News & Analysis as of

Texas Oil & Gas Real Estate Transactions

Gray Reed

Oral Promises, Paper Truths in a Texas Mineral Transaction

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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

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

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

Vinson & Elkins LLP

Texas Supreme Court Clarifies Ownership of Salt Caverns

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On May 16, 2025, the Texas Supreme Court issued a decision ruling that, absent specific contractual language, surface owners retain ownership of the caverns created by salt mining operations. The issue of ownership of salt...more

Bracewell LLP

Surface vs. Mineral Owners: Texas Supreme Court Settles Salt Cavern Ownership Dispute

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The Texas Supreme Court has settled the issue of who owns the voids, known as salt caverns, created in subsurface salt formations (whether naturally occurring or caused as a result of salt mining operations). In...more

Gray Reed

Who Owns the Subsurface Pore Space in Texas?

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In a word, the surface estate owner. If that’s all the learning you are up for today, proceed directly to the musical interludes. If you want to know why the Supreme Court of Texas had to say this again, read on....more

McGinnis Lochridge

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

McGinnis Lochridge on

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

McGinnis Lochridge on

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

Oliva Gibbs

Reservation or Limitation on Warranty? Navigating the Fine Line — Lessons from Valence Operating Co. v. Davidson

Oliva Gibbs on

In Valence Operating Co. v. Davidson1, the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana addressed whether the provision, “all Oil, Gas and other Minerals have been excepted and reserved by former...more

Gray Reed

What’s the Difference Between a Mineral Reservation and an Exception?

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The category is “terms that confuse us” for one hundred dollars. Without resorting to your favorite legal dictionary or lawyer, explain the difference between a reservation and an exception in a Texas warranty deed. Stumped?...more

Gray Reed

Texas Court Shields Severed Mineral Interests from Tax Foreclosure Judgment

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In Bush v. Yarborough Oil & Gas, LP a decades-old tax foreclosure judgment did not affect a previously severed mineral interest not owned by the delinquent taxpayer. The mineral owners were neither named nor served in the...more

Gray Reed

Ratifications, Stipulations, and Fixed vs. Floating Royalty Interests

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After four stops at the lower courts, Kenneth Hahn v. ConocoPhillips has been resolved by the Supreme Court of Texas. The Court opined on the effect of two instruments often used to clarify land titles in Texas: ...more

Gray Reed

Texas Supreme Court Will Review Produced Water Case

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Who owns produced water in Texas?  And what is produced water anyway – oil and gas waste and part of the mineral estate, or groundwater and part of the surface estate?  We may be closer to an answer to these questions now...more

Oliva Gibbs

Coverting a “Fixed” to a “Floating” NPRI: What (If Anything) Does ConocoPhillips v. Hahn Add to the Conversation?

Oliva Gibbs on

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

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