A Focus on Energy: M&A Trends in the Energy Sector
Does a former working-interest owner of a well bear continuing responsibility for a defective gas line despite having conveyed its ownership interest? The line was constructed by the former owner as operator of record, and it...more
Yet another entry in the Strip and Gore universe (2012’s “Beware of Strips and Gores”, and 2019’s “Strip and Gore 2: The Sequel”) comes to us from Fort Worth Court of Appeals: Richard D. Crawford v. XTO Energy, Inc....more
The Fourteenth Court of Appeals in Houston recently issued an opinion that will have profound impacts on mineral liens and contractual provisions purporting to waive mineral liens. The question of whether or not a pre-work...more
In Town of Flower Mound v. Eagle Ridge Operating LLC, an operator’s injunction against enforcement of a local ordinance was dissolved. EagleRidge operates gas wells in the Flower Mound. A Town ordinance prohibits work on gas...more
Oil Drops More Than 3% After State Secretary Pompeo Says Iran Is Ready To Negotiate About Its Missile Program - "Oil prices turned lower on Tuesday, falling by about $2 a barrel as U.S. President Donald Trump said progress...more
Earlier this week, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals partially reversed a district court decision, and ordered the Bureau of Land Management to vacate the NEPA approvals and permits it had issued authorizing the drilling of a...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently held that a group of directional driller consultants were independent contractors, not employees, in large part due to their highly specialized skills, degree of...more
Claim by Directional Drillers for Overtime Pay. The boom for domestic energy producers, particularly in the Permian Basin, has been accompanied by the companion challenge of how to compensate transient oilfield professionals...more
The Colorado Supreme Court on January 14 issued an opinion thought to be favorable to Colorado's oil and gas industry....more
The Supreme Court of California has granted review of two cases to resolve a split among courts of appeal over whether the issuance of well permits pursuant to state standards is subject to CEQA. California Water Impact...more
Energy Companies to Appeal Loss of Forest Service Permit for Atlantic Coast Pipeline - "The builders of the $7 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline say they will appeal a federal court ruling that invalidated a permit allowing...more
After a long drought, the California Supreme Court at its November 14, 2018 conference voted unanimously to grant review of three decisions involving the question of whether well permits issued pursuant to county ordinances...more
In Frederick v. Allegheny Township Zoning Hearing Board, et al, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court affirmed a local zoning ordinance allowing oil and gas operations in all zoning districts in the Township as long as they...more
As Storm Looms, 4th Circuit Reverses Ruling Against Dominion on Coal Ash Pollution at Chesapeake Site - "Water pollution from a coal ash landfill and settling ponds at a closed power plant in Chesapeake is not a violation of...more
On August 29, 2018, the Third Appellate District published its long-awaited opinion in Environmental Law Foundation v. State Water Resources Control Board (“ELF”), a case involving a challenge to Siskiyou County’s (“County”)...more
Holders of royalties in oil and gas and other minerals should take note of the recent decision of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench in Manitok Energy Inc. (Re), 2018 ABQB 488 [Manitok], in which the Alberta Court followed...more
As always, there are a lot of topics to cover in this edition of News Now. Here are your highlights...more
Another significant oil and gas law decision has recently been published out of the Ohio Seventh District Court of Appeals. In the case of Hogue v. Whitacre, 2017-Ohio-9377, released on December 22, 2017, the Seventh District...more
On November 30, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals, Sixth Circuit issued an opinion in Eclipse Resources - Ohio, LLC v. Madzia, affirming the lower court’s grant of summary judgment to Eclipse Resources in all respects. ...more
The Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench recently upheld the no-fault provisions of the standard form, Canadian Association of Drilling Contractors (CAODC) Master Daywork Contract (MDC) in Precision Drilling Canada Limited...more
On September 9, 2015, Judge Mary Leavitt of the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania reversed the Court of Common Pleas of Lycoming County’s ruling, which had set aside the Board of Supervisors of Fairfield Township’s (the...more
New York’s 2010 moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, culminating in Governor Andrew Cuomo’s formal ban of the practice in his state on December 17, 2014, made many large waves in the political, legal, and public arenas, the...more
Fracking Insider Readers: We are pleased to bring you Volume 43 of our State Regulatory Roundup, including updates in California, New York, and Ohio. As we explained in earlier volumes, we designed the Roundup to provide...more
On August 27, in In re Heritage Consolidated, L.L.C., the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted subcontractor’s lien rights to two oil and gas drilling contractors. The Court reversed a district court ruling which upheld a...more
The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PPUC) is asking the state Supreme Court to review a July ruling by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court that strips PPUC of its authority to review and approve local drilling...more