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Oil & Gas Contract Terms Breach of Contract

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

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

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

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

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

Gray Reed

How to Work for Free Under a Master Service Agreement

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Kouatli v. Endeavor Energy Resources L.P. offers valuable (and obvious) lessons on how NOT to perform a Master Service Agreement in the oil patch (or, per Billly Bob and friends, “The Patch”), to wit...more

Gray Reed

Arbitration Result Can Be “Good”, “Bad” or “Ugly”

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The message in RSM Production Corporation v. Gaz du Cameroun SA: According to the federal Fifth Circuit, an arbitration tribunal’s construction of a contract and the arbitration rules governing the dispute “hold, however...more

Oliva Gibbs

Happiness is Setting Clear Boundaries — Especially in Overriding Royalty Assignments

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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

Gray Reed

Definitions Mattered in Oil Field Master Services Agreements

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MDC Enegy LLC v. Crosby Energy Services Inc. et al. was an indemnity dispute in which the players were many and the facts complicated. But first...more

Gray Reed

Sole Discretion Not to Close Renders Texas Oil Deal Unenforceable

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Maverick Natural Resources, LLC at al v. Glenn D. Cooper Oil & Gas, Inc. is for control freaks wherever you are … and for those of you who advise the aforesaid control freaks....more

Oliva Gibbs

The Force (Majeure) May Not Be So Strong in This One

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In a recent lawsuit, an oil producer claims significant monthly losses due to a forced pipeline shutdown, alleging the pipeline company violated their contract by failing to adhere to U.S. laws and ensure operational...more

Oliva Gibbs

The Texas Division Order Statute: How It Works and Who It Serves to Protect

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A division order is a statement executed by all owners of interests in an oil and gas well.  The division order’s essential purpose is to “authorize and direct to whom and in what proportion to distribute” proceeds from the...more

Oliva Gibbs

If the Lease Requires Notice, Then Provide Notice: Simple Enough?

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I. Background In the case of Kirkbride v. Antero Res. Corp., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is faced with a novel argument on the interpretation of a condition precedent within an oil and gas lease. The case comes to the...more

Gray Reed

Master Service Agreement Dispute Turns on Definitions

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The outcome of a multimillion-dollar suit was in the hands of a jury of 12 good and honorable citizens. The question: Was a certain party an agent, consultant, contractor, or none of the above? One side wanted the jury to be...more

Gray Reed

A Day Made a Difference in This Purchase and Sale Agreement

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And what a difference it was! In Apache Corp. v. Apollo Expl. LLC et al, Apache and others acquired an oil and gas lease on 100,000+ acres in the Texas Panhandle. The primary term was three years. The effective date was...more

Gray Reed

Insurance Coverage Not Limited by a Texas Service Agreement

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As you negotiate your master service agreements are you confident that you know how insurance choices might affect indemnity obligations? Me neither. That’s why I turn to my Gray Reed partner Darin Brooks and his insurance...more

Gray Reed

Long-Running Texas Boundary Dispute Continues

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Ellison v. Three Rivers Acquisition LLC et al., on remand from the Texas Supreme Court, is the third round of a boundary dispute between mineral lessees in Irion County.   For the history of Ms. Ellison’s odyssey from...more

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