The Energy Law Blog

JANUARY 29, 2007

The Louisiana Department of Natural Resources has issued a proposed amendment to Statewide Order 29-B that details the procedures the Department will follow in implementing oilfield clean-up plans referred to the Department under Act 312 of 2006. The Legislature passed Act 312 in 2006 to address the problem that damages awards in oilfield remediation litigation were not required to be expended on remediation.

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The Energy Law Blog

JANUARY 25, 2007

The Oil & Gas Journal’s Annual Forecast & Review will be available as a live webcast on 1:30pm, CST Thursday, January 25. To watch the webcast of this valuable industry information: 1. Click on www.ogjonline.com 2. Scroll down to webcasts 3. Click on "Annual Forecast & Review " to go to the registration page. The webcast will continue to be available online for one year following the live presentation.

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The Energy Law Blog

JANUARY 24, 2007

The Associated Press reported today that a federal jury found Kerr McGee liable for additional royalties on crude oil produced from federal properties and sold through Texon. The case is noteworthy in that it was brought as a False Claims Act case by Bobby Maxwell, an auditor with the Mineral Management Service, who alleged that his superiors at the MMS refused to pursue his recommendation to demand additional royalties from Kerr McGee.

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The Energy Law Blog

JANUARY 12, 2007

On January 8, 2007, a Louisiana trial judge held Act 312 of 2006 to be unconstitutional. The Louisiana Attorney General’s office immediately filed notice that it will take a suspensive appeal directly to the Louisiana Supreme Court. M.J. Farms, Ltd v. ExxonMobil Corporation 24,055 (La. 7th J.D.C. Jan. 8, 2007). Act 312, which became effective June 8, 2006, requires involvement of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in litigation alleging environmental contamination, including

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The Energy Law Blog

JANUARY 11, 2007

Two developments this week will increase protections for South Louisiana’ s Port Fourchon and Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP). Port Fourchon handles more than 75% of the oil and gas production from the Gulf of Mexico, while LOOP is the only port in the U.S. capable of offloading the deepest draft tankers. First, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) added Port Fourchon and LOOP to the list of ports eligible for federal security grants under the Port Security Grant Program, which provide

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The Energy Law Blog

JANUARY 9, 2007

In Waterfowl Limited Liability Co. v. United States , No. 05-30219 (5th Cir. Dec. 12, 2006), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the petition for panel rehearing, withdrew its earlier panel opinion, and held that Louisiana law did not apply to a settlement agreement that arose out of earlier litigation over mineral servitudes.

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The Energy Law Blog

JANUARY 4, 2007

Contributed by Andrew Wooley In Via Net v. TIG Insurance Co., the Supreme Court of Texas recently concluded it was not reasonable for a party to believe it was an additional insured under another party’s commercial general liability policy, based only on a certificate of insurance provided by the other party’s insurance broker. After noting that certificates of insurance generally do nothing more than acknowledge the existence of a policy and its general terms, and do not specify “the numerous

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The Energy Law Blog

JANUARY 4, 2007

On February 13, the Texas Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case involving important issues to the Texas oil and gas industry, including whether or not Texas recognizes an independent private cause of action for waste based on violations of Texas conservation laws and whether an oil and gas lessee commits waste by plugging abandoned wells with minerals remaining in the reservoir.

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The Energy Law Blog

JANUARY 4, 2007

A deed reserving a mineral servitude for a period of ten years does not create a ten-year fixed servitude, but instead re-affirms the statutory ten-year prescription of nonuse applicable to mineral servitudes established in article 27 of the Louisiana Mineral Code. Thus, the right did not expire after the passage of ten years, but was kept alive by mineral production.

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