Oil & Gas

EASEMENTS, RIGHTS OF WAY, & EMINENT DOMAIN

Hello friends. On December 17th, I will be presenting at a one-day educational seminar in Austin that will address easements, rights of way, and eminent domain. This is a good seminar for attorneys, right of way agents, landmen, engineers, surveyors, and administrative personnel. It will be approved for continuing education credits for virtually all professions.

By |2019-10-16T21:57:53-05:00October 16th, 2019|

USING STATUTORY DIVISION ORDERS TO CURE TITLE ISSUES

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

By |2019-10-15T21:55:31-05:00October 15th, 2019|

Rule 37 and Horizontal Wells – a time to rethink the regulatory burden?

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).

By |2019-09-12T21:49:33-05:00September 12th, 2019|

POST PRODUCTION COSTS – WRITING A CLEAR CLAUSE (AS THE HAYNESVILLE RECOVERS)

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

By |2019-03-20T21:46:41-05:00March 20th, 2019|

Production Sharing Agreements: A Call for Simplicity

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

By |2019-03-15T21:43:20-05:00March 15th, 2019|

Acquisition of Oil & Gas Properties: Confidentiality Agreements

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

By |2019-02-16T21:39:47-05:00February 16th, 2019|

When an offset well isn’t an offset well

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,

By |2019-02-16T21:36:25-05:00February 16th, 2019|

Acquisition of Oil & Gas Properties: Get a Lawyer Licensed to Practice

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

By |2019-02-06T21:32:11-05:00February 6th, 2019|

Who Pays the Royalties? Devon Energy v. Apache Corporation

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

By |2019-02-05T21:01:55-05:00February 5th, 2019|

Acquisition of Oil & Gas Properties: Recordation Statutes (Acquisition Blog No. 111)

Ultimately, every sale of an oil and gas property involves the transfer of a real estate interest. And, ultimately, the conveyance document(s) (deed or deeds) need to be recorded of record (“for the world to see and be on notice of”) in the official records of the county or parish in which the property is

By |2019-02-01T13:32:10-05:00February 1st, 2019|
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