresses MSA Indemnity Obligations

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At issue in RKI Exploration and Production LLC v. AmeriFlow Energy Services LLC and Crescent Services, LLC. were two Master Service Agreements.  RKI was the operator of a well in Loving County; AmeriFlow and Crescent were...more

Gray Reed

Well Operator Escapes Liability After Disposing of its Working Interest

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Does a former working-interest owner of a well bear continuing responsibility for a defective gas line despite having conveyed its ownership interest? The line was constructed by the former owner as operator of record, and it...more

Mayer Brown

Okpabi and others v Royal Dutch Shell plc and another - UK Supreme Court provides further clarification on parent company...

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The UK Supreme Court has handed down its judgment in the case of Okpabi and others v Royal Dutch Shell Plc and another....more

Hogan Lovells

Okpabi decision: Supreme Court shows the difficulty UK domiciled parent companies have avoiding foreign claimants suing in England

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In Okpabi & Others v Royal Dutch Shell & Another the Supreme Court has applied the principles around parent company liability it set out in Lungowe v Vedanta Resources Plc, to hold that a claim against an English domiciled...more

Gray Reed

Industry Custom Determines Who Pays for a Well Emergency

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Who pays for fluid containment in an oil field emergency?  It depends on your contract and, we are told in Pearl Resources, LLC v. Charger Services, LLC, oil and gas industry custom....more

Gray Reed

Coronavirus and the Energy Industry: Drilling into Force Majeure Clauses

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Many oil and gas contracts – leases and JOAs for example – have force majeure clauses. The purpose is to allow contracting parties to suspend or terminate performance when certain circumstances arise that are beyond their...more

Jones Day

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Endorses Rule of Capture for Hydraulic Fracturing - Opinion in Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Co. left...

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The oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania attained a narrow victory after the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania endorsed the application of the rule of capture, the century-old legal principle shielding drillers from trespassing...more

Bricker Graydon LLP

Hydraulic fracturing and subsurface trespass in Pennsylvania: Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Production Co.

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In a case of first impression that drew interest across Appalachia, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined on January 22, 2020, that the rule of capture applies when natural gas is extracted through hydraulic fracturing...more

Gray Reed

Texas Supreme Court holds entire limits of insurance policy are available to reimburse Anadarko’s defense fees and expenses...

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In another dispute over insurance coverage related to the Macondo Well blowout (a/k/a Deep Water Horizon incident),1 the Texas Supreme Court held that an endorsement reducing a policy’s limits for “liability” stemming from a...more

Gray Reed

Are Oilfield Contractors Liable For Road Damage?

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No, at least not in Dimmit County, Texas, under the facts of In Re: Wood Group PSN, Inc. et al. Twenty-nine contractors and producers were sued by Dimmitt County for damaging a 6.9 mile long non-asphalt county road by their...more

Gray Reed

Original Louisiana Lessee Can’t Escape Liability

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Louisiana practitioners and their clients tend to know this particular point of Louisiana law, but it could surprise out-of-staters (known in their native habitat as “Texans”), so it’s worth a reminder...more

Gray Reed

Louisiana Lender Not Liable for Lease Violations

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The Louisiana Supreme Court’s reversal of lower courts in Gloria’s Ranch, L.L.C. v. Tauren Expl., Inc. eliminates a major source of anguish for Louisiana energy lenders and their borrowers. You might recall our report on the...more

Gray Reed

Trespass by Fracking Recognized in Pennsylvania

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Briggs v. Southwestern Energy is another way to say “chaos” in Pennsylvania. The Superior Court ruled that fracking may constitute a trespass when subsurface frac-fluid and proppants cross boundary lines and extend into the...more

Nossaman LLP

House of Representatives Seeks To Clarify Lack Of Liability for Incidental and Accidental Take under Migratory Bird Treaty Act

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On November 8, 2017, the House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources approved an amendment to oil and gas-related legislation, the SECURE Act (H.R. 4239), that is intended to obviate liability for the incidental...more

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