Oil and Gas Lawyer Blog

Published on: June 26, 2014

Amarillo Court of Appeals Refuses to Apply Accommodation Doctrine to Groundwater

Last week, the Amarillo Court of Appeals issued its opinion inn City of Lubbock v. Coyote Lake Ranch, LLC, No. 07-14-00006-CV, holding that the accommodation doctrine did not apply to restrict the City’s use of Coyote’s land to develop the City’s groundwater under the land.

In 1953, the City of Lubbock bought the rights to groundwater under the land now owned by Coyote Lake Ranch. In that deed, the City acquired all groundwater rights, and “the full and exclusive rights of ingress and egress in, over and on said lands so that the Grantee of said water rights may at any time and location drill water wells and test wells on said lands for the purpose of investigating, exploring, producing, and getting access to percolating and underground water.” The deed granted the right to lay water lines, build reservoirs, booster stations, houses for employees, and roads, “together with the rights to use all that part of said lands necessary or incidental to the taking of percolating and underground water and the production, treating and transmission of water therefrom and delivery of said water to the water system of the City of Lubbock only.”

In 2012, the City proposed a well field plan for the property and began testing and development under that plan. Coyote sued, asking for a temporary injunction to halt the City’s activity. Coyote claimed that the City failed to accommodate Coyote’s existing uses of the property (the opinion does not say what those uses are), and that the City could use alternatives that would lessen damage to Coyote’s use of the land. The trial court granted the temporary injunction, holding that Coyote was likely to be able to show at trial that the City’s plan could be “accomplished through reasonable alternative means that do not unreasonably interfere with [Coyote’s] current uses.” The City appealed from that order.

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Published on: June 23, 2014

Texas Supreme Court Decides Key Operating v. Hegar

By John McFarland

The Texas Supreme Court last week decided Key Operating & Equipment, Inc. v. Hegar, No. 13-0156, reversing the courts below and holding that Key Operating has the right to use a road crossing Hegar’s tract to produce from a well on adjacent lands.

The legal principle the Court applied is not surprising and did not substantially change existing precedent. But the unusual facts of the case illustrate how far the Court will go to protect the rights of mineral lessees when those rights conflict with interests of the surface owner.

The legal precedent the Court followed is this: when two tracts are combined to create a pooled unit, the operator of the unit has the right to use the surface of all of the land covered by the leases included in the unit to operate wells located anywhere on the unit, regardless of the location of the well.

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Published on: June 19, 2014

Concerns Continue of Water Well Contamination from Hydraulic Fracturing

By John McFarland

Investigations continue in response to complaints of alleged contamination of water wells from drilling activity in the Barnett Shale.

In May, the Texas Railroad Commission issued a report of its investigation of complaints of well contamination by methane in Parker County. It concluded that “the evidence is insufficient to conclude that Barnett Shale production activities have caused or contributed to methane contamination in the aquifer beneath the neighborhood.”

But Parker County resident Steve Lipsky, who’s complaint at the RRC caused it to conduct its new study, continues his battle with Range Resources, arguing that its wells are responsible for the methane in his water well. Two other scientists who have reviewed the RRC test data concluded that the gas in Lipsky’s water is definitely the result of fracking operations.

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Published on: June 9, 2014

Reclamation of Lands Impacted by Oil and Gas Operations

By John McFarland

In the last century in West Texas, oil and gas exploration in the Permian Basin scarred the landscape. Below is a Google Earth view of an area of Ward County in far West Texas, showing the drilling pads and roads from oil and gas development.

Ward County Google.JPG

At the time of this development the surface of this land, dry and semi-desert, was considered relatively worthless, and the impact of oil exploration to the surface of the land was considered a small price to pay for the wealth of oil found under the ground.

Today, landowners have become more ecologically conscious and protective of the natural environment of their lands. Increasingly, oil and gas leases are including provisions requiring restoration of the surface by exploration companies. But restoration of semi-arid lands in West Texas is not a simple task and requires patience and expertise, as well as significant resources.

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Published on: June 5, 2014

Groningen Gas Field

By John McFarland

Ever heard of the Groningen gas field? Neither had I, until I read a recent article in the New York Times. It is in the Netherlands, and was discovered in 1959.

The field is operated by a joint venture of Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil. Today, the field produces about one-third of all natural gas produced in the European Union. It produces more gas each year than Russia recently committed to sell to China, and contributes some $16.4 billion a year to the Netherlands’ national government. According to Wikipedia, as of 2009 the field had produced 39.3 trillion cubic feet, 60% of total reserves, and production is expected to last for another 50 years. It is listed as the ninth largest gas field in the world, based on estimated recoverable reserves. For comparison, the EIA estimates total U.S. proved shale gas reserves at about 129 tcf. Some gas field.

The NYT article reports that earthquakes linked to the depletion of the field have recently been increasing in number and intensity, and the Dutch government has required the operator to reduce production by 20% to see if that will quell the tremors. That will put more pressure on the EU to find alternate gas supplies.

Published on: May 28, 2014

A Second Nuisance Verdict in Barnett Shale

By John McFarland

A jury has awarded damages in a second nuisance case against an operator, this time against Chesapeake Energy. In Crowder et al. v. Chesapeake Operating Inc., case number 2011-008169-3, in Tarrant County Court at Law, the jury awarded the Crowders $20,000 for what the jury found to be a temporary nuisance – drilling operations conducted by Chesapeake in a field behind their house, where Chesapeake has drilled 13 wells. The Crowders complained of offensive odors and extensive noise. The jury failed to find that Chesapeake’s operations created a permanent nuisance, which would have entitled the Crowders to additional damages. The Crowders filed their suit in 2011.

