The Texas Supreme Court has reconsidered its decision not to hear two appeals involving retained acreage clauses: XOG Operating, LLC v. Chesapeake Exploration Limited Partnership, No. 15-0935, and Endeavor Energy Resources, L.P. v. Discovery Operating, Inc., No. 16-0155. The Court initially refused to consider the cases, after ordering briefs on…
From UT Austin Bureau of Economic Geology, Credit: Bridget Scanlon. Click to enlarge.
Landowners in Texas challenged the right of pipelines to condemn easements for intrastate lines in Texas in Texas Rice Land Partners, Ltd. v. Denbury Green Pipeline-Texas, LLC, decided in 2011. The Texas Supreme Court held that a pipeline seeking to exercise the power of eminent domain must prove that the…
From OilPrice.com: Last year, the value of U.S. energy exports to Mexico was US$20.2 billion, while the value of U.S. energy imports from Mexico was only US$8.7 billion, according to the EIA. On the other hand, Mexico’s oil and gas output is 40 percent off its peak levels, an S&P…
Last May, the San Antonio Court of Appeals issued an opinion in Texas Outfitters Limited v. Nicholson, No. 04-16-00392-CV, addressing the duty of holders of the mineral executive right to its non-executive mineral owner – a case now pending on application for writ of error in the Texas Supreme Court.…
The rising cost of sand is causing producers to reduce its use in fracking. See article from Reuters. Reduced demand for sand could cool the Permian sand mine boom. According to the Houston Chronicle, the lower cost of Permian sand could cut operators’ sand costs by 40%.
With the drop in oil prices has come a wave of litigation over underpayment of royalties. Multiple suits have been filed against Repsol (formerly Talisman) over its royalty payments in the Eagle Ford. Multiple suits against Devon for royalty underpayment have been consolidated into a multi-district docket in San Antonio.…
In a case of first impression, the Texas Supreme Court has held that the same land can be included in two pooled units, and that the lessee must pay royalties on the same well to the royalty owners in both pooled units. Samson Exploration v. T.S. Reed Properties, Inc., 2017…
A recent report by the Environmental Integrity Project and Environment Texas, reviewing results of state records reporting illegal air releases from oil and gas facilities between 2011 through 2016, finds that the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality imposed fines for less than three percent of 24,839 “upset” events, even though…
Once the largest landowner in Texas with 3.5 million acres of land, Texas Pacific Land Trust now owns 888,333 acres of land in West Texas. The Trust is owned by holders of “shares of proprietary interest” traded on the New York Stock Exchange. TPLT’s story is a window into the…