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Oil & Gas Breach of Contract

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,...

Oil and Gas/Surface Use Agreement: Federal Appellate Court Addresses Authority to Place Water Pipeline

The United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (“Eighth Circuit”) addressed an interpretive dispute regarding a Surface Use Agreement (“SUA”) pertaining to oil and gas operations in a July 23rd opinion. See...more

Troutman Pepper

Eighth Circuit Applies FERC’s Filed Rate Doctrine to Reject Allegations that SPP Breached an Oral Contract Made During Winter...

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On August 5, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (“Eighth Circuit”) denied Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc.’s (“AECI”) petition for review of a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”)...more

Gray Reed

Sole Discretion Not to Close Renders Texas Oil Deal Unenforceable

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Maverick Natural Resources, LLC at al v. Glenn D. Cooper Oil & Gas, Inc. is for control freaks wherever you are … and for those of you who advise the aforesaid control freaks....more

Oliva Gibbs LLP

The Force (Majeure) May Not Be So Strong in This One

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In a recent lawsuit, an oil producer claims significant monthly losses due to a forced pipeline shutdown, alleging the pipeline company violated their contract by failing to adhere to U.S. laws and ensure operational...more

Oliva Gibbs LLP

The Texas Division Order Statute: How It Works and Who It Serves to Protect

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A division order is a statement executed by all owners of interests in an oil and gas well.  The division order’s essential purpose is to “authorize and direct to whom and in what proportion to distribute” proceeds from the...more

Oliva Gibbs LLP

If the Lease Requires Notice, Then Provide Notice: Simple Enough?

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I. Background In the case of Kirkbride v. Antero Res. Corp., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals is faced with a novel argument on the interpretation of a condition precedent within an oil and gas lease. The case comes to the...more

Gray Reed

Master Service Agreement Dispute Turns on Definitions

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The outcome of a multimillion-dollar suit was in the hands of a jury of 12 good and honorable citizens. The question: Was a certain party an agent, consultant, contractor, or none of the above? One side wanted the jury to be...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Recent Federal District Court Decision Suggests New Approach for Oil and Gas Lease Termination

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

The United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania’s recent decision in Bootes v. PPP Future Development, Inc., C.A. No. 22-154 (W.D.Pa. March 21, 2023) denying a gas company’s request to dismiss oil...more

Gray Reed

A Day Made a Difference in This Purchase and Sale Agreement

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And what a difference it was! In Apache Corp. v. Apollo Expl. LLC et al, Apache and others acquired an oil and gas lease on 100,000+ acres in the Texas Panhandle. The primary term was three years. The effective date was...more

Gray Reed

Insurance Coverage Not Limited by a Texas Service Agreement

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As you negotiate your master service agreements are you confident that you know how insurance choices might affect indemnity obligations? Me neither. That’s why I turn to my Gray Reed partner Darin Brooks and his insurance...more

Gray Reed

Long-Running Texas Boundary Dispute Continues

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Ellison v. Three Rivers Acquisition LLC et al., on remand from the Texas Supreme Court, is the third round of a boundary dispute between mineral lessees in Irion County.   For the history of Ms. Ellison’s odyssey from...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Delaware Supreme Court Enforces Partnership Agreement’s Unambiguous Exculpation Provision Waiving Fiduciary Duties and Presuming...

On December 19, 2022, Chief Justice Seitz issued an opinion for a unanimous Delaware Supreme Court, sitting en banc, reversing and remanding the Delaware Court of Chancery’s decision in Bandera Master Fund LP v. Boardwalk...more

Gray Reed

Beware Assignor: Own the Leases Before You Reserve the Override

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Let’s begin with a quiz. Armour purchases non-recourse mortgage notes, becoming a lienholder in 99 oil and gas leases and 13 wells; fails to record the transfer documents in the real property records; assigns the leases to...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Pennsylvania Superior Court Rules that Royalty Clause Referencing Both ‘Gross Proceeds’ and ‘At the Well’ Was Ambiguous

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Let’s assume that you own 125 acres in Tioga County. In 2017, you negotiate a new oil and gas lease with XYZ Drilling. During the negotiations, you insist on a “gross royalty” which prohibits the deduction of...more

Gray Reed

Texas Mineral Deed Signed Away Right to Sue

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The question in litigation is usually “WHAT”: what happened, what contract was breached, what did someone do or fail to do, and so on. In Hughes v. CJM Resources, LP, the question was, “WHO” had the right to file the suit in...more

Vinson & Elkins LLP

In re Ultra Petroleum Corp. – Fifth Circuit: Debtors May Reject FERC-Approved Gas Transportation Agreements

Vinson & Elkins LLP on

In Federal Energy Regulatory Commission v. Ultra Resources, Inc. (In re Ultra Petroleum Corp.),1 a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Fifth Circuit Panel”) provided valuable clarity regarding a 2004 decision in...more

Jones Day

Delaware Court Holds Rejection Eliminates Non-Debtor's Exclusive Right to Provide Services to the Debtor

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Nine Point Energy Holdings, Inc. and its affiliates (collectively, "Nine Point" or "Nine Point debtors") constituted an oil and gas production and exploration company that sought to reorganize in chapter 11 through a going...more

Gray Reed

Statute of Frauds Torpedoes an Overriding Royalty Sale

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Here we go  again, in Gary and Theresa Poenisch Family Ltd. P’Ship v. TMH Land Servs., Inc., learning that a purported Texas land transaction will not be enforced if the parties fail to comply with the Statute of Frauds....more

Gray Reed

Added Party Can’t Avoid Amended Master Service Agreement

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Let’s begin with a question: Master service agreements (“MSA’s” in the trade), once agreed upon, often remain in force for years. As time passes and circumstances change, the parties amend, sometimes losing sight of the...more

Gray Reed

Texas Court Rules on a Retained Acreage Clause

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Sometimes writing too many alternatives into an oil and gas lease invites confusion … which provokes litigation … which results in disappointment for somebody … or everybody. ...more

Gray Reed

Who Won and Who Didn’t: The 2021 Texas Legislature and Energy

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Most bills filed in each legislative session fail. For the most part we are thankful for that. But today we summarize a few that survived while you weren’t paying attention. ...more

Gray Reed

Texas Court Applies Amended Citizens Participation Act to a Lease Dispute

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Howard, et al. v. Matterhorn Energy, LLC, et al. [6th Dist.] May 4, 2021 considered the Texas Citizens Participation Act as amended, effective on September 1, 2019....more

Gray Reed

Supreme Court Introduces Totality of the Circumstances Test for Implied Ratification

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“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...more

Gray Reed

Oil and Gas Lease Addendum Supersedes Printed Form

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In Apache Corp. v. Hill, et al.,  lessors prevailed in a lease construction dispute because of the court’s unsurprising conclusion that a typewritten addendum to oil and gas leases superseded conflicting provisions in the...more

McGuireWoods LLP

Texas Appellate Court Analyzes Purchase and Sale Agreement Drafting and Terms

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The 11th Court of Appeals in Texas recently issued an opinion analyzing provisions of purchase and sale agreements (PSAs) governing working interests in oil and gas leases. In the opinion in Apollo Exploration, LLC v. Apache...more

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