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Texas › Oil & Gas › Surface Owner

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Creating a Chasm or Filling a Void?

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

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

Oliva Gibbs

Making a splash in the courts: The Cactus decision

Oliva Gibbs on

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

McGuireWoods LLP on

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

Jackson Walker

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

Jackson Walker on

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

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

Who Can Enforce Surface Provisions in an OGL?

McGinnis Lochridge on

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

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Texas Appeals Court Rules that Surface Owner Could Not Enforce Pipeline Burial Covenant in Oil and Gas Lease

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Let’s assume that you purchase a 105 acre farm in Greene County in 2022. You purchase only the surface estate while the seller, Farmer Jones, retains the underlying oil and gas rights. You intend to grow corn and winter...more

Jackson Walker

Mine: All Mine? Texas Ownership of Produced Water and Its Constituent Parts (Lithium)

Jackson Walker on

Is it mine? Is what’s in it mine too? The fight over produced water has become a contentious issue in the oil patch. Primarily, because it is a new and unforeseen source of revenue for operators and landowners....more

Gray Reed

Who Owns Produced Water in Texas?

Gray Reed on

In Cactus Water Services LLC v. COG Operating, LLC., a divided Texas court of appeals answered the question this way: The oil and gas producer prevails over the purchaser of the surface owner’s right to own and sell produced...more

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