Read about most recent developments here. After failed efforts of the industry to self-police destruction of lizard habitat in the Permian, the US Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to launch a full review of a proposal to classify the lizard as either endangered or threatened. The saga goes back…
Oil and Gas Lawyer Blog
Here’s An Interesting Graph on Shale Plays
Click on graph to enlarge.
Chesapeake Bankruptcy – The Rise and Fall of a 21st Century Wildcatter
I first wrote about Chesapeake Energy in 2009, and I’ve written multiple posts about the company since. Founded in 1983 by two Oklahoma landmen, Aubrey McClendon and Tom Ward, Chesapeake grew into one of the largest natural gas producers in the country. During that time the company transformed natural gas…
Switch On – a New Documentary about Energy From Dr. Scott Tinker and the Switch Energy Alliance
Dr. Scott Tinker and Switch Energy Alliance have released their second documentary about energy, Switch On. A great film. Scott’s first documentary, Switch, debuted in 2012, an award-winning film that has now been seen by millions. It sought to educate Americans and the developed world about the sources and uses…
Pipeline Loses Condemnation Appeal – Hlavinka v. HSC Pipeline
The First Court of Appeals in Houston agreed with the Hlavinkas that HSC Pipeline Partnership, an Enterprise Products company, had failed to prove it has authority to condemn a pipeline easement across their land in Brazoria County. Hlavinka v. HSC Pipeline Partnership, No. 01-19-00092-CV. The Hlavinkas purchased 15,000 acres in…
Recovery of the Oil Market
From Bloomberg Opinion: “The International Energy Agency … doesn’t think demand will have fully recovered by [the end of 2021]. In the final quarter of next year it predicts global oil demand will still be running about 2 million barrels a day below pre-pandemic levels, and more than 4% below…
Fifth Circuit Upholds Takings Claim Against Groundwater District
The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that a landowner has stated a judiciable claim against the Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District (BVGCD) for an unconstitutional taking of his groundwater rights. David Strata, et al. v. Jan A. Roe, et al., No. 18-60994. Fascinating facts. Groundwater Districts were created…
Texas Supreme Court Acts on Two Significant Oil and Gas Cases
Yesterday the Texas Supreme Court denied a petition in one case and granted a petition in the other, both dealing with provisions in oil and gas leases. The Court denied Chesapeake’s petition in Chesapeake v. Bell, construing an express drainage offset clause in Bell’s lease. The San Antonio Court of…
Bush v. Lone Oak Club – Texas Supreme Court Once Again Dives Into the Arcane Law of Water Boundaries
Lone Oak Club, a hunting and fishing club, owns a tract of land in Galveston County near Galveston Bay, through which runs Lone Oak Bayou: Members of the public boat up into Lone Oak Bayou and sometimes wade and fish or hunt in its shallow waters. Lone Oak complained about…
Texas Supreme Court Weighs In On Application of Rule Against Perpetuities to Overriding Royalty Reservations
Last week the Texas Supreme Court issued its opinion in Yowell v. Granite Operating Company, No. 18-0841, again grappling with the ancient Rule Against Perpetuities in the context of modern oil and gas transactions–the second time in two years in which the court tackled the inscrutable “Rule.” The facts (simplified):…