A partner in a large, international law firm proudly advertises that she assisted a client in the acquisition of an oil-field in the Permian Basin. The lawyer, who offices in Houston, advises that she graduated from law school with honors. Curiously, the lawyer is not licensed to practice law in Texas. A Denver based firm
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. v. Orca Assets G.P., L.L.C., 546 S.W.3d 648 (Tex. 2018) is another reminder that operators are expected to perform due diligence before entering into a transaction. It is also, possibly, a reminder that an oil company is an unsympathetic Plaintiff. Orca entered into negotiations with The Red Crest Trust to lease
The Supreme Court refused certiorari in Devon Energy Prod. Co. v. Apache Corp., 550 S.W.3d 59 (Tex. Civ. App.-Eastland, 2018) in a case that is, remarkably, a case of first impression in Texas. The factual scenario in this case is simple: Norma Jean Hester leased her 1/3 mineral interest to Devon. The other mineral owners
Although most of my practice revolves around oil and gas operators, over the years I have had the pleasure of representing a number of oil and gas landowners – some quite wealthy. This has “morphed” into handling wills and trusts, estates, estate taxes, and the like. And of course, in such a practice you are
Ultimately, every sale of an oil and gas property involves the transfer of a real estate interest. And, ultimately, the conveyance document(s) (deed or deeds) need to be recorded of record (“for the world to see and be on notice of”) in the official records of the county or parish in which the property is
In case you haven't noticed, the price of oil has fluctuated tremendously in the last couple of years. In 2015, 67 oil and gas companies declared bankruptcy, which represented a 379% increase from 2014. As the price of WTI continues to hover between $40 to $60, bankruptcies will continue in the oil patch. So what
There are currently over 1,400 drilled but uncompleted oil and gas wells in the Eagle Ford shale alone. There are almost 1,000 DUCs in North Dakota alone. In other words, DUCs seem to be an effect of low oil prices. As companies hope to see the price increase, they have incentives to not complete their
What every Real Estate Agent should know when selling land and Mineral Rights. The right to enter upon the surface for the exploration and production of the minerals (or to designate a third party to do so);The right to lease or sell the mineral rights, in whole or in part;The right to up front cash
The age of horizontal wells has revitalized the great Texas oil and gas industry. However, it is arguably an “open issue” as to how revenues from horizontal well production will be “shared” when the horizontal wellbore traverses two or more separate tracts of land or two or more pooled units. My best guess is that
In the United States, it is common for one or more concurrent owners, or co-tenants, to own the fee oil and gas estate in fractional interests. Each of these co-tenants may execute oil and gas leases to different lessees, who then own undivided fractional shares of the leasehold estate with other Lessees and unleased mineral
