If you follow the Texas Railroad Commission closely, you should read Ammonite Oil & Gas v. Railroad Commission of Texas, in which the Supreme Court rejected a mineral owner’s effort to force pool an interest under the Mineral Interest Pooling Act. (Read here for the Austin Court of Appeals ruling and the
Regulations
U. S. Supreme Court Diminishes the Administrative State
The U. S. Supreme Court struck down the “Chevron doctrine” that has plagued the citizenry of our great country since 1984. In Loper Bright Enterprises et al v. Raimondo, the Court ruled that the Administrative Procedure Act requires courts to exercise their independent judgment in deciding whether an agency has acted within…
Texas AG Issues Opinion on Landmen and Wind Power Leasing
It would be a heavy burden to catalogue all of the wrongs one might attribute to our Texas Attorney General. Now, we have another one. Opinion KP-0467, responding to a request from the Texas Real Estate Commission, concluded that a person who negotiates a lease of property for the development of a wind power project…
More Guidance on Worker Classification for the Energy Industry
This post is a summary of a more detailed Client Alert prepared by Gray Reed’s labor and employment practice group.
Recall our recent post on the Department of Labor’s new “Economic Realities Test” for classifying specialized contractors and consultants as either employees or independent contractors. The new rules make the compliance minefield much riskier. The…
Employee or Independent Contractor? Know the New Rules
The Department of Labor recently made key changes to its rules in a way that will affect the oil and gas sector. The new rule rescinds a Trump Administration rule that had simplified the process of classifying workers as independent contractors. In its place, the DOL returned to the previous, complex and flexible “Economic Realities Test”…
Oil Fraud Defendant Tries to Evade SEC Complaint
We haven’t presented 2023’s Bad Guys in Energy, but we have SEC v. Bowen, Baker, Cannon Operating and others as an example of garden variety securities fraud. The opinion addresses a defendant’s effort to defeat the SEC’s fraud claim by attacking the complaint. The “bad guys” are only alleged at this point.
Bowen, Baker and…
PSA Well Permit Dispute Makes its Way to the Texas Supreme Court
Contacted at his seaside villa, Captain Renault exclaimed his shock that Elsie and Adrian Opiela are asking the Texas Supreme Court to review questions surrounding the Railroad Commission’s approval of a drilling permit for a Production Sharing Agreement well.
The Commission’s “65% Rule” for multi-tract horizontal wells is invalid because the Commission does not have…
Federal Receiver Allowed to Abandon Texas Pipeline
Securities and Exchange Commission v. The Heartland Group Ventures LLC et al. explains what a receiver under federal law has the right to do. Much like Nick Saban’s offense against a certain team, she can do just about anything she wants.
The assets
The SEC applied for appointment of a receiver for a group of…
Court of Appeals Rules on Texas PSA Well Permit
The Austin Court of Appeals has ruled in Texas Railroad Commission et al v. Opiela, the dispute over a permit for a horizontal well under a Production Sharing Agreement. We reported on the result in the trial court. Here are some highlights of the appeal.
Where did the 65% rule come from?
The court…
What’s Up With Those West Texas Earthquakes?
If you dispose of produced water you are no-doubt aware of the intensive earthquakes being observed across the Midland and Delaware Basins. In West Texas Earthquake Observations, Implications for the Oil and Gas Industry, Scott Pinsonnault and John Shepherd of Ankura Consulting summarize the evolving situation and the Texas Railroad Commission’s response. They also…