News & Analysis as of

Mineral Extraction Contract Terms

Gray Reed

Is a Merger a “Transfer of Leases”?

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In Texas, no. Read on to learn why. In Nortex Minerals LP v. Blackbeard Operating LLC et al, the question was the meaning of this limited assignment provision in the “Alliance Leases”, oil and gas leases covering 27,000 acres...more

Gray Reed

Duhig Rule Claim is Unsuccessful

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The Duhig Rule is back, this time in Echols Minerals LLC, et al v. Green et al. Framing the discussion, Duhig v. Peavy Moore Lumber Company and Trial v. Dragon - In Duhig the grantor in a general warranty deed...more

Gray Reed

Fifth Circuit Punts Postproduction Cost Question to Louisiana Supreme Court

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The question in Self v, BPX Operating Company is how to balance the Louisiana Civil Code Art 2292 principle of negotiorum gestio against Louisiana’s conservation statutes....more

Gray Reed

Lessee: Don’t Covet Your Neighbor’s Operations

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Can the Texas lessee perpetuate his oil and gas lease by “constructive participation” in wells drilled by another? Under the facts in Cromwell v. Anadarko E&P Onshore, LLC, the answer is no....more

Gray Reed

Federal Court Distinguishes Devon v. Sheppard

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Producers disappointed by the Supreme Court’s holding in Devon Energy Production v. Sheppard might have reason to feel vindicated. The question in HL Hawkins Jr., Inc. v. Capitan Energy Inc. et al. was whether producer...more

Gray Reed

Supreme Court of Texas Tackles the Meaning of “Predecessors”

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The plain, ordinary, and generally accepted meaning of a word doesn’t mean “anything goes”. It depends on context, says the Supreme Court of Texas in Finley Resources Inc. v.  Headington Royalty Inc., a dispute over the...more

Gray Reed

Court of Appeals Rules on Texas PSA Well Permit

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The Austin Court of Appeals has ruled in Texas Railroad Commission et al v. Opiela, the dispute over a permit for a horizontal well under a Production Sharing Agreement.  We reported on the result in the trial court. Here are...more

Gray Reed

How to Lose Your Working Interest in 26 Annual Steps

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Can a non-operating working interest in a Texas oil and gas lease be adversely possessed? The Amarillo Court of Appeals said yes in PBEX II, LLC v. Dorchester Minerals, L.P....more

BCLP

Recent decisions affecting US mineral and royalty owners

BCLP on

While the unexpected and unpredictable commodity price swings over the last year have undoubtedly captured the attention of mineral and royalty owners across the United States, careful attention should also be paid to a few...more

Gray Reed

Texas Supreme Court Rules on Suspension of Proceeds of Oil and Gas Production

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Freeeport-McMoRan Oil and Gas, LLC and Ovintiv USA Inc. v. 1776 Energy Partners LLC  presented a recurring question faced by Texas oil and gas producers:  When can proceeds of production be withheld by the operator without...more

Gray Reed

A Day Made a Difference in This Purchase and Sale Agreement

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And what a difference it was! In Apache Corp. v. Apollo Expl. LLC et al, Apache and others acquired an oil and gas lease on 100,000+ acres in the Texas Panhandle. The primary term was three years. The effective date was...more

Gray Reed

“All Means All” in Construing an Assignment of Leases

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In a recurring theme, harmony and the four-corners rule were front and center in Citation 2002 Inv. LLC et al v. Occidental Permian, Ltd. et al, a case of competing claims over the granting language in an assignment of oil...more

Gray Reed

Reserved Royalty Interest is “Floating”

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Texas courts continue to address the “fixed or floating” non-participating royalty interest question. The El Paso Court of Appeals’ answer in Bridges v. Uhl et al. was floating, based on the language in that particular...more

Gray Reed

Waiting Too Long to Sue For a Working Interest is a Loser

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Delay in filing suit too often spells doom for the plaintiff, as we learn in Zadeck Succession et al v. Treme et al. Treme (as in the family collectively) claimed their father, Vandiver, was conveyed a 5% working...more

Gray Reed

Texas NPRI Not Diminished by Pooling Ratification

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The takeaway from Hahn v. ConocoPhillips Company is that in Texas a NPRI holder may not diminish his rights by ratifying pooling of an oil and gas lease unless there are provisions explicitly purporting to do so....more

Gray Reed

A Harsh Result From a Lopsided Indemnity Agreement

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Wagner v. Exxon Mobil Corporation is an example of the misfortune that can befall the purchaser who assumes the burden of comprehensive, one-sided indemnity obligations. We will disregard evidentiary and other issues in this...more

Gray Reed

Beware Assignor: Own the Leases Before You Reserve the Override

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Let’s begin with a quiz. Armour purchases non-recourse mortgage notes, becoming a lienholder in 99 oil and gas leases and 13 wells; fails to record the transfer documents in the real property records; assigns the leases to...more

Gray Reed

City of Dallas Owes $33+ Million for Drilling Permit Denials

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If you have ever wondered how many ways a cocktail of stupidity*, treachery and feckless government can inflict financial harm on the undeserving, including the citizens the feckless government leaders are supposed to serve,...more

Gray Reed

Royalty Obligations on Free-Use Gas Redux

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Recall our recent post on Carl v. Hilcorp Energy Company from the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas discussing the lessee’s royalty obligations on gas used off the premises in a market-value lease. See...more

Gray Reed

Lease Perpetuated Beyond Primary Term Without Production in Paying Quantities

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If perpetuation of a mineral lease beyond the primary term is contingent upon continuous operations, do traditional notions of “production in paying quantities” always matter? Spoiler: No....more

Gray Reed

Texas Mineral Deed Signed Away Right to Sue

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The question in litigation is usually “WHAT”: what happened, what contract was breached, what did someone do or fail to do, and so on. In Hughes v. CJM Resources, LP, the question was, “WHO” had the right to file the suit in...more

Gray Reed

A Texas Lien is Invalid if the Mineral Owner is Not Yet Obligated to Pay

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A subcontractor’s mineral lien in Texas is invalid when, at the time the mineral owner receives notice of the lien affidavit, the mineral owner is not yet obligated to pay the contract price to its contractor.  So says Pearl...more

Whitcomb Selinsky, PC

WillSource Enterprises Seeks Judicial Review in Two Decisions

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WillSource Enterprise, LLC sought judicial review of two decisions of the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) concerning federal oil and gas leases which it was the operator and lessee. In August 2020, the U.S. Federal...more

Gray Reed

Louisiana Court Considers Texas and Louisiana Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Acts

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Federal Insurance Company et al v. Select Energy Services LLC and Exco et al. is a reminder for negotiators of indemnity and defense obligations in oilfield contracts that choice of law is important. Ignore it when drafting...more

Stinson LLP

David Bengtson and Frank Basgall Discuss Habendum Clause and Production in Paying Quantities at KIOGA Conference

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The Wichita Bar Association's KIOGA conference is an annual oil and gas conference for lawyers, oil and gas producers, landmen and other participants in the oil and gas industry....more

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