Last month, the Texas Supreme Court issued a decision that addresses the vexing situation in which the owner of the executive rights also owns the surface, but none (or virtually none) of the minerals. What is the duty of the executive rights holder […]
The San Antonio Court of Appeals recently determined that the acceptance of royalty payments will not necessarily operate as a waiver of a mineral lease's anti-pooling provision. The decision, Strickhausen v. Petrohawk Operating Company, is available […]
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In the latest episode of our energy law podcast, learn about offset wells and liquidated damages as unenforceable penalties; the arrival of anti-SLAPP in the oil patch; and the Texas Supreme Court's warning to mineral purchasers: buyer beware […]
The Texas Supreme Court heard oral arguments last week in a case that has the potential to alter the landscape of the industry. In Barrow-Shaver Resources Co. v. Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc., the parties had entered into a farmout agreement that gave […]
Earlier this week, in Seeligson v. Devon Energy Production Co. LP, the Fifth Circuit reversed a Texas federal court's decision to certify a class of mineral lessors who had sued Devon Energy for the alleged underpayment of royalties. While at first […]
In the latest episode of our energy law podcast, learn when an "offset well" is not an offset well, according to the Texas Supreme Court. Also, get up to speed on the latest installment in the ongoing "fixed"-versus-"floating […]
Earlier this month, in Murphy Exploration & Production Co. USA v. Adams, a deeply divided Texas Supreme Court departed from the venerable "plain-language rule" of contract construction when it determined that a lease requiring the operator […]
Offset Wells and Liquidated Damages as Unenforceable Penalties. Oil-and-gas leases—at least those drafted by savvy mineral owners—will often include an offset drilling clause. Such clauses stipulate that, if a well is drilled on a neighboring […]
It is one of those arcane principles discussed at length in textbooks that manifests itself in the real world far less frequently: the rule against perpetuities, the notion "that no interest within its scope is good unless it must vest […]
Although the New Year is still young, there are already many legal developments to report in the oil and gas sector. In no particular order, this is a cross-section of what has emerged at the intersection of the law and the energy industry thus far in […]
At the end of the year, I like to take stock—in summary form—of the leading decisions impacting the energy industry. Historically, this has been for my own personal reference, or something I share inside our firm with my partners. Since this crib […]