Co-author Robbie S. MorrisChanneling Winston Churchill, Gray Reed lawyer Robbie Morris urges caution for document writers and the clients who hire them: Drafting a deed is not, as many view it, a clerical undertaking. Nothing can take the place of a diligent inquiry (by all parties and their counsel) into how the grantor derived
Co-author Chance DeckerThe Texas Supreme Court has agreed to hear oral arguments in a dispute over an “accumulation” provision in a continuous development clause of an oil and gas lease. The case is Endeavor Energy Resources L.P. v. Energen Resources Corp. et al. Here’s the language:
…this lease shall terminate … [150] days
Real author Paul YaleYou’re in for a treat today; a report from my Gray Reed partner Paul Yale on the Texas Supreme Court decision, Yowell v. Granite Operating et al, dealing with anti-washout clauses in assignments of overrides and that bane of all first year law students, the Rule Against Perpetuities. The Court,
If you follow the Marcellus shale there are political developments you should know about. Daniel Markind, a partner in the Philadelphia office of Flaster Greenberg PC, gave me permission to share this recent blog post.
Devastated By Coronavirus, New York’s Pipeline Politics Ensure A Tougher Second Round
By: This article originally ran on Forbes.com on May 20, 2020. All rights reserved.
Approximately 30% of all confirmed coronavirus cases in the United States have been reported in the New York City metropolitan area, which is located mainly in southeastern New York state and northeastern New Jersey. Last weekend, the administrations of the Governors of both states, Andrew Cuomo of New York and Phil Murphy of New Jersey, rejected once again the key permits for the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (NESE), a natural gas pipeline that would have ensured sufficient natural gas supply to much of New York City and its environs. These decisions probably mean the death of NESE.
Click here to read the article in its entirety on Forbes.com.
Continue Reading Marcellus Pipeline Permits Rejected by New York and New Jersey
Let’s begin with a quiz:
What is a “Labor” ? Assuming you met one face to face, how big is would you expect it to be?*
From Great Western. Drilling, Ltd. v. Pathfinder Oil & Gas, Inc. we learn that if you want one agreement to be conditioned on execution of another one, you’d better say so … in writing … in the first one. Texas courts look for ways to avoid conditions precedent.
Continue Reading Offer to Acquire Leases Could Not be Conditioned on a JOA
Co-author Kelley Clark MorrisGeary v. Two Bow Ranch Limited Partnership* is an example of the havoc an unusual contract provision can create.
In 1981, Geary and other Grantors executed a warranty deed conveying 2,614 acres (let’s call it the Property) in Bandera County, Texas, to Meader, Two Bow’s predecessor. The Grantors reserved an undivided one-half mineral interest, and conveyed one-half. The deed conveyed to Meader the ”executory rights” to its minerals and reserved the same to Grantors over their half. The deed included this “Provisional Authority” language:
“Grantee may control the executory rights pertaining to the minerals provided the Grantors and Grantee share equally in any and all proceeds related thereto.”
Continue Reading “Provisional Authority” to Control Executive Rights Not Assignable
The question in Cannisnia Plantation, LLC v. Cecil Blount Farms, LLC was whether a well was drilled in good faith in order to interrupt the running of prescription on a Louisiana mineral servitude.
The Mineral Servitude
If you conduct your business where they don’t have the Mardi Gras, the nutria, or the King of Zydeco, be mindful that in Louisiana there is no “mineral estate” that lives in perpetuity. Instead, there is the mineral servitude. See Mineral Code Article 21: “ … the right of enjoyment of land belonging to another for the purpose of exploring for and producing minerals and reducing them to possession and ownership.” Among the modes of extinction of mineral servitudes is prescription for nonuse for 10 years.Continue Reading Louisiana Servitude Extended by Good Faith Drilling
Co author Kelley Clark MorrisSamson Expl., LLC et al v. Moak considered the duties owed by a unit operator to an unleased mineral interest owner in tracts within the unit but on which no well is drilled or completed.
Continue Reading Examining a Unit Operator’s Duties to an Unleased Mineral Owner
Co-authors Ethan Wood and Rusty Tucker
We read the comments and listened in on portions of the historic April 14 hearing on the proposal that the Commission order market demand prorationing of Texas oil and gas production. Of the 120+ written comments, 51 supported, 59 opposed, 12 were neutral, and several were not clear.
Here is our summary of the comments.* To read them for yourself, go to: https://www.rrc.state.tx.us/general-counsel/open-meetings/comments-received-re-the-rrcs-april-14-2020-open-meeting/Continue Reading Who Said What at the Railroad Commission Market Demand Prorationing Hearing?
Co-author Rusty TuckerContract construction cases are fact-specific, but one can take lessons of general application from all of them. Here are the takeaways from Jones Energy, Inc. v. Pima Oil & Gas, L.L.C.,
Caveat: If this analysis doesn’t make total sense (or, God forbid, makes no sense at all), it’s because the agreements are complicated and we don’t have the space to dive into them in detail. Focus on the takeaways.
Continue Reading Lessons from an Override Assignment