While the jury award in Crowder will not excite plaintiffs’ attorneys to look for additional such cases — unlike the $2.9 million verdict recently awarded in another case, Lisa Parr v. Aruba Petroleum, Cause No. 11-01650-E, in the County Court at Law No. 5 of Dallas County — the case does show the viability of nuisance claims aimed at oil and gas operations near residences, especially in urban areas.

The Dallas city council recently adopted a drilling ordinance prohibiting well locations within 1,500 feet of any residence, effectively prohibiting most drilling within the city limits. The setback in Fort Worth is 600 feet. There are more than 1,700 wells in the City of Fort Worth.

Published on: May 23, 2014

Two New Technologies Could Change How We Use Energy

By John McFarland

Here are two emerging technologies that could change how we might use natural gas to fuel our cars and electrify our homes and offices.

A company called Redox Power Systems is building a plant in Florida to produce The Cube, a dishwasher-sized system that generates electricity from natural gas using electro-chemical fuel cell technology.

With almost no moving parts, The Cube can provide enough electricity to power a gas station or a small grocery store. It also generates heat that can be used to heat a home or business. It’s technology was developed at the University of Maryland. The system also emits carbon dioxide, but according to a review by MIT, its emissions should be lower than those associated with power from the grid. Redox plans to complete a 25-kilowatt prototype and start selling complete systems by the end of this year.

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Published on: May 12, 2014

Green Lake and “Holes”

By John McFarland

Recently my son was watching the movie “Holes,” a great adventure movie based on a book by the same name written by Louis Sacher in 1988. Sacher also wrote the screenplay for the movie, which came out in 2003. In the story, Stanley Yelnats IV, a teenager, is sent to Camp Green Lake, a juvenile detention camp, for stealing a pair of sneakers. Green Lake was a dried-up lakebed in Texas where the camp detainees were forced by the evil warden (played by Sigourney Weaver) to dig holes looking for a buried treasure. It’s a great growing-up story.

Camp Green Lake.JPG

The movie reminded me that Green Lake is a real place in Texas that has its own fascinating legal history.

Green Lake is the largest natural fresh-water lake in Texas. Located in Calhoun County near the coast, it covers an acre of about 10,000 acres.

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Published on: May 5, 2014

Texas Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Hooks v. Samson

By John McFarland

The Texas Supreme Court has granted the plaintiffs’ petition to review a case important for Texas mineral owners, Hooks v. Samson Lone Star. I wrote about this case when it was decided by the Houston First Court of Appeals in 2011. The court of appeals’ opinion reversed a judgment for $21 million against Samson Lone Star in a case involving alleged bad-faith pooling and fraudulent misrepresentations by the Hooks’ lessee. The court of appeals threw out the judgment, holding that Texas Supreme Court precedent required it to hold that the Hooks’ claims were barred by the applicable statute of limitations.

The statute of limitations bars claims if they are not filed within four years (or two years for some claims) of the event that caused the damages or injury for which the claim is brought. In some cases, courts have excused the delay in filing claims if the damage or injury was not discovered until a later date. Under this “discovery rule,” the statute of limitation is “tolled” until the plaintiff discovered or, with reasonable diligence, should have discovered, her injury. Also, courts have held that the statute of limitations is tolled where the defendant fraudulently conceals the facts giving rise to the damage or injury.

Over the last several years, the Supreme Court has severely narrowed the circumstances under which plaintiffs can invoke the discovery rule or claim fraudulent concealment to toll limitations on a claim, particularly in suits by mineral owners against their lessees. In Exxon v. Emerald in 2009, the Supreme Court reversed an $18 million judgment against Exxon on the basis that the mineral owners’ claims were barred by limitations — despite an express finding by the jury that the plaintiffs had filed their claim within four years after they discovered or should have discovered Exxon’s fraudulent conduct. In 2011, the Supreme Court in BP v. Marshall overruled a jury verdict in favor of royalty owners, holding that their claim was barred by limitations as a matter of law even though the jury had found that the lessee had fraudulently concealed the facts and that the plaintiffs had no reason to discover the true facts until less than two years prior to filing suit.

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Published on: April 28, 2014

$3 Million Verdict for Nuisance in Barnett Shale Case

By John McFarland

There’s lots of buzz about a recent verdict in a case filed by a landowner in Dallas County alleging injuries from air emissions from drilling and production of Barnett Shale wells in Wise County. The case is Lisa Parr v. Aruba Petroleum, Cause No. 11-01650-E, in the County Court at Law No. 5 of Dallas County. The jury returned a verdict for personal injury and property damages of $2.9 million. According to the petition (Parr – 11th Amended Petition.pdf), Aruba had 22 wells within two miles of the Parrs’ 40 acres, including one within 800 feet.

CNN quotes the plaintiff, Lisa Parr, as saying that says she’s not opposed to the work oil companies do. She simply wants them to do their business responsibly.

“We are not anti-fracking or anti-drilling. My goodness, we live in Texas. Keep it in the pipes, and if you have a leak or spill, report it and be respectful to your neighbors. If you are going to put this stuff in close proximity to homes, be respectful and careful.”

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