News & Analysis as of

Oil & Gas Well Drilling Royalties

Gray Reed

Louisiana Supreme Court Issues Major Post-Production Cost Opinion

Gray Reed on

In Self v. BPX Operating, a case with significant implications for Louisiana operators and royalty owners, the Supreme Court of Louisiana ruled that the doctrine of negotiorum gestio in La. Civil Code art. 2292 does not allow...more

Oliva Gibbs LLP

Elections Have Consequences – Why Oklahoma’s Amended Horizontal Pooling Rule May Prove to be Difficult to Apply

Oliva Gibbs LLP on

t is well established that forced pooling under Oklahoma law is done on a “unit-wide basis rather than on an individual wellbore basis.” However, never has it been the case that an election made under one forced pooling order...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

The Neale Rule – Who Really Owns the Oil and Gas Under Railroads?

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Since the early 1900’s, your family has owned a 105 acre farm in Greene County, Pennsylvania. In 2024, you and your siblings sign an oil and gas lease with XYZ Drilling Company. The language in the lease states that it...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

The Colorado Supreme Court Declines to Adopt Commercial Discovery Rule

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Let’s assume you own 136 acres in Tioga County. In 2011, you signed a new oil and gas lease with ABC Production (the “2011 Lease”). The 2011 Lease had a five-year primary term which expired in October 2016. In 2014, ABC...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Can Cryptocurrency Mining Maintain an Oil and Gas Lease Beyond Primary Term?

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

The recently filed Hobe Minerals Limited Liability Company v. Bonanza Creek Energy Operating Company, LLC, et al lawsuit in a Colorado trial court challenges whether intermittent cryptocurrency mining can maintain an oil and...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Federal Court In Ohio Rules That Driller Must Establish Marketability of Each Gas Product Under Market Enhancement Clause

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Let’s assume you own 95 acres in Greene County, Pennsylvania. In 2019, you signed an oil and gas lease with ABC Exploration. During the negotiations, you agreed that only those post-production costs which actually...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

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Agrees to Hear Appeal In Royalty Dispute

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

On February 15, 2023, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeal of PennEnergy Resources, LLC in the Dressler Family, LP v. PennEnergy Resources, LLC matter. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s review of this...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Can Retroactive Pooling and Unitization Revive An Expired Lease?

As we have written about before, a troubling issue facing landowners in the Marcellus Shale region is the practice of retroactive pooling and unitization. Retroactive pooling and unitization occurs when a driller records an...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

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

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

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

Louisiana Unit Operators May Deduct Post-Production Costs from Unleased Mineral Owners

Gray Reed on

The question with wide-ranging implications for Louisiana operators and mineral owners in Johnson et al. v. Chesapeake Louisiana LP et al is whether unleased mineral owners in a drilling unit established by the Commissioner...more

Houston Harbaugh, P.C.

Are Your Royalties Going Up in Flames?

Houston Harbaugh, P.C. on

Let’s assume you own 114 acres in Tioga County Pennsylvania. In 2012, you signed an oil and gas lease with XYZ Drilling. Two years later they drill and complete the MUSKIE #1H Well. The royalty clause in the 2012 lease...more

Gray Reed

My Operator is Making Money on the Well and I’m Not. What Can I Do? Part 1.

Gray Reed on

With the plunge in commodity prices many formerly profitable wells are now in the red, and we don’t know for how long. This is causing non-operators to question the bona fides of the operations … and of the operator, and to...more

Gray Reed

Tenancy in Common and Joint Tenancy Explained

Gray Reed on

How long – if ever – has it been since you pondered the difference between a “tenancy in common” and a “joint tenancy”? Same for us, until the wheels came off a family relationship and a lawsuit was filed in Wagenschein v....more

Bennett Jones LLP

A Producing Royalty as an Interest in Land: The Alberta Court of Queen's Bench Follows Dianor

Bennett Jones LLP on

Holders of royalties in oil and gas and other minerals should take note of the recent decision of the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench in Manitok Energy Inc. (Re), 2018 ABQB 488 [Manitok], in which the Alberta Court followed...more

Gray Reed

Trespass But no Damages in a Texas Case

Gray Reed on

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....more

Gray Reed

A New Day for Louisiana Oil and Gas Lenders?

Gray Reed on

Lenders to Louisiana operators are likely to be reconsidering their business practices in light of Gloria’s Ranch v. Tauren et al. A rather ordinary lease termination suit resulted in the lender Wells Fargo being...more

Gray Reed

What Happens to a Bundled Production Payment When a Lease Terminates?

Gray Reed on

Must a production payment out of four oil and gas leases be proportionately reduced if two of the leases expire because production ceased? In Apache Deepwater, LLC v. McDaniel Partners, Ltd., the Texas Supreme Court says yes....more

Locke Lord LLP

Locke Lord QuickStudy: Range Resources Case

Locke Lord LLP on

On March 6, 2015, the Texas Supreme Court decided a case involving the duties owed to the non-executive holder of a nonparticipating royalty interest by both the executive rights holder and the lessee that negotiated the...more

19 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 1

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide