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
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
In its May 22, 2024 non-precedential memorandum decision in Frye v. Penn View Exploration, Inc., 919 WDA 2023 (Pa. Super. Ct. May 22, 2024), the Pennsylvania Superior Court found that an oil and gas lease’s shut-in royalty...more
On February 15, 2023, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of PennEnergy Resources, LLC in the Dressler Family, LP v. PennEnergy Resources, LLC matter. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s review of this...more
There is no way to avoid it. It seems like everything costs more now than it did last week, last month and last year. Energy is one area with very sensitive prices. You have likely experienced the significant changes in...more
Many Pennsylvania landowners have leases with “market enhancement” royalty clauses. These clauses typically prohibit the deduction of any post-production costs that are incurred transforming the gas into marketable form. Once...more
Deducting fuel costs from landowner royalties continues to be an ongoing and widespread practice. Not only are landowners denied a royalty on the fuel gas volume, but they are also having that same “cost” deducted from their...more
Find out why companies making technology-based acquisitions should be prepared with defensible and supportable valuation analyses that can stand up to scrutiny....more
Confirming the obvious, in In re Etheridge a Texas court concluded that “personal effects,” in a last will and testament did not include mineral royalties. Let’s investigate how the case got this far....more
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
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
In a closely watched and long-awaited case with potentially sweeping industry-wide consequences, the Supreme Court of Ohio refused to adopt a default rule regarding deduction of postproduction costs from landowner royalties...more
We would all agree, I think, that oil and gas producers and royalty owners share at least one clear, common objective – the accumulation of wealth from hydrocarbon production. Nevertheless, because their’s is not a...more