Today we venture into Oklahoma, to be instructed on the Supreme Court’s treatment of the Rule Against Perpetuities. First, the Rule: No property interest is good unless it must vest, if all, not later than 21 years after...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
If you’ve ever tried to escape penalties for the operator/producer’s failure to comply with La. R.S §30:103.1 and §103.2, take comfort in XXI Oil & Gas, LLC v. Hilcorp Energy Company. You are not alone. No excuse has...more
How many of your mineral conveyances are described like this:
… all of Sellers’ right, title and interest in and to (a) the oil, gas and other minerals in, to and under the lands … ONLY INSOFAR as such oil, gas and other...more
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
Let’s start with a little background: Under the Accommodation Doctrine an oil and gas lessee has an implied right to use the land as reasonably necessary to produce and remove the minerals, but must exercise the right with...more
Escondido and Justapor. Next up on Tiny Desk Concert? Good guess, but no. They are the parties in Escondido v. Justapor, a Texas case presenting the perils of lease termination clauses and vaguely-drawn contracts....more
“Blood may be thicker than water, but oil is thicker than both.” J. R. Ewing. This family dispute among Ethel’s descendants arose when Ethel’s will employed double fractions in bequeathing royalty interests to her children....more
Wondering what was behind the Department of Justice indictment of the late Aubrey McClendon? The charge was conspiring to rig bids for oil and gas properties in Oklahoma. Read the McClendon indictment and engage in the parlor...more
Behold Mr. Clean. Even he can’t remove a pesky stain as skillfully as the landman who framed the conversation in a way that washed out a lessee. See Anadarko Petroleum Corporation v. TRO-X, LP
Did the lessee retain any...more
Must a production payment out of four oil and gas leases be proportionately reduced if two of the leases expire because production ceased? In Apache Deepwater, LLC v. McDaniel Partners, Ltd., the Texas Supreme Court says yes....more
Apparently unsatisfied with its analysis in Chesapeake Exploration v. Hyder, the Texas Supreme Court revisited its original opinion on an overriding royalty clause. The Hyders remain the winners. In effect, the court replaced...more
Thanks to In re Reichmann Petroleum Corp., we know one that works in Texas: A lien affidavit attaching either a plat or a plat and a Texas Railroad Commission Form W-1 provides an adequate property description for a mineral...more
A baseball question: You’ve got men on late in the game; a base hit to the right side wins. Do you put the bat on the ball for a single or swing for the deep seats, risking the game-ending strikeout?...more
Weary of having to solicit those pesky subordinations of pre-existing mortgages to your recently-acquired oil and gas leases? Tired of chasing down the third assistant to the fourth vice president for loan servicing just to...more
If you want to get to the meaning of a case, one exercise is to put yourself in the shoes of one participant or the other and see how you react to the events. (This also works well with Bible stories, by the way.) Last week...more
How is that, you say? More on the Les mess: And now, on to our case Co-author Brooke Sizer. NorAm Drilling Co. v. E & Pco Intern., LLC is important if you: The events E&P acquired two leases in Caldwell Parish, Louisiana,...more
Creativity abounds: Your 16-year old “explaining” the empty Southern Comfort bottle and the roach clip; President Obama justifying his rejection of Keystone. The Louisiana Supreme Court isn’t much of a supporter, at least in...more
The result was like others we’ve seen. Lessors Win. These wells are in Johnson and Tarrant County, Texas. Lessee Chesapeake Exploration sells to affiliate Chesapeake Marketing through affiliate-operator Chesapeake Operating....more
Football pundits like to discuss Red Zone effectiveness. Driving to the goal line doesn’t much matter if you don‘t score. So, why would a negotiating party fail to score an enforceable contract while negotiating from the Red...more
Political actions have consequences. A force majeure clause in New York oil and gas leases does not modify the primary term of the habendum clause and the leases are not extended because of the state ban “moratorium” on...more
Riddle: What’s the difference between a hydrocarbon molecule and the underground structure which the molecule inhabits?
Answer: In Texas, you can own one and not the other, according to Lightning Oil Co. v. Anadarko E&P...more
9/3/2015
/ Hydrocarbons ,
Leases ,
Mineral Leases ,
Mineral Rights ,
Minerals ,
Oil & Gas ,
Subsurface Estates ,
Surface Estates ,
Tortious Interference ,
Trespass ,
Well Drilling
Your Texas legislators have done their work and the citizens are safe for the next two years. The other good news is that industry supporters generally believe the 2015 Legislature was their friend.
House Bill 2: Set...more
8/13/2015
/ Desalination ,
Disposal Wells ,
Earthquakes ,
Energy Sector ,
Fracking ,
Fracking Bans ,
Groundwater ,
Groundwater Management Plan ,
Hydraulic Fracturing Study ,
Mineral Leases ,
New Legislation ,
Oil & Gas ,
Seismic Data ,
Water Supplies
We recently discussed failure to produce in paying quantities. Another decision involving the same lessee had a different result. Why? The question in both cases was whether the well was capable of producing in paying...more
One consequence of falling oil prices is leases that cease to produce in paying quantities. The producer’s question: How soon must the well return to profitability? The answer in BP American Production Company v. Laddex, Ltd....more