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Texas Oil & Gas

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Creating a Chasm or Filling a Void?

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If you drive around Pennsylvania, you are likely not going to encounter a “For Sale” sign offering a cavern in the ground. But the voids, pore spaces, and cavities in the subsurface can be quite valuable now and in the...more

Gray Reed

Oral Promises, Paper Truths in a Texas Mineral Transaction

Gray Reed on

The Texas Supreme Court in Roxo Energy Company, LLC v. Baxsto, LLC reinforced a fundamental contract principle: when fully integrated agreements plainly conflict with prior oral representations, reliance on those inconsistent...more

McGinnis Lochridge

Oil & Gas Newsletter: Producer's Edge, Vol. 7, Issue 1

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The McGinnis Lochridge Oil and Gas Practice Group publishes the Producer’s Edge with the purpose of keeping our valued clients and contacts in the oil and gas industry updated and informed regarding interesting Texas case law...more

Gray Reed

Texas Court Splits Family Timber Land Over Heir’s Objections

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“He who comes for the inheritance is often made to pay for the funeral”.* When heirs inherit property together and can’t agree on its use, Texas courts strongly prefer dividing the land physically rather than forcing a sale,...more

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

Oliva Gibbs

Making a splash in the courts: The Cactus decision

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In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court of Texas held in Cactus Water Services, LLC v. COG Operating, LLC, that produced water belongs to the operator. When presented with a case where both the operator and a third party...more

McGuireWoods LLP

Texas Supreme Court Rules Produced Water Is Oil-and-Gas Waste, Further Disputes Foreshadowed

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On June 27, 2025, the Supreme Court of Texas issued an opinion in a closely watched case addressing the ownership of produced water — the byproduct of drilling, fracking and formation fluids. In Cactus Water Services v. COG...more

Gray Reed

A Lesson on How Not to Recover an NPRI in Texas

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It seems to be fairly well settled that you can’t use trespass-to-try-title to recover a nonpossessory royalty interest in Texas. What if you call the interest a “mineral interest stripped of every attribute except the right...more

Cozen O'Connor

The State AG Report – 07.24.2025

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Here are curated AG and federal regulatory news stories highlighting key areas in which state and federal regulators’ decisions are having an impact across the US: • Latest Texas AG Food Probe Puts Mars in a Sticky...more

McGinnis Lochridge

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

McGinnis Lochridge on

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

Gray Reed

Limitations and Standing to Sue Dry Up Landowners’ Claim to Texas Riverbed

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State of Texas. V. Reimer et al. studied lawyer-nerdy questions of standing to bring a lawsuit and statutes of limitations as applied to inverse condemnation suits.  Spoiler alert: To the chagrin of the landowners, waiting...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

McGinnis Lochridge

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

McGinnis Lochridge on

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

Freeman Law

2025 Texas Legislative Update | Exemption from Oil and Gas Severance Tax for Certain Restimulation Wells

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Among the laws enacted by the 89th Texas Legislature was HB 3159, which provides an exemption from oil and gas severance taxes for certain restimulation wells....more

Bracewell LLP

Texas Senate Bill 6 Ushers in Major Overhaul of Large Load Interconnection and Grid Access Rules

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Electricity demand in Texas is growing at rates not seen in over 70 years, and is projected to continue increasing at unprecedented rates. This marked escalation is driven by population growth, electrification of oilfield...more

McGinnis Lochridge

26-Step Mechanical Framework For Interpreting Deeds? Texas courts reject "mechanical" deed interpretation while creating a 28-step...

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The El Paso Court of Appeals recently published an opinion that provides what might be characterized as 26-step step system for analyzing a deed that (perhaps inadvertently) highlights a growing irony in Texas jurisprudence....more

Gray Reed

It’s Been Decided, In Texas the Mineral Lessee, Not the Surface Owner, Owns Produced Water

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In Cactus Water v. COG Operating, the Supreme Court affirmed that mineral lessee COG, not water rights owner Cactus (who derived it rights from the surface owner), has the right to possession, custody, control, and...more

Pillsbury - Gravel2Gavel Construction & Real...

From Waste to Wealth: Texas Supreme Court Ruling in Cactus Water Defines Produced Water Ownership, Sets Stage for Clarity on...

On June 27, 2025, the Texas Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Cactus Water Services, LLC v. COG Operating, LLC, No. 23-0676, resolving a high-stakes dispute over the ownership of produced water—a vexing...more

Bracewell LLP

Texas Supreme Court Affirms Mineral Estate Ownership of Produced Water in Landmark Ruling

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In a significant decision for Texas property and energy law, the Texas Supreme Court has affirmed the Eighth Court of Appeals’ ruling in Cactus Water Services, LLC v. COG Operating, LLC, holding that produced water — a...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

McGinnis Lochridge

Are Statute of Limitations Battles Becoming the New Frontline in Water Injection Cases?

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When your neighbor's wastewater tanks your oil wells, when exactly can you sue? A Texas court wrestles with a timing question reshaping industry battles....more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Well, Well: Outlook for CCUS Projects in Texas Improves as EPA Proposes to Delegate Permitting Authority and the Texas Supreme...

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On June 17, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule to approve Texas’s application for primary permitting and enforcement responsibility (primacy) for carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration wells...more

Gray Reed

How Did the 2025 Texas Legislature Address Energy?

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Your Legislature has adjourned after enacting significant bills affecting the energy industry. To sum it up, the industry has friends in high places whenever the Lege is in session (Alternative energy was in jeopardy for a...more

Jackson Walker

Pore Some More: Current Legal Considerations of Pore Space Ownership in Texas

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Texas has been the leader in American energy independence for more than a century. Decades of industry innovation have provided Texas real property owners with new ways to extract value from minerals, water, and more...more

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