Are unpaid royalty payments for oil-and-gas leases subject to simple or compound interest? Simple, the Texas Supreme Court said in Samson Exploration, LLC v. Bordages on June 7, 2024....more
The recent rise in royalty class action lawsuits brought by the plaintiffs’ bar, that generally coincides with the ebb in crude oil prices, is a growing risk for oil and gas companies. Class action certifications in royalty...more
The Pennsylvania Act 85 of 2019 amended the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Lease Act to add a section permitting cross-unit drilling. On Jan. 24, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania upheld Act 85...more
In July 2023, the El Paso Court of Appeals held that produced water created in the fracking process is considered an oil and gas waste rather than water — meaning it belonged to the mineral lessee, not the surface owners. See...more
On June 5, 2023, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania denied Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Co. LLC’s (Transco) attempt to enjoin an administrative appeal proceeding before the Pennsylvania...more
Land rights and interests continue to be a prominent fixture in the legal landscape. Among other things, the ownership of highly sought-after pore space has been at the center of multiple property rights cases and legislation...more
Regulators are looking at a ticking time clock for covered entities in the gas transmission industry to ensure their compliance with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s “Mega Rule” — a rulemaking...more
On Dec. 2, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency issued its final rule titled “Standards of Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas Sector...more
On April 2, the Pennsylvania Superior Court held that hydraulic fracturing that results in the extraction of natural gas from adjoining land may constitute a claim for trespass.
In Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Production...more
Although the fight remains ongoing, a recent U.S. Court of Appeals decision requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to immediately enforce Obama-era rules intended to reduce emissions from new oil and gas...more
In a decision sending shockwaves across the nation’s oil and gas industry, the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming yesterday set aside the Bureau of Land Management’s rule to govern hydraulic fracturing on federal...more
Earlier this week, in an unsurprising but nevertheless meaningful decision, the Ohio Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the standard form oil and gas lease at issue was not “perpetual,” and thus was not void as against...more
As we have often reported, landowners’ efforts to evade the plain terms of “dual purpose” leases, providing for both production and natural gas storage, have almost universally failed. Most recently, on December 28, 2015, the...more
The development of the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania has led to a number of disputes about historical judgments that purportedly divested reserved oil and gas rights from their owners. During the 20th century, surface...more
A recent trial victory for Range Resources – Appalachia LLC and Columbia Energy Ventures LLC (CEV) fills gaps left by the prior leading decisions on “dual purpose” storage and production leases, and cements the rights of...more
Last week, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, on certification from the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, ruled that the primary term of an oil and gas lease would not be equitably tolled during the pendency...more
The explosion of natural gas production in the Appalachian Basin in recent years has led to litigation involving landowners trying to get out of existing oil and gas leases to take advantage of the fierce competition among...more