In considering how many bad reasons President Obama might have in announcing a delay of his Keystone Pipeline decision, you’ve got to feel like the hungry mosquito at the nudist colony: There is so much opportunity you don’t know where to start. I can think of 253: 199 Democratic members of the U S House,
A Plaintiffs’ Jury Verdict in a Texas Fracing Case
Co-author Maryann Zaki
In case you’ve been living in your van down by the river, you’ve heard that a Texas jury awarded $2.9 million to landowners in a case involving alleged hydrocarbon exposure due to hydraulic fracturing operations. Here is the jury verdict. The Parrs sued Aruba Petroleum, alleging that drilling and fracing at
A Cost-Free Royalty Clause That Works – Part Two: The Override
Co-author Travis Booher
Welcome to part two of the hair-splitting decision in Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. v. Hyder. See our prior post about the basic facts.
More Facts
In addition to their cost-free royalty clause for wells on the leased premises, the Hyders also received an overriding royalty interest on wells drilled from pads located
Native Gas and Storage Gas: Who Owns It?
Northern National Gas Company vs. Approximately 9117 Acres in Pratt, Camden and Reno Counties, Kansas shows the relationship between Kansas oil and gas law and the Kansas Underground Storage Act (KSA §55-1201 et seq).
The result: Obtaining authority to condemn a subsurface reservoir works no instantaneous change of ownership in storage gas under Kansas
More on the Moral Case for Fossil Fuels and Other Topics
My recent post about Alex Epstein and the moral case for fossil fuels told only part of his story. He also says that the global warming “alarmists” have it all wrong. He refers to “unambiguous” data that CO2 emissions have risen from an atmosphere concentration of .03% to .04%, while over the same period climate-related
Federal Court: General Partnership Interest Could Be a Security
By: Martin P. Averill
Are general partnership agreements for oil and gas exploration considered “securities” governed by federal securities regulations?
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit thinks they could be. In SEC v. Jeffory D. Shields and Geodynamics, Inc. et al., the court reversed a trial court ruling which dismissed the
The Moral Case For Fossil Fuels
Do bystanders see oil and gas producers as taking a stand for morality? Alex Epstein of the Center for Industrial Progress says they should. He approaches the value of fossil fuels in our society differently from most industry defenders. The opponents make a moral case against fossil fuels: They destroy the earth and their use
A Cost-Free Royalty Clause That Works – Part One
Co-author Travis Booher
Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. v. Hyder is another hair-splitting Texas decision about “cost-free royalties”.
The Facts
The Hyder family executed a lease covering 1,037 acres. Chesapeake drilled 22 wells on the leased premises. The Hyders believed their lease provided for a “cost free” royalty; that is, no post-production deductions. Chesapeake deducted post-production
Distributions from a Texas Trust Deemed Separate Property
Co-author Alexandra A. Crawley
Conventional wisdom is that a spouse’s earnings from separate property are community property. But it’s not that simple. In Benavides v. Mathis a Texas court denied wife Leticia’s claim to one-half of the income derived from minerals held in a trust in which incapacitated husband Carlos was a beneficiary.
Years before
What is a Bird Worth to a Regulator?
What is a wild bird worth? Does it matter whether it is a Bald or Golden Eagle, of which here are few, or ducks and pelicans, of which there are enough (as least the ducks) so that hunters may shoot them for dinner. Does it matter how they meet their demise? Is a bird drowned