According to Enterprise Te Products Pipeline Company v. Avila, it is the value of the expropriated property, even if it is as little as 33 cents each to the landowners. This seemingly small case must have had big potential...more
We begin with an existential question:
“The philosophy behind all of the model form agreements is that aggressive drilling under the JOA should be promoted and rewarded.
Agree or disagree?
...more
We now know what it takes to establish common carrier pipeline status in Texas. According to the Texas Supreme Court in Denbury Green Pipeline Texas LLC v. Texas Rice Land Partners Ltd., all that is required is a reasonable...more
Today’s “pay attention” edition begins with a quiz. What is the most important thing to read carefully:
a. Speed limit sign in small-town (insert name of Southern state).
b. Itinerary for that dream vacation, the...more
Let’s look back at a cavalcade of crooks, criminals and miscreants who met up with justice in 2016. We do it to be reminded of the others who will be lurking in the 2017 shadows....more
1/6/2017
/ Biofuel ,
Cease and Desist Orders ,
Criminal Conspiracy ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Fraud ,
Hackers ,
Mail Fraud ,
Oil & Gas ,
Ponzi Scheme ,
Popular ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securities Exchange Act ,
Securities Fraud ,
Securities Violations ,
Tax Fraud ,
Wire Fraud
You might conclude that the but-for-the-grace-of-God-that-could-be-me nightmare presented in In re: RPH Capital Partners is instructive only for lawyers. If so, you would be mistaken. The lesson: If you want to win the...more
Westport Oil & Gas Company, L.P. v. Mecom et al. presented this question: Was the lease royalty based on a gas purchase agreement formula or on the royalty clauses’s market value at the well provision?
Spoiler alert:...more
It’s a multiple choice question:
a. The royalty interest reserved by the lessor.
b. The drillbit, courtesy of fearless, risk-taking entrepreneurs, the backbone of the great American free enterprise system and the...more
Are Louisiana courts as enamored with arbitration as their Texas counterparts? Looks like it. East of the Sabine, submitting your dispute to arbitration means you are pretty much saying adieu, farewell and bye-bye to...more
Today we venture into Oklahoma, to be instructed on the Supreme Court’s treatment of the Rule Against Perpetuities. First, the Rule: No property interest is good unless it must vest, if all, not later than 21 years after...more
North Shore Energy v. Harkins interpreted an Option Agreement between landowners and a producer over a 400 acre tract. In football they would say the Texas Supreme Court pancaked the plaintiff. In the law, some would call it...more
11/17/2016
/ Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Energy Sector ,
Mineral Leases ,
Oil & Gas ,
Property Owners ,
Tortious Interference ,
TX Supreme Court
Just received notice of a Texas subcontractor’s mineral lien? DO NOT continue to pay the contractor. He hasn’t paid the subcontractor. Think you owe nothing on the well on which the lien will be filed? Think what you owe the...more
We begin with a Rorschach test. As the big election day approaches, which candidate do you see in the photograph? Discuss among yourselves.
Get ready for lots of musical interludes. The nation’s despair runs deep and...more
The lessons in Craddick Partners Ltd. v. EnerSciences Holdings, LLC are three: Parties who have not signed an agreement to arbitrate have standing to compel arbitration; artful pleading to avoid arbitration won’t work; and...more
If you’ve ever tried to escape penalties for the operator/producer’s failure to comply with La. R.S §30:103.1 and §103.2, take comfort in XXI Oil & Gas, LLC v. Hilcorp Energy Company. You are not alone. No excuse has...more
If you were able to keep your frac trailers from the clutches of your avaricious creditors during the past several unpleasant years, you could be in luck. Owners and lessors of frac trailers may be entitled to a refund for...more
Effective this past August 3, the EPA has new regulations for methane and volatile organic compound emissions from oil and gas operations As you know, reducing methane emissions is a key component of the President‘s climate...more
In a case displaying the tactics of anti-fossil fuel advocates, Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project v. New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission, a court rejected a challenge to the Commission’s amendment of the “Pit...more
My blogging sensei Cordell Parvin says the title should always inform the reader of the content. Mea culpa on this one; I couldn’t resist the alliterations.
Some time back I reported on Carlton Energy Group et al v....more
9/21/2016
/ Actual Damages ,
Appeals ,
Contract Disputes ,
Energy Exploration ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Fair Market Value ,
Lost Profits ,
Oil & Gas ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Reversal
How many of your mineral conveyances are described like this:
… all of Sellers’ right, title and interest in and to (a) the oil, gas and other minerals in, to and under the lands … ONLY INSOFAR as such oil, gas and other...more
Square Mile Energy LLC v. Pommier considered this language in a Louisiana partition agreement: “N.B: Included in this transfer are any and all mineral rights, when available, to Roxanne and all surface rights.” Did this...more
9/1/2016
/ Community Property ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Energy Sector ,
Land Titles ,
Mineral Leases ,
Mineral Rights ,
Oil & Gas ,
Partitions ,
Property Ownership ,
Transfer of Interest
Which of these statements makes sense to you:
A. “Never before have the rulers of a society intentionally driven it backwards to scarcer, more expensive, and less efficient energy.”
B. “Communism is the optimal...more
Gemini Insurance Company at al v. Drilling Risk Management Inc construed control-of-well and redrill/extra-expense provisions in an insurance contract.
The question and the rule -
The question was whether an...more
Thinking about changing an employee policy in Texas? Kubala v. Supreme Production Services, Inc. says you can do it (almost) whenever you want. Want to make employees arbitrate their disputes? You can do that too....more
Longoria v. ExxonMobil is like throwing a big party but failing to invite all the right guests.
The Longorias – 59 of them – sued producer-defendants over ownership of 9,200 acres in Brooks County, Texas, acquired in the...more