Last week the Texas Supreme Court granted petitions to hear appeals of two cases that could significantly affect the rights of Texas land and mineral owners: Atmos Energy Corp v. Town of DISH, 15-0613, and Lightning Oil Co. v. Anadarko E&P Onshore LLC, 15-0910. Last month, the court agreed to…
This article appeared yesterday in the New York Times: Land Rush in Permian Basin, Where Oil Is Stacked Like a Layer Cake. Exxon announced a $6.6 billion deal to buy the Bass family’s position in the Permian. Noble Energy agreed to buy Clayton Williams Energy for $2.7 billion, acquiring Williams’…
I read an article today saying that Russia Today has been publishing articles critical of hydraulic fracturing in an effort to suppress U.S. shale production and help Russia regain its footing as the world’s largest gas producer. I had never heard of Russia Today, so I looked it up –…
Last week the Texas Supreme Court wrote the final chapter in Texas Rice Land Partners’ efforts to prevent Denbury Green Pipeline-Texas, LLC from condemning an easement across its land for a CO2 pipeline. The court held in Denbury Green Pipeline-Texas, LLC, v. Texas Rice Land Partners, Ltd., et al., No. 15-0225,…
The protest movement over the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota has moved to West Texas. According to the Houston Chronicle, three camps are taking shape – two camps to protest the proposed Trans Pecos pipeline, near Alpine, and one camp in Toyahvale, home to the famous spring and pool…
Section 91.402(h) of the Texas Natural Resources Code, the “division order statute,” provides that the execution of a division order … shall not change or relieve the lessee’s specific, expressed or implied obligations under an oil and gas lease …. Section 91.402(g) of the division order statute provides that Division…
I recently read a biography of R.B. Masterson, famous cattleman, written by his son-in-law Z.T. Scott in 1930. Scott listed as Masterson’s first outstanding quality his honesty. “Schooled in the days when a man’s word was his bond and elaborate contracts with legal perplexities were unthought of, his sense of…
The article below appeared in the latest newsletter of the Texas Land and Mineral Owners Association. It reviews the Texas Railroad Commission’s recent amendment of its Rule 15, dealing with dormant oil and gas wells. Thanks to TLMA and the author, Trey Scott, for giving me permission to publish his…
When I last wrote about this case, I reported that the Texas Supreme Court had denied the petition for review of the Corpus Christi Court of Appeals’ decision affirming a $15 million arbitration award against Forest. On motion for rehearing, the Supreme Court granted the petition for review. The case…