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Gray Reed

Texas Supreme Court Decides Who Must Produce to Maintain an Oil and Gas Lease

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In Cromwell v. Anadarko E & P Onshore LLC the Supreme Court of Texas did what it so often does: In order to provide “legal certainty and predictability”, the Court considered the plain language of a contract in order to...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Production Disputes and Estoppel Claims Cloud Lease Termination in Milam County

McGinnis Lochridge on

In this lease termination case (Pruett v. River Land Holdings, LLC, No. 03-22-00478-CV, 2024 WL 1745652, at *1 [Tex. App.—Austin Apr. 24, 2024, no pet.]), the Austin Court of Appeals was tasked with examining a cessation of...more

Gray Reed

Who Owns the Subsurface Pore Space in Texas?

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In a word, the surface estate owner. If that’s all the learning you are up for today, proceed directly to the musical interludes. If you want to know why the Supreme Court of Texas had to say this again, read on....more

McGinnis Lochridge

Affirmative Defenses Are Insufficient to Rebut the Van Dyke Presumption

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Under Van Dyke, deeds with double-fraction royalty reservations referencing “1/8” are presumed to reserve a floating royalty interest unless clearly contradicted. Defenses like waiver, ratification, and limitations cannot...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Tariff Turbulence: Navigating Force Majeure Risks in Texas Oil and Gas Contracts

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Upstream oil and gas producers and oilfield service companies are facing new uncertainties from recently imposed federal tariffs. In early 2025, the US expanded tariffs on a broad range of imports, suddenly increasing costs...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Tackling Free-Use and At-The-Well Royalties

McGinnis Lochridge on

This lease royalty case involved a dispute over whether the lessee was permitted to deduct volumes of gas used off the premises to power post-production activities on other gas produced from the same well. Carl v. Hilcorp...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Who Can Enforce Surface Provisions in an OGL?

McGinnis Lochridge on

Unitex WI, LLC v. CT Land & Cattle Co., LLC, No. 07-23-00390-CV, 2024 WL 3249338 (Tex. App.—Amarillo June 28, 2024, pet. filed)...more

Gray Reed

Ratifications, Stipulations, and Fixed vs. Floating Royalty Interests

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After four stops at the lower courts, Kenneth Hahn v. ConocoPhillips has been resolved by the Supreme Court of Texas. The Court opined on the effect of two instruments often used to clarify land titles in Texas: ...more

Oliva Gibbs

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

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

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