The Energy Law Blog

MAY 25, 2007

By Anna Knull: In Hamilton v. Morris Resources, Ltd., the San Antonio Court of Appeals affirmed a decision in favor of holders of oil and gas deeds executed in the 1920s and 1930s over the claims of lessor, holding that, based on the four corners of the conveyances in question, the original deed holders did not intend to convey mineral estates differing in magnitude and duration, and that they had conveyed a mineral interest that did not convert to a fixed royalty interest under a subsequent Cor

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The Energy Law Blog

MAY 24, 2007

By Marie Carlisle: Boldrick v. BTA Oil Producers , No. 11-06-00029-CV, 2007 WL 865811 (Tex. App.—Eastland March 22, 2007). The Eleventh Court of Appeals of Texas recently affirmed a District Court ruling granting summary judgment to BTA Oil Producers (BTA) on the basis that that the joint operating agreement (JOA), which governed the assignment of an overriding royalty interest to Plaintiff/Appellant, specifically provided guidelines for payments owed on an overriding royalty interest created by

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The Energy Law Blog

MAY 23, 2007

By Jana Grauberger: Recently, Amy Myers Jaffe of Rice University’s Baker Institute spoke to the Women’s Energy Network of Houston on the topic of "The Changing Role of National Oil Companies in International Energy Markets." One interesting fact she presented is that, based on the amount of oil and gas reserve holdings, 14 of the top 20 upstream oil and gas companies in the world are national oil companies or newly privatized national oil companies.

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The Energy Law Blog

MAY 23, 2007

By Leta Seletzky : In Seagull Energy E & P, Inc. v. Railroad Comm’n, No. 03-0364, 2007 WL 1299163 (Tex. May 4, 2007), the Texas Supreme Court affirmed a decision by the Austin Court of Appeals upholding the Railroad Commission of Texas’ authority to regulate both drilling and production of commingled oil and/or gas deposits and to treat commingled deposits as one reservoir.

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Waste

The Energy Law Blog

MAY 21, 2007

By Jana Grauberger Oil prices of $60/barrel are expanding the industry and providing incentive and opportunities for more small independent "wildcatter" companies. For some interesting statistics concerning exploration trends and a profile of one wildcatter, Cobalt International Energy, see the attached article from the New York Times.

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The Energy Law Blog

MAY 21, 2007

By Jana Grauberger Two recent federal district court decisions have reached differing results in considering the scope of exculpatory clauses in JOA disputes. In PYR Energy Corp. v. Samson Resources Co., 470 F. Supp. 2d 709 (E.D. Tex. 2007), the court found itself bound to follow Fifth Circuit precedent set in Stine v. Marathon Oil Co., 976 F.2d 254 (5th Cir. 1992), which held JOA exculpatory language limiting operator liability to situations of gross negligence of willful misconduct applicable

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The Energy Law Blog

MAY 17, 2007

By Dana M. Douglas On April 20, 2007, the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (“DNR”) issued regulations establishing procedures for agency hearings and the submission and approval of remediation plans under Act 312 of 2006. Act 312, which enacted La. R.S. 30:29, made sweeping changes to the procedures for litigation involving potential environmental damage to oilfield sites, in order to ensure that remediation awards are actually expended on remediation.

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The Energy Law Blog

MAY 4, 2007

As previously reported, the trial court in M. J. Farms v. ExxonMobil held Act 312 of 2006, governing remediation of oilfield sites, to be unconstitutional. T he Louisiana Supreme Court has now held that the plaintiff did not properly raise the issue of constitutionality at the trial court level, and remanded to allow the plaintiff to specifically plead the unconstitutionality of the act.

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The Energy Law Blog

MAY 2, 2007

By Jonathan A. Hunter In Weyerhaeuser Co. v. A. D. Hinton , No. 07-30117 (5th Cir., May 1, 2007), the Fifth Circuit upheld a decision by the Federal District Court for the Western District of Louisiana rejecting a challenge to a group of mineral servitudes created in 1971. The plaintiff landowner, Weyerhaeuser Company, asserted that a series of formal "acknowledgments" executed by its corporate predecessor to interrupt prescription were part of an attempt to create fifty-year mineral servitude

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