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Contract Interpretation Oil & Gas TX Supreme Court

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Colored Horses, Toxic Brews and Lithium Too?

Does the Texas Supreme Court’s Decision in Cactus Water Services v. COG Operating Provide Guidance About Lithium and Rare Earth Minerals Ownership in Pennsylvania? Lithium demand is expected to continue to increase as...more

Jackson Walker

Texas Supreme Court Clarifies Default Ownership of Produced Water in Oil & Gas Leases – Key Questions Remain

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On June 27, 2025, the Texas Supreme Court issued a pivotal decision in Cactus Water Services, LLC v. COG Operating, LLC, holding that under the language of the granting clause found in the standard oil and gas lease, produced...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

McGinnis Lochridge

Supreme Court of Texas Washes Out the “Anadarko Washout”

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The so called “Anadarko Washout” involves a washout of oil and gas leases on undivided working interests owned by non-operating mineral cotenants. This particular species of lease washouts is based on two recent cases from...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

McGinnis Lochridge

Who Owns the Empty Space? Texas Supreme Court Affirms Surface Ownership of Salt Caverns in Landmark Ruling

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In Myers-Woodward, LLC v. Underground Services Markham, LLC, No. 22-0878, 2025 WL 4356581 (Tex. May 16, 2025), the Texas Supreme Court resolved two significant issues affecting mineral owners and surface owners: (1) who owns...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Texas Supreme Court Rules on Modification of NPRIs

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In this recent case, the Texas Supreme Court resolved whether ratification of a lease or signing of a stipulation agreement could transform a fixed non-participating royalty interest (NPRI) into a floating NPRI....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

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Contextual “Construction” of Force Majeure Clauses

The Texas Supreme Court recently provided new guidance in interpreting force majeure language in an oil and gas drilling dispute. In Point Energy Partners Permian, LLC v. MRC Permian Company, the court held that the oil and...more

Gray Reed

Texas Supreme Court Rules on “Bespoke” Add-Back Royalty Clause

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In Devon Energy Production Company, LP et al v. Sheppard et al, the Supreme Court of Texas construed what it referred to as a “bespoke” and “highly unique” royalty clause in several oil and gas leases to prohibit the...more

Holland & Knight LLP

A Closer Look at Nettye Engler Energy, LP, v. BlueStone Natural Resources II, LLC

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The Supreme Court of Texas has once again tackled the heavily contested issue of postproduction costs in royalty calculations. In Nettye Engler Energy, LP, v. BlueStone Natural Resources II, LLC, No. 20-0639, the Court was...more

Gray Reed

Texas Supreme Court to Consider Continuous Development Clause

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The Texas Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in a dispute over an “accumulation” provision in a continuous development clause of an oil and gas lease.  The case is Endeavor Energy Resources L.P. v. Energen...more

Pillsbury - Policyholder Pulse blog

Texas Supreme Court Requires Insurers to Pay Anadarko Full Deepwater Horizon Defense Costs Under CGL “Joint Venture Provision”

The Supreme Court of Texas delivered good news to policyholders insured under a “Joint Venture Provision” endorsement commonly used in the oil and gas industry. In Anadarko Petroleum Corp. v. Houston Casualty Co.—a case...more

King & Spalding

Texas Supreme Court Finds Anadarko is Entitled to Over $100 Million in Deepwater Horizon Defense Costs Based on Undefined Term in...

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Insurance coverage litigation arising out of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion continues to result in important precedents that will impact energy companies and policyholders with operations in Texas. On January 25, the...more

Porter Hedges LLP

Energy Litigation Alert: "SCOTX Reviews A Texas-Sized Drilling Dispute - Three Takeaways From Barrow-Shaver Res. Co V. Carrizo Oil...

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The Texas Supreme Court recently heard oral argument in Barrow-Shaver Res. Co v. Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc., No. 17-0332, on the interpretation of a farmout agreement providing that an assignment could not be made “without the...more

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,...

Oil and Gas Lease: Texas Supreme Court Addresses Offset Provision

The Texas Supreme Court (“Court”) recently ruled in favor of Murphy Exploration & Production Company—USA (“Murphy”) in a dispute arising from the location of an offset well on the properties of Shirley Mae Herbst Adams and...more

Gray Reed

Ask and You Shall (Not?) Receive: Retained Acreage Clauses and the Texas Supreme Court

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Two Texas Supreme Court decisions published on the same day confirm that retained acreage clauses that vary in language from one instrument to another will likely vary in effect. Depending on the language, the lessee might...more

Porter Hedges LLP

Business Litigation Alert: "Texas Supreme Court Ruling Highlights the Importance of Heeding 'Red Flags' During Pre-Contract...

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Last month, the Texas Supreme Court upheld a lower court’s decision to toss a lawsuit by Orca Assets GP LLP against JP Morgan Chase over property in the Eagle Ford Shale. ...more

Gray Reed

NPRI Reservation Survives Rule Against Perpetuities

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Recall the Battle of the Bastards: The heroic Lady Sansa and the duplicitous Lord Baelish gallop over the hill to save the foolish Jon Snow from the heinous Ramsey Bolton. In similar fashion, but without the malnourished...more

Gray Reed

Fraud Claim Rejected for Unreasonable Reliance

Gray Reed on

The ruling from the Supreme Court of Texas in JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., et al v. Orca Assets, G.P., L.L.C. was foreseeable. Experienced energy professionals who pass on the opportunity to examine title for themselves are...more

Gray Reed

Opinions to Expect From the Texas Supreme Court

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The Texas Supreme Court recently heard oral argument in three intriguing oil and gas cases. Here’s what you need to know about two of them (We’ll address the third case soon)....more

Gray Reed

Option Contract Ruling Reversed by Texas Supreme Court.

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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

Carlton Fields

Insurance is Big in Texas: In Deepwater Horizon Case, Texas Stretches a Policy’s Four Corners to Include Other Contracts

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Last month, in In re Deepwater Horizon, Relator, the Supreme Court of Texas applied a fundamental principle of insurance law to a case with enormous financial implications. The owner of the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig had...more

Cozen O'Connor

Texas Supreme Court Incorporates Limitations From An “Insured Contract” Into GL Policy

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In In re Deepwater Horizon, Cause No. 13-0670, Slip Op., Feb. 13, 2015, the Texas Supreme Court held that an allocation of liability found in an “insured contract” would determine the coverage provided to an additional...more

Beveridge & Diamond PC

Texas Supreme Court Rules Additional-Insured Coverage is Limited by Underlying Indemnification Agreement in In re Deepwater...

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In a much anticipated 8-1 decision, the Texas Supreme Court ruled Friday that BP is not entitled to additional-insured coverage in In re Deepwater Horizon, No. 13-0670 (Feb. 13, 2015)....more

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