“Ratification is not a game of ‘gotcha’”, said the Texas Supreme Court in BPX Operating Co. v. Strickhausen. The Court, in a 5-4 opinion, addressed the standard for an oil and gas lessor’s implied ratification of an unauthorized pooling. Among other lessons, this decision warns royalty owners to be careful when cashing those royalty checks.
Continue Reading Supreme Court Introduces Totality of the Circumstances Test for Implied Ratification
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
What does it take these days to get money from a Texas jury? Not much, it seems; in XTO v. Goodwin the trick was convincing a higher court that you should keep it.
Let’s start with the minefield that is the law of evidence:
Co-author Chance DeckerHere is what we believe is an unusual situation: A gas unit is formed. The gas well ceases to produce. Another gas well produces from an oil unit, but the lease at issue is not included in the oil unit. Is the lease perpetuated by production from the second gas well?
In Yarbrough v. ELC Energy, LLC The answer is, in Texas, Yes. Read on for why, and decide for yourself if this result makes sense.
Continue Reading An Unusual Way To Hold an Oil and Gas Lease
Trigger warning for Texas readers: This entry will discuss forced pooling. You may now retreat to your “safe space”, where “no guvment-sumbitch-bureaucrat can conspire with [name of large oil company] to steal my stripper well.”
TDX Energy, L.L.C. v. Chesapeake Operating, Inc. doubles down on XXI Oil and Gas v. Hilcorp Energy Company from the Louisiana Third Circuit, while giving a useful tutorial on the purpose and effect of Louisiana forced pooling. Caveat: Pay attention below to the statute as amended.
Continue Reading Louisiana Forced Pooling – Timing is Important
Have you ever wondered about the original purpose of the retained acreage clause? According to Professor Kramer, it was “to prevent the lessee from losing those portions of a lease that had productive wells thereon if the rest of the lease terminated”. The term
Efforts to introduce forced pooling into Texas law continue. House Bill 100, the Oil and Gas Majority Rights Protection Act, has been introduced by Rep. Van Taylor in the Texas legislature. Today’s post summarizes the bill. Upcoming entries will ponder whether it is a victory over the tyranny of the myopic
