In Endeavor Natural Gas III, LLC v. Comanche Maverick Ranch Investments, L.P., a Texas court held that operator Endeavor could not conduct seismic operations on lessee/surface owner Commanche’s ranch because the parties’ surface-use agreement allowed such operations ” … only after first entering into a mutually agreed-upon seismic surface use permit
You would think that a Master Service Contract concerning boats and oilfield operations in the Gulf of Mexico would be governed by federal maritime law. In some situations you would be mistaken, says Offshore Oil Services, Inc. v. Island Operating Company, Inc.
The facts
Fieldwood and Island Operating entered into a MSC through which
In Cromwell v. Anadarko E & P Onshore LLC the Supreme Court of Texas did what it so often does: In order to provide “legal certainty and predictability”, the Court considered the plain language of a contract in order to arrive at the parties’ intent.
At issue were habendum clauses in two oil and gas
Alas, we might never know. Opiela v. Railroad Commission of Texas and Magnolia Oil & Gas Operating, was a challenge to the Commission’s authority to issue permits for allocation wells and wells drilled under Production Sharing Agreements. The parties have submitted a Joint Unopposed Motion For Reversal and Remand Pursuant to the Parties’ Settlement
In In the Matter of Offshore Oil Services, Inc., Offshore owned and operated the M/V Anna. Offshore sued Island Operating Company for exoneration and/or limitation of liability for a personal injury claim by an employee of Island. The question (after a series of earlier rulings): After reaching a settlement with the employee of Island
Frontier Drilling, LLC v. XTO Energy, Inc. has the indicia of an inequitable result, but as I remind my wife every time she objects to what she deems to be an outrageous jury verdict, we don’t know all the facts and the court’s gotta follow the law, so let’s not judge.
The facts
Drilling
Landowner and mineral owner (that includes you, lessee): Under ETC Texas Pipeline, Ltd. v. Ageron Energy, LLC, your right to sue for damages for tort or trespass could pass into history before you even know you have a claim. Here’s why:
Under the legal-injury rule (more on that later), a property claim based on trespass
Antero Resources Corp. v. C & R Downhole Drilling, Inc. et al, proves again the extreme risk when one bites the hand that feeds him. Shoutout to Greek poet Sappho, 600 BCE.He She (oops) probably had a Dalmation. Antero sued former employee Kawsak and his accomplices Robertson and his companies for breach of
Parkman v. W&T Offshore, Inc., et al features two contractors playing hot potato over liability for a company man’s alleged negligence. The takeaway: Write your Master Service Agreement to address your liability concerns, and then pay attention to what really happens on the location, regardless of what the MSA says. (And good luck monitoring that