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
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
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
Since the early 1900’s, your family has owned a 105 acre farm in Greene County, Pennsylvania. In 2024, you and your siblings sign an oil and gas lease with XYZ Drilling Company. The language in the lease states that it...more
Questions about the zoning of oil and gas development operations have persisted in Pennsylvania for years. Now, cryptocurrency and data mining operations may create new wrinkles in long-running disputes about oil and gas...more
Foreshadowing a grim future for family weddings and funerals, Bell and Petsch v. Petch is a property dispute over five tracts of land in Gillespie County, Texas, in which siblings are the combatants. The events are less...more
Jobs in the U.S. energy industry rose 3.8% last year, faster than overall employment growth and led by work in clean energy, the Department of Energy said last Wednesday. According to the U.S. Energy and Employment Report,...more
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Biden Administration’s signature legislative achievement, includes several provisions aimed at fighting climate change by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The law represents the...more
On July 9, 2020, the Supreme Court issued its opinion in McGirt v. Oklahoma, ruling that most of the eastern half of Oklahoma is an Indian reservation. While the decision ostensibly resolves a jurisdictional challenge to a...more
Generally, if your will leaves your beloved “all … right, title and interest in and to”, said beloved would receive the entirety of your interest, whether a surface estate, mineral estate, or both. But in ConocoPhillips, et...more
Gas Drilling Not Damaging Forests' Waterways, State Finds - "Pennsylvania's state forests agency says it isn't finding damage to waterways amid the expansion of natural gas drilling in recent years, although it is reporting...more
Tuesday, Jun. 26, 2018 - Senate Energy and Natural Resources Hearings to examine the nominations of Teri L. Donaldson, of Texas, to be Inspector General, Christopher Fall, of Virginia, to be Director of the Office of...more
Here is what we believe is an unusual situation: A gas unit is formed. The gas well ceases to produce. Another gas well produces from an oil unit, but the lease at issue is not included in the oil unit. Is the lease...more
We have previously reported about protecting trade secrets from disclosure after a FOIA request. There is something to be said for immediate action and intervening to protect your trade secrets, but sometimes that just isn’t...more
A recent agreement between environmentalists and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) may open the floodgates to challenges of the sufficiency of Environmental Assessments (EA) or Environmental Impact Statements (EIS) for oil...more
Reese River Basin Citizens Against Fracking filed a complaint in federal court on June 27, seeking to enjoin the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from holding an oil and gas lease sale. The rural group is...more