The drought in Texas, along with improved recyclying technology, has driven efforts to increase recycling of water used in hydraulic fracturing of wells. According to one estimate, the fracing of wells in 2011 consumed on the order of 135 billion gallons of water – about 0.3 percent of total U.S.…
Range Resources Range Resources’ battle with the Lipskys and Alisa Rich continues, now in a confusing appeal of the trial court’s order denying the Lipskys’ and Rich’s motion to throw out Range’s counterclaim under the Texas law prohibiting so-called Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation, or SLAPPs. http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/04/02/4745433/appeals-judges-return-range-suit.html Earthquakes and Disposal…
State Representative Harold Dutton, Jr. has introduced a bill in the Texas Legislature to amend Texas’ Open Beaches Act. What does this have to do with oil and gas, you may ask? Read on. Last year, the Texas Supreme Court decided a case interpreting the Open Beaches Act, Severance v.…
Production allocation wells continue to be a simmering issue in Texas. Last Friday I attended the Ernest E. Smith Institute on Oil, Gas and Mineral Law sponsored by the University of Texas School of Law, and one of the topics presented was a paper titled “Drafting Production Sharing Agreements.” The paper…
I recently read this astounding report from the Texas Tribune: “In 2011, Texas used a greater number of barrels of water for oil and natural gas fracking (about 632 million) than the number of barrels of oil it produced (about 441 million), according to figures from the Texas Water Development…
UT’s Bureau of Economic Geology has issued a comprehensive report on the estimated reserves in the Barnett Shale Field. The study, funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, looked at 16,000 wells in the field. It has been submitted for peer review before publication, but a summary of the report…
The US Environmental Protection Agency has recently issued its report on greenhouse gas emissions under its Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, which for the first time includes comprehensive reported emissions from the petroleum industry. The report covers 8,000 facilities in nine industry sectors for 2011, and total reported emissions were 3.3…
The Texas Supreme Court denied the LaSalle Pipeline’s petition for review in LaSalle Pipeline v. Donnell Lands, leaving the San Antonio Court of Appeals’ original opinion intact. See my discussion of the case here. The trial court awarded $468 per rod $28.36/foot) for an easement for a 16-inch pipeline. The…
The E&P industry is continuing to face public criticism of its use of fresh groundwater in fracing wells and its failure to disclose the chemicals added to frac water. On February 5, the Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) issued a press release announcing that shareholders have filed resolutions with Cabot O&G, Chevron,…
The Texas Supreme Court has agreed to hear arguments in a case that could have important implications for landowners and oil and gas exploration companies: Merriman v. XTO Energy, No. 11-0494. Merriman’s attorneys are asking the Court to reverse the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, at Waco, which they contend…