True Oil LLC v. BLM is a recent opinion by the Wyoming Federal District Court, based on the appeal of an order out of the BLM Rawlins Field Office. At issue was whether a fee surface owner can grant a subsurface easement...more
A Federal Judge in Oklahoma has ordered the ejectment of 84 wind turbines on 8400 acres of Osage County Oklahoma. The problem for the developers of the wind farm is that they leased the surface of those 8400 acres from the...more
Since the beginning of recorded mineral law, the owner of the mineral interests has enjoyed an elevated status in its relationship with the surface owner, resulting in the universally accepted notion that the mineral estate...more
On March 19, 2019, the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench (ABQB) ruled in Karve Energy Inc. v Drylander Ranch Ltd., 2019 ABQB 298 that the Surface Rights Board (Board) does not have the authority to interfere with the amount of...more
Riddle: What’s the difference between a hydrocarbon molecule and the underground structure which the molecule inhabits? Answer: In Texas, you can own one and not the other, according to Lightning Oil Co. v. Anadarko E&P...more
The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals’ recent decision in Whiteman v. Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC, affirms the right of a mineral estate lessee to construct impoundments for the disposal of drilling mud, drill cuttings, and...more