LEGAL

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

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

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

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

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,

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

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

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

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

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

Climate Change for Energy