Oil and Gas Lawyer Blog

The below is from the Wall Street Journal. Conclusion? No one really knows. (Click on image to view.)

Struggles over fracking bans have been in the news for some time in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Ohio, New Mexico and other states. The State of New York has had a moratorium on fracking for several years. But until recently, cities and oil and gas companies in Texas had been able to…

The Energy Information Administration shows oil production from the Niobrara, Eagle Ford and Bakken fields dropping for the first time, by 24,023 bbl/d — much sooner than some predicted. Production from the Permian Basin is still rising. Operators may be delaying completion of wells already drilled, in effect storing their…

Last November, the Texas General Land Office lost its appeal in Commissioner v. SandRidge Energy, Inc., in the El Paso Court of Appeals. For the first time, a court has ruled that a lessee can deduct post-production costs under the Texas General Land Office’s Relinquishment Act lease form, citing Heritage…

Betty Lou Bradshaw’s parents owned 1773 acres in Hood County. In 1960, they sold the land and reserved 1/2 of the royalty on oil, gas and other minerals. Betty Lou inherited her parents’ royalty interest. In 2005, Steadfast Financial (subsequently renamed KCM Financial) acquired the right to purchase the land. In…

Here are bills filed in the current Texas Legislative session that may be of interest to mineral owners: House Bill 539: This is the bill to prohibit municipalities from banning drilling within their jurisdictions. Senate Bill 540: The Senate’s version of House Bill 539. House Bill 1552: Filed by Representative Craddick,…

A team of lawyers in Pennsylvania has filed an anti-trust suit against Chesapeake and Williams Partners (Formerly Access Midstream Partners) alleging that they conspired to restrain trade in the market for gas gathering services in and around Bradford County, Pennsylvania. The plaintiffs also sued Anadarko, Statoil, and Mitsui, all of…

Rigs stacked near Odessa, Texas.

On February 6, 2015, The Supreme Court of Texas released its second opinion in FPL Farming Ltd. (“FPL”) v. Environmental Processing Systems, L.C. (“EPS”).  The Beaumont court of appeals had held that injected fluids that migrate beyond the boundary of the land owned by the surface owner constitute a trespass on…