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Appeals Royalties Oil & Gas

Gray Reed

A Lesson on How Not to Recover an NPRI in Texas

Gray Reed on

It seems to be fairly well settled that you can’t use trespass-to-try-title to recover a nonpossessory royalty interest in Texas. What if you call the interest a “mineral interest stripped of every attribute except the right...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Spartan Delta Appeal Raises Uncertainty for Co-Lessees After Insolvency

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Years after an insolvency proceeding is closed, can a solvent co-lessee/working interest participant (WIP) still be on the hook for their former partner’s share of unpaid Crown royalties? A recent Alberta Court of Appeal...more

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Alberta Court Declares Ministerial Decision Under Oil Sands Royalty Regime Unfair and Unreasonable

In a judicial review, the Alberta Court of King’s Bench, in Imperial Oil Resources Limited v. Alberta (Minister of Energy), overturned decisions (Decisions) made by a delegate of the Minister of Energy, the Director of...more

Gray Reed

Ambiguity Frees Louisiana Royalty Owner From Post-Production Costs

Gray Reed on

In Franklin v. Regions Bank the Fifth Circuit concluded that a royalty clause in a mineral lease resulted in a gross proceeds royalty; the royalty owners did not bear their proportionate share of post-production costs. Read...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Sixth Circuit Rules That Driller Must Establish Marketability of Each Gas Product Under Market Enhancement Clause

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Let’s assume you own 105 acres in Greene County, Pennsylvania. In 2020, you signed an oil and gas lease with ABC Exploration. During the negotiations, you agreed that only those post-production costs which actually...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Texas Supreme Court Clarifies Limits of Shut-In Payment Notations in Lease Disputes

McGinnis Lochridge on

In this case (Scout Energy Mgmt., LLC v. Taylor Properties, No. 23-1014, 2024 WL 5249490 [Tex. Dec. 31, 2024]), the Texas Supreme Court held that vague notations on shut-in royalty check receipts cannot modify an unambiguous...more

McGinnis Lochridge

All Depths or Just One Formation? Court Clarifies Royalty Conveyance in Rock River v. Pioneer

McGinnis Lochridge on

This recent case (Rock River Minerals, LP v. Pioneer Nat. Res. USA Inc., No. 08-23-00216-CV, 2024 WL 4528917 [Tex. App.—El Paso Oct. 18, 2024, no pet. h.]) explored whether an assignment of an overriding royalty interest,...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Affirmative Defenses Are Insufficient to Rebut the Van Dyke Presumption

McGinnis Lochridge on

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

McGinnis Lochridge

Can "Free of Cost" Term Achieve Point-of-Sale Royalty Base?

McGinnis Lochridge on

A lessee who halts production for less than 40 days and resumes without drilling or reworking does not terminate the lease. The continuous development clause keeps the lease active, and the cessation clause allows resumed...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Ohio Appeals Court Rules that Horizontal Shale Well Was “On” the Leased Premises

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Let’s assume you own a 175 acre farm in Washington County. Your grandfather acquired the farm back in 1948 from Farmer Brown (the “1948 Deed”). Your grandfather always said that he bought both the surface and oil and gas. In...more

Oliva Gibbs

Happiness is Setting Clear Boundaries — Especially in Overriding Royalty Assignments

Oliva Gibbs on

Assignments of interests in oil and gas leases often incorporate by reference outside agreements. This can be a helpful shortcut to avoid including every lengthy and confidential provision that was drafted during negotiations...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Pennsylvania Superior Court Reaffirms the Dunham Rule

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Let’s assume you inherited a 150 acre farm in Lycoming County that has been owned by your family since 1909. In 2020, you are approached by ABC Drilling about a new oil and gas lease for the farm. You retain counsel and...more

Oliva Gibbs

Coverting a “Fixed” to a “Floating” NPRI: What (If Anything) Does ConocoPhillips v. Hahn Add to the Conversation?

Oliva Gibbs on

In ConocoPhillips Co. v. Hahn, the Supreme Court of Texas addressed whether a “fixed” nonparticipating royalty interest (“NPRI”) was later converted to a “floating” NPRI. The court weighed two possible means of this...more

Holland & Hart LLP

Eighth Circuit Affirms Producer's Royalty Calculations Under North Dakota Law

Holland & Hart LLP on

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has affirmed a district court’s ruling that overriding royalty owners generally must bear their share of post-production costs under North Dakota law. The Eighth...more

Gray Reed

Louisiana Operator Slapped by Appellate Court

Gray Reed on

Louisiana’s compulsory pooling scheme seeks to balance the interests of individual landowners and oil and gas operators to promote responsible development of natural resources. Because of compulsory pooling, operators are not...more

Winstead PC

Court Holds That Venue For Suit Over Royalties By A Trustee Was Proper Due To Statutory Venue Provision Even Though The Suit Did...

Winstead PC on

In In re Equinor Tex. Onshore Props., a trustee filed two cases against different defendants in the same county regarding a royalty dispute under oil and gas leases. No. 05-20-00578-CV, 2020 Tex. App. LEXIS 8042 (Tex....more

Bennett Jones LLP

Can an Insolvency Court Extinguish Interests in Land Through Vesting Orders?

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The Ontario Court of Appeal recently released the second of two highly anticipated decisions stemming from the receivership proceedings of Dianor Resources Inc. The first decision clarified the test used to determine when a...more

Bracewell LLP

Texas Supreme Court Expands Upon the Rights of Oil and Gas Producers to Deduct Post-Production Costs in Burlington Resources Oil &...

Bracewell LLP on

To the relief of oil and gas producers, the Texas Supreme Court ruled on March 1, 2019, in Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Company, L.P. v. Texas Crude Energy, LLC (No. 17-0266), that post-production costs were rightfully...more

Bennett Jones LLP

A Producing Royalty as an Interest in Land: The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Follows Dianor

Bennett Jones LLP on

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

King & Spalding

Fifth Circuit Issues Decision Concerning Overriding Royalty Interests and Louisiana Oil Well Lien Act Claims

King & Spalding on

The ATP Oil & Gas Corporation bankruptcy case (Case No. 4:12-bk-36187, S.D. Texas) (“ATP”) involved the intersection of energy and bankruptcy law on a variety of issues. Most recently, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals...more

Bennett Jones LLP

Ontario Court of Appeal Clarifies and Reaffirms Dynex: Gross Overriding Royalties and Interests in Land

Bennett Jones LLP on

In a decision of critical interest to the holders of overriding royalties in the mining and oil and gas sectors, the Ontario Court of Appeal has clarified the test used to determine when a royalty interest constitutes an...more

Gray Reed

An Oil and Gas Case to Expect From Louisiana, and Another From Texas

Gray Reed on

Anyone seeking stability in the law governing E&P activities in Louisiana will view the lower court decision as a grave error that must be corrected. Virtually every mortgage provides safeguards to protect collateral and...more

K&L Gates LLP

Lessons Learned from the Fourth Circuit’s Decision to Vacate Class Certification in Coalbed Methane Royalty Underpayment Cases

K&L Gates LLP on

As oil and gas production continues to increase domestically, the possibility for class action exposure is an increasing concern. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently issued its decision in EQT...more

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