In the latest episode of our energy law podcast, we discuss recent guidance from the Texas Supreme Court on interpreting oil-and-gas contracts; cross-jurisdictional differences surrounding the rule of capture and subsurface mineral trespass; and troubling class action developments for operators and other industry participants.
Podcast: Interpreting Oil-and-Gas Contracts, The Rule of Capture and Mineral Trespass, and Class Action Developments for Operators
Rule-of-Capture Showdown: Pennsylvania v. Texas
Last year, I wrote about Pennsylvania’s departure from Texas on the law surrounding trespass by hydraulic fracturing. As first stated in Coastal Oil & Gas Corp. v. Garza Energy Trust, 268 S.W.3d 1 (Tex. 2008), trespass claims for drainage by hydraulic fracturing are barred in Texas by the venerable “rule of capture”—shorthand for the theory […]
SCOTX Issues Another Key Decision for Interpreting Oil-and-Gas Contracts
The Texas Supreme Court, beginning in 2017, began issuing a number of decisions altering the analysis for the interpretation of oil-and-gas agreements, principally mineral leases and conveyances. I wrote about many of these opinions as they were released: “Texas High Court Ruling Sows Confusion On Mineral Deeds” (Wenske v. Ealy) (Law360, subscription required)—chipping away at […]
Offset Wells and the Ongoing “Fixed”-Versus-“Floating” Royalty Saga
In the latest episode of our energy law podcast, learn when an “offset well” is not an offset well, according to the Texas Supreme Court. Also, get up to speed on the latest installment in the ongoing “fixed”-versus-“floating” royalty saga that continues to confound courts and counsel across the Lone Star State.
The Neverending Story: “Fixed” vs. “Floating” Royalties in Texas
The Texas Supreme Court and our Courts of Appeals have now been struggling for years with the elusive distinction between “fixed” and “floating” royalties. In application, the difference between the two can have drastic and—depending on your position in a mineral title dispute—potentially catastrophic consequences.
Condemnation and Eminent Domain in the Oilfield and Beyond
In the latest episode of our energy law podcast, the Managing Partner of KRCL’s Houston office, Marcy Rothman, addresses recent developments on a topic that pipelines and other energy companies confront on a regular basis: condemnation and eminent domain.
SCOTX: Term Royalty Interests Survive the Rule Against Perpetuities
It is one of those arcane principles discussed at length in textbooks that manifests itself in the real world far less frequently: the rule against perpetuities, the notion “that no interest within its scope is good unless it must vest, if at all, not later than twenty-one years after some life in being at the creation of the interest.” Hunt […]
Oil and Gas Law: 2017 Year in Review
At the end of the year, I like to take stock—in summary form—of the leading decisions impacting the energy industry. Historically, this has been for my own personal reference, or something I share inside our firm with my partners. Since this crib sheet of sorts has been well received by my colleagues, I figured there […]
Texas Court of Appeals Decides Major Mineral Ownership Row
On December 14, 2017, the Corpus Christi Court of Appeals decided Haywood WI Units, Ltd. v. B&S Dunagan Investments, Ltd., et al., a long-running dispute over the ownership of minerals in Liberty County. The decision addresses mineral deed interpretation issues and the recoverability of attorneys’ fees under the declaratory judgment statute where non-possessory interests such […]
The Tension Between Executives and Non-Executives in Mineral Leases
This week, KRCL’s energy law podcast addresses the fiduciary obligations of the executive rights holder to non-executive mineral interest owners, as well as an important appellate decision about acreage retention clauses keyed off of proration units. Also covered in this week’s episode: the Supreme Court of Texas agrees to settle a rift between the intermediate appellate […]