In Ohio, in calculating royalties in a market-value-at-the-well lease (as distinguished from a “proceeds” lease), post-production costs are to be shared proportionately by the working interest and royalty owners. ...more
Would you trust your $12 million arbitration to accountants rather than lawyers? Sometimes it makes sense. In Order_Apache v. YPF SA, delegating an accounting dispute to accountants was right. The problem was in the...more
What does it take these days to get money from a Texas jury? Not much, it seems; in XTO v. Goodwin the trick was convincing a higher court that you should keep it....more
Semco, LLC v. The Grand, LTD. is nominally about a $15 million liftboat construction contract and the legal issues one would expect after a long trial and a big verdict. This post is more about how to administer and perform a...more
In Glassell Producing Company v. Naquin, the question was:
Did a conveyance among siblings create a real right in property, or was it an appendage of a lease that ceased to burden the property once that lease was...more
How many times must an operator suffer for a mistake in a unit declaration? Samson Exploration LLC v. T. S. Reed Properties Inc. makes it twice. (See Hooks v. Samson Lone Star for the first round). The Texas Supreme Court...more
You’ve seen the headlines. The portrait is complete; the verdict is in; the clock has run down to zero. The devastation of Harvey is “unprecedented” and it’s all because of climate change. That’s not necessarily so, thanks...more
In light of the adverse effects the storm, floods and tornadoes will have on oil and gas production, transportation and processing operations, we offer several bits of advice:
Force majeure -
Winds and floods are among...more
8/31/2017
/ Contract Terms ,
Energy Sector ,
Force Majeure Clause ,
Hurricane Harvey ,
Insurance Claims ,
Insurance Industry ,
Natural Disasters ,
Oil & Gas ,
Operating Agreements ,
Property Damage ,
Severe Weather
Noble Energy Inc. v. ConocoPhillips Company, a 6-to-3 Texas Supreme Court decision, is a reminder of two things:
How parties to a property transaction describe what’s being acquired and what’s being left behind can have...more
8/23/2017
/ Asset Purchaser ,
Commercial Bankruptcy ,
Contract Terms ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Claims ,
Executory Contracts ,
Indemnification Clauses ,
Oil & Gas ,
Purchase Agreement ,
Sale of Assets ,
TX Supreme Court
Rozel Operating v. Crown Point Holdings, LLC, et al., reminds one of the need to understand and apply the meaning of terms used in a statute one is attempting to enforce. And imaginative theories don’t work without evidence...more
We recently discussed Freeman v. Harleton. The opinion shows the transaction as a bunco job. Here’s more:
Bufkin and Wayne Freeman have done business together since the 1980s. They had a co-development agreement with...more
Enterprise Products Partners, L.P. et al v. Energy Transfer Partners, L.P. et al reversed one of the largest jury verdicts in Texas history. You will like this decision if...
...more
Here is what we believe is an unusual situation: A gas unit is formed. The gas well ceases to produce. Another gas well produces from an oil unit, but the lease at issue is not included in the oil unit. Is the lease...more
Forest Oil Corporation v. El Rucio Land and Cattle Inc. et al deserves your attention for four reasons:
You won’t see another one involving damage to a rhinoceros pen...more
5/9/2017
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Awards ,
Breach of Contract ,
Common Law Claims ,
Contaminated Properties ,
Contract Terms ,
Environmental Remediation Costs ,
Environmental Violations ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Jurisdiction ,
Oil & Gas
BNSF v. Chevron Midcontinent LP et al. asked whether a 1903 deed granted BNSF’s predecessor a strip of land in fee simple absolute or only an easement. The result: BNSF holds only an easement. There’s more to the case than an...more
Should the sufficiency of reworking operations under the cessation-of-production clause of an oil and gas lease be limited to the producing well? Crystal River Oil and Gas, LLC et al v. Patton was a suit to terminate an oil...more
A phrase currently in common usage begins with “‘cluster” and ends with a vulgarity that has been around for centuries. Saheid v. Kennedy presents facts that pretty much exemplify the meaning of the phrase...more
Prevails over what, you ask? In Gladney v. Anglo-Dutch Energy, LLC, a conditional allowable from the Office of Conservation didn’t supersede lease royalty obligations....more
Today’s “pay attention” edition begins with a quiz. What is the most important thing to read carefully:
a. Speed limit sign in small-town (insert name of Southern state).
b. Itinerary for that dream vacation, the...more
You might conclude that the but-for-the-grace-of-God-that-could-be-me nightmare presented in In re: RPH Capital Partners is instructive only for lawyers. If so, you would be mistaken. The lesson: If you want to win the...more
Westport Oil & Gas Company, L.P. v. Mecom et al. presented this question: Was the lease royalty based on a gas purchase agreement formula or on the royalty clauses’s market value at the well provision?
Spoiler alert:...more
North Shore Energy v. Harkins interpreted an Option Agreement between landowners and a producer over a 400 acre tract. In football they would say the Texas Supreme Court pancaked the plaintiff. In the law, some would call it...more
11/17/2016
/ Ambiguous ,
Appeals ,
Breach of Contract ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Energy Sector ,
Mineral Leases ,
Oil & Gas ,
Property Owners ,
Tortious Interference ,
TX Supreme Court
Square Mile Energy LLC v. Pommier considered this language in a Louisiana partition agreement: “N.B: Included in this transfer are any and all mineral rights, when available, to Roxanne and all surface rights.” Did this...more
9/1/2016
/ Community Property ,
Contract Interpretation ,
Contract Terms ,
Energy Sector ,
Land Titles ,
Mineral Leases ,
Mineral Rights ,
Oil & Gas ,
Partitions ,
Property Ownership ,
Transfer of Interest