For the Osage Indian Tribe, it’s more like “IMBY if you pay me”. In the latest interation of United States and Osage Minerals Council v. Osage Wind LLC et al the US District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma awarded a judgment for damages against the defendants. Much more important was the order for
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Do Montanans’ Rights Include a Fossil-Fuel-Free Environment?
It looks like they do. In Held et al v. State of Montana the Montana Supreme Court declared the “MEPA Limitation” unconstitutional. The plaintiffs were 16 youths, ages 2 to 18 at the time of filing.
The MEPA Limitation
The Montana Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) is a regulatory structure first enacted in 1971 for the…
Louisiana Operator Survives Forfeiture of Right to Recover Drilling Costs
In Mistretta v. Hilcorp Energy Company, unleased mineral owner Mistretta sued Hilcorp alleging failure to provide requested production and well cost information pertaining to an oil well operated by Hilcorp. The well was in a unit established in accordance with the Louisiana Conservation Act. The issue: Do La. R.S 30:103.1 and 103.2 require one…
Choice of Words Matters in an Override Assignment
The question in Rock River Minerals, LP and Carr v. v. Pioneer Natural Resources, et al.: Did an assignment of overriding royalty interests in Texas oil and gas leases include a depth limitation? No.
To understand why, we need to study the instrument (Spoiler, see Exhibit A). Cass executed an Assignment of a 2.125%…
Federal Court Gives a Primer on Oil and Gas Lease Maintenance
Co-author Sean Burns*
In re: EP Energy E&P Company, LP considered three lease maintenance provisions in several oil and gas leases. The federal district court ruled that the leases were maintained in force after cessation of production despite creative (some would say “strained”) lease interpretations by a group of lessors. In sum, the court deemed…
Master Service Agreement Imposes a Ceiling on Indemnity Obligations
Mr./Ms. Negotiator/scrivener/reviewer of Master Service Agreements: When did you last review your go-to indemnity provision? In light of Century Surety Company v. Colgate Operating LLC., perhaps you should do it now. The court deemed an innocuous-seeming indemnity provision to impose a ceiling on indemnity obligations under an MSA. Is your MSA consistent with your…
Climate Change Contrarians: Saying What Needs To Be Said
COP29 is upon us (Perfidy, thy name is the UNIPCC) being held in the greenwashing Republic of Azerbaijan. And ironically, there are dire warnings from some quarters about the methods “anti-science” Donald Trump will deploy to destroy the planet.
With that in mind, here is a handy list of real scientists, economists and energy…
Texas Business Court Bounces Oil and Gas Case
In legal parlance, it was a “remand”, but the result in Energy Transfer, LP et al v. Culberson Midstream LLC et al was the same. According to Judge Bill Whitehill of the Business Court of Texas, First Division, the Texas business court does not have authority over cases filed before September 1, 2024. This one…
AAPL Has a Model Form Participation Agreement
Author Paul Yale*
In the summer of 2022, the Executive Committee and Board of Directors of the American Association of Professional Landmen approved the first ever Model Form Participation Agreement to be approved by the Association.
So, the basics: A Participation Agreement (PA) typically, it is an agreement by which a participant will buy-in…
“Free of Cost” Royalty Includes Post-production Costs
Fasken Ranch Ltd et al v. Puig et al featured a reservation in the sale of a ranch of an undivided 1/16 non-participating royalty interest “free of cost forever.” What does that mean? In particular, does it mean that the royalty owners must bear their share of post-production costs? The answer is No. Read…