Life of a Landman: What to Eat and Read
Waiting for the Courthouse to Open “A landman in West Texas eats enchiladas, chicken fried steak or pizza” -CSP How many of us have experienced that time when the deputies and the clerk announce that it is time to lunch… and you know the only place to eat is a small café, a Mexican restaurant […]
How to Select a Tax Attorney
Understanding the IRS and the tax laws is very difficult and confusing. When a taxpayer has a tax controversy matter with the IRS, selecting a tax attorney may be just as confusing and complicated. Not all attorneys are created equal when it comes to the tax laws and representing clients before the IRS. Dealing with […]
Ambiguity Foils Right of Way Agreement
By Charles Sartain on April 28, 2021 Co-author Brittany Blakey The central issue in the Texas case of Cook v. Cimarex Energy Co.: Did Cook grant Cimarex a right of way across Cook’s land to the location of two Cimarex wells. No he didn’t. Reversing the trial court, the court of appeals concluded that two Contracts of Release were […]
What is Oil and Gas Law?
Oil and Gas Law in the United States is the branch of law that pertains to the acquisition and ownership rights in oil and gas both under the soil before discovery and after its capture, and adjudication regarding those rights. The law regulating oil and gas ownership in the U.S. generally differs considerably from laws in […]
Oil and gas regulation in the United States: overview
A Q&A guide to oil and gas regulation in the United States. The Q&A gives a high-level overview of the domestic oil and gas sector, rights to oil and gas, health safety and the environment, sale and trade in oil and gas, tax and enforcement of regulation. It covers transfer of rights; transportation by pipeline; […]
2020’s Bad Guys in Energy
Larceny, that business enterprise with a knack for (fleeting) success regardless of the state of the economy, was busy last year. As Obi-Wan Kenobe would say it: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy as the bad guys of energy in 2020. Here we go. PdVSA First up, as predictable […]
Pennsylvania Rule of Capture Still Bars Subsurface Trespass Claim
After a trial court order, two appellate opinions, a dissent, and another appellate opinion, the tension between a well operator and an adjacent mineral owner over whether hydraulic fracturing can constitute a subsurface trespass in Pennsylvania has, for the most part, been resolved. In Briggs v. Southwestern Production Company, several points of Pennsylvania law have been confirmed: […]
Solar Beats Minerals in a Texas Accommodation Doctrine Battle
In a precursor of disputes sure to come, in Lyle v. Midway Solar, LLC, a Texas court of appeals delivered a win for solar energy by applying the accommodation doctrine in favor of a solar developer’s actual use of the surface of the land over speculative future development of the mineral estate. The lesson for mineral […]
ExxonMobil Discovers That Amended Tax Returns Are Dangerous
In Exxon Mobil Corp. v. United States of America, from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, ExxonMobil learned the hard way that filing amended tax returns can be very costly. Some of the reasons why an amended return is dangerous are below, but first to the case: ExxonMobil was involved in […]
Red River Statutory Rivalry: Texas Lien Statute is Fatal to Texas Producers’ Security Interests
The lesson from In re First River Energy LLC: Even though Texas lien law does not require the filing of a financing statement for perfection, file one anyway. It will be helpful in the event a dispute is decided under the laws of another state. The transactions Texas and Oklahoma producers sold oil and condensate to […]