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Breach of Contract Oil & Gas

McGinnis Lochridge

When Force Majeure Isn't Enough: The Causation Trap That Cost Kinder Morgan $100 Million

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In case you somehow forgot, the 2021 Valentines Day storm coined “Snovid,” “Snowmageddon,” or officially labeled Winter Storm Uri, blanketed Texas in snow and ice, even bringing snowfall to Galveston Beach. As temperatures...more

McGinnis Lochridge

When $180 Million Rides on an Expert's Supplementation Decision

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$180M oil case lost when Apollo refused to fix expert's flawed damages model. Without expert testimony meant no damages recovery in technical fields. In Apollo Exploration, LLC v. Apache Corporation, No. 11-19-00183-CV, 2025...more

McGinnis Lochridge

"Void" Means Void: How Missing Consent Toppled a $2.5 Million Pipeline Judgment

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The Tyler Court of Appeals reversed a $2.5 million judgment against pipeline successors (Coffeyville Resources Crude Transportation, LLC v. ExxonMobil Pipeline Co., No. 12-23-00276-CV, 2025 WL 356222 [Tex. App.—Tyler Jan. 31,...more

McGinnis Lochridge

When "Imprudent" Becomes Irrelevant: How Express JOA Language Overrides Operator Discretion

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In this case, Texas Crude Energy, LLC (Texas Crude) and Warwick-Athena, LLC (Warwick) (collectively, the non-operators) sued Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Co., LP (Burlington or the operator) after Burlington refused to...more

McGinnis Lochridge

An Overview of the Standard Measure of Damages Arising from Claims Associated with an Oil and Gas Lease

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This Article examines legal damages in the oil and gas industry. More specifically, this Article identifies the rules for measuring common legal damages in oil and gas cases. Further, this Article seeks to identify all...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Plain Language Meets Common Sense: Hidden Traps in Oil Patch Contract Interpretation

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What happens when a court reads your contract literally for one issue but decides what 'makes sense' for another? A geophysicist just found out. In early April 2025, the Amarillo Court of Appeals reversed in part and...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Texas Business Court Weighs Jurisdiction over Out-of-State Property Interests

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When can a Texas court rule on New Mexico property disputes? The answer hinges on whether the property interest is 'central' or just 'incidental' to the real fight....more

Gray Reed

Texas Operator Protected From Royalty Payment Error

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The takeaway from DDR Weinert, Limited et al v. Ovintiv USA Inc. is that equitable recoupment rescued a royalty payor from its mistaken payment of royalties. But first, The events. The Richters were mineral lessors...more

Gray Reed

Two Words = Six Million Dollars: SCOTX Reverses Trial Court That Added Words to a Gas Transportation Agreement

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In American Midstream (Alabama Intrastate), LLC v. Rainbow Energy Marketing Corporation, the Texas Supreme Court held that the trial court improperly inserted the words “scheduled” and “physical” into a contract. By...more

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

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

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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

Gray Reed

Operator Excused from Texas Relinquishment Act Claims

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In Williams O & G Resources, LLC v. Diamondback Energy, Inc., a federal magistrate judge concluded that the Texas Relinquishment Act does not apply to public-school lands patented after 1931. The report and recommendation was...more

McGinnis Lochridge

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

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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

Gray Reed

Uri Force Majeure Cases Still Percolating

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Thought you’d heard the last of force majuere cases arising from Winter Storm Uri? Think again. In Marathon Oil Company v. Koch Services LLC. the question was how to measure damages suffered by Koch for Marathon’s...more

Gray Reed

Geophysicist’s Claims Turn on Definitions

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Sewak v. Sutherland Energy Co. Ltd. is of interest for how the court defined terms commonly used in consulting contracts in the oil and gas industry, and how difficult it is to foresee all contingencies when negotiating a...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Tackling Free-Use and At-The-Well Royalties

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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

Gray Reed

Marcel Exception to Louisiana Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Act Clarified

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An understanding of Willis v. Barry Graham Oil Service LLC requires knowledge of two principles underlying the Louisiana Anti-Oilfield Indemnity Act: The LOAIA bars an oilfield agreement to the extent that the agreement...more

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Une mine de bitcoins exploitée sur une concession de pétrole et de gaz fait l’objet d’une injonction permanente

Dans Roy Flowers v. Persist Oil and Gas Inc., la Cour du Banc du Roi de l’Alberta (la « Cour ») a prononcé une injonction permanente interdisant à la défenderesse d’exploiter une entreprise de minage de bitcoins parce que le...more

Gray Reed

Texas Court Limits Tortious Interference Claims in Oil & Gas Assignment Dispute

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The growling and barking presented by a claim for tortious interference is often far worse than the bite. Consider Segundo Navarro Drilling, Ltd. v. Chilton , which is a good example of that phenomenon in an oil and gas...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Who Can Enforce Surface Provisions in an OGL?

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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

McGinnis Lochridge

Winter Storm Uri and Force Majeure: The Legal Battles Continue

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Winter Storm Uri sent shockwaves through Texas, freezing gas supplies at a time of critical need and plunging the state into widespread power outages. In the aftermath, the courts have been flooded with force majeure claims,...more

Gray Reed

How Does the Model Form JOA Address an Operator/Non-Operator Dispute?

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Texas Crude v. Burlington Resources Oil and Gas considers the relationship between the operator and non-operators under Articles V and VI of the 1982 Model Form Joint Operating Agreement....more

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Don’t Be a Junkyard Dog: Put Your Agreements in Writing!

A federal judge in Louisiana has dished out some harsh criticism of contractors who don’t reduce their contracts to writing. The case involves the decommissioning of 26 orphaned oil and gas wells near Baton Rouge. The...more

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Court Issues Permanent Injunction Against Bitcoin Mining on Oil and Gas Lease

In Roy Flowers v. Persist Oil and Gas Inc., the Court of King’s Bench of Alberta issued a permanent injunction precluding the defendant from operating a Bitcoin mining operation, based on the failure of the underlying lease...more

Gray Reed

Texas Supreme Court Allows Enforcement of a JOA Debt After Foreclosure

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In Steelhead Midstream Partners, LLC v. CL III Funding Holding Company, LLC, the Texas Supreme Court authorized a pipeline owner’s breach-of-contract claim—alleging a co-owner used foreclosure to avoid cost-sharing...more

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