Local Governments Continue to Fight States for Right to Govern Fracking
Leases for solar energy facilities offer property owners the potential for a predictable, long-term revenue stream. But, because of the potential decades-long duration of a lease for solar energy facilities, things like...more
Let’s assume that you purchase a 105 acre farm in Greene County in 2022. You purchase only the surface estate while the seller, Farmer Jones, retains the underlying oil and gas rights. You intend to grow corn and winter...more
In Self v. BPX Operating, a case with significant implications for Louisiana operators and royalty owners, the Supreme Court of Louisiana ruled that the doctrine of negotiorum gestio in La. Civil Code art. 2292 does not allow...more
Planning for mineral rights is a crucial aspect of estate planning, specifically for landowners with valuable mineral assets. Mineral rights can significantly impact the value and management of an estate, and proper planning...more
In United States v. Osage Wind LLC a federal court in Oklahoma awarded permanent injunctive relief against a developer in the form of ejectment of a wind turbine farm after finding a continuing trespass....more
Many oil and gas leases across Pennsylvania allow the driller to divert and use volumes of raw gas to power and fuel production operations both on and off the leasehold. Is a driller obligated to pay a royalty on that volume...more
In Occidental Permian, Ltd. et al v. Citation 2002 Investment LLC the Supreme Court construed a 1987 assignment from Shell Western E& P Inc. to Citation of a large number of properties. The instrument contained these...more
A recent decision by the Fourth Court of Appeals reiterates the Texas judiciary’s commitment to interpreting the four corners of a document where language is unambiguous, and to giving plain and ordinary meaning to the...more
In Carl v. Hillcorp Energy the Supreme Court of Texas addressed the relationship between the lessee’s use of gas off-premises under a free-use clause and the lessor’s burden to share post-production costs (PPCs) under the...more
In the Estate of Larry Wayne Ewers is a reminder of a few guidelines for oil and gas investing: Think twice before giving money to your scripture-spouting friend from church....more
While imagery of the American Dream used to be picturesque farm towns, robust bounties and families gathered around the table for a meal, values have shifted, and once-robust farming communities have become forgotten lands,...more
Recent Texas royalty cases seem to feature litigants on the fixed royalty side trying, more often than not in vain, to escape the clutches of Van Dyke v. Navigator and Hysaw v. Dawkins. See those decisions for the history of...more
On March 20, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia dismissed Sonda v. West Virginia Oil and Gas Conservation Commission for lack of standing. The lawsuit was brought by mineral interest owners...more
I. Background In the case of Kirkbride v. Antero Res. Corp., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is faced with a novel argument on the interpretation of a condition precedent within an oil and gas lease. The case comes to the...more
Landowner and mineral owner (that includes you, lessee): Under ETC Texas Pipeline, Ltd. v. Ageron Energy, LLC, your right to sue for damages for tort or trespass could pass into history before you even know you have a claim....more
Although historically viewed as a waste, produced water that comes to the surface as part of the oil and gas production stream now potentially has value. Produced water can be recycled and reused as part of hydraulic...more
One of the first lessons in every first-year real property law class is that property rights are commonly referred to as a “bundle of sticks” that can be sold or acquired as individual parts or a whole. In a case recently...more
Recently, in United States v. Osage Wind, LLC, the Northern District of Oklahoma awarded permanent injunctive relief in favor of the Osage Nation and the United States against wind turbine farm developers in the form of...more
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
Unlike other jurisdictions, such as the US and Angola, the UK does not have a single mining / mineral code or legislative framework. Instead, different laws and regulations apply according to the mineral type and the nature...more
See yesterday’s post on Iskandia Operating, LLC v. SWEPI, LP - SWEPI’s motion for summary judgment alleged that Iskandia presented no evidence of one or more elements of its trespass claim, noting that the Supreme Court of...more
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
Depending on the state, post-production costs are either deducted “at the wellhead” or when the product has been placed in “marketable condition.” In Louisiana, the minerals are not owned by the landowner, but that person...more
Foreshadowing a grim future for family weddings and funerals, Bell and Petsch v. Petch is a property dispute over five tracts of land in Gillespie County, Texas, in which siblings are the combatants. The events are less...more
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