Sponsoring the most paranoid Texas conspiracy theory since the puff of smoke from the grassy knoll, groups of neighborhood associations, homeowners, and businesses sued virtually all of the major Barnett Shale producers over their failure to complete negotiations for oil and gas leases for bonuses of up to $20,000 per acre. Cessation of negotiations –
“Paying Quantities” Revisited After 113 Years
Surely, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has been busy since century before last, but apparently not on a lot of oil and gas cases. The court revisited the standard, first established in 1899, for determining whether an oil and gas lease has produced in paying quantities. In T.W. Phillips Gas & Oil Co. v. Jedlicka,
Wolves and the EPA Revisited
My last post featured editorial kudos for the EPA’s evenhanded approach to regulation of one aspect of drilling: handling of methane and volatile organic compounds during fracking. Perhaps the accolades were premature. I speak of the recently exposed and widely distributed video of the then-new and recently-resigned EPA Region 6 director Al Armendariz invoking an
Isaiah’s Prophecy Fulfilled by . . . the EPA?
“The wolf will live with the lamb,
the leopard will lie down with the goat,
the calf and the lion and the yearling together . . .”
(Isaiah 11:6)
What does the Old Testament have to do with the oil business? It seems the EPA’s new rules on the capture of methane and volatile organic
Natural Gas Not Ready as a Transportation Fuel? There’s Always LNG Export
In a recent entry on the blog Exxon Perspectives, the huge producer presents a number of reasons why relying on compressed natural gas as a transportation fuel might be misplaced, at least for the near future. Among the obstacles:
- Vehicle costs are high
- Infrastructure is nonexistent and costs will be high
- CNG has lower
“Gotcha. I have a contract!”
So said the lessor-plaintiffs in Walker v. Chesapeake Louisiana, L.P. The lessee-defendant, the trial court, and the court of appeals said “Yes, but . . .”. The lessors accused the lessee of breaching six leases and sought cancellation. The court invoked the doctrine of “judicial control” that allows a court to avoid cancellation when equity
EPA Cries “Uncle”
Invoking the spirit of Emily Litella, the Environmental Protection Agency offered a govenmental “never mind” when it withdrew its emergency order that attempted to hold Range Resources responsible for contamination of drinking water on Parker County, Texas, well sites under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
Those who have followed this case know that
Texas Royalty Owners Beware
Remember the Wilford Brimley character in The Firm? “I get paid to be suspicious when I’ve got nothing to be suspicious about.” Shell Oil Company v. Ross commands you to think like Mr. Brimley. If you suspect your lessee is not paying proper royalties, do not wait to investigate. Even if you don’t suspect anything
The “single business enterprise” doctrine is alive and well in Louisiana
A lessee, operator, and contract driller were found to be a “single business enterprise” for the purpose of imposing statutory penalties and attorney fees for failure to pay royalties. The principle is that if one corporation is wholly under the control of another, the fact is it is a separate entity does not relieve the
What is the NPRI Owner’s Share of Production?
With apologies to Click and Clack, from time to time I will post “puzzlers”, questions about title and similar issues that have no apparent answer. Here is the first one:
Joe Bob Joiner owns a non-participating royalty interest under a tract. The amount of interest he owns is tied to the amount of royalty stated