Oil and gas title examinations are tough – and recent Texas Supreme Court and appellate court decisions on the construction of old royalty conveyances and reservations have complicated the examination process. These days it is hard to determine whether that 1950s deed reserved a “fixed royalty” (e.g. a 1/32nd interest in the oil and gas
Apparently, at least the staff of the Railroad Commission is taking an unduly restrictive view on Texas Rule 37. This Rule provides that, without notice and an opportunity for hearing, no well shall be drilled nearer than 467 feet to a property line. 16 TEX. ADMIN. CODE §3.37 3.37 (Tex. R.R. Comm’n, Statewide Spacing Rule).
Generally speaking, post-production costs are the expenses incurred in order to get natural gas from the wellhead to market. These costs include gathering, compression, dehydration, processing, fractionation, treating, handling, and transportation. For many years, natural gas sales were at the wellhead and price regulated (by the Federal Power Commission and later the Federal Energy Regulatory
Edward Wilhelm and I had the opportunity to make a presentation at the Ark-La-Tex annual landman conference late last month in Shreveport. By the way, the Ark-La-Tex is an excellent conference, competitively priced, and especially good if you are conducting business in east Texas or north Louisiana. One thing I see frequently, now, are 5-10
If you are looking to purchase oil and gas properties, you can safely assume that, prior to entering into negotiations, you will be required to into an agreement concerning the confidential nature of the information and data that will be exchanged. In short, you will be required to keep a lot of information confidential. Confidentiality
In Murphy Expl. & Prod. Co. - U.S. v. Adams, 560 S.W.3d 105 (Tex. 2018), a divided Supreme Court held that an offset well clause did not require an operator to drill a well to protect against drainage but, instead, required only that the operator drill a new well on the leased premises. Of course,
A partner in a large, international law firm proudly advertises that she assisted a client in the acquisition of an oil-field in the Permian Basin. The lawyer, who offices in Houston, advises that she graduated from law school with honors. Curiously, the lawyer is not licensed to practice law in Texas. A Denver based firm
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Orca Assets G.P., L.L.C., 546 S.W.3d 648 (Tex. 2018) is another reminder that operators are expected to perform due diligence before entering into a transaction. It is also, possibly, a reminder that an oil company is an unsympathetic Plaintiff. Orca entered into negotiations with The Red Crest Trust to lease
The Supreme Court refused certiorari in Devon Energy Prod. Co. v. Apache Corp., 550 S.W.3d 59 (Tex. Civ. App.-Eastland, 2018) in a case that is, remarkably, a case of first impression in Texas. The factual scenario in this case is simple: Norma Jean Hester leased her 1/3 mineral interest to Devon. The other mineral owners
Although most of my practice revolves around oil and gas operators, over the years I have had the pleasure of representing a number of oil and gas landowners – some quite wealthy. This has “morphed” into handling wills and trusts, estates, estate taxes, and the like. And of course, in such a practice you are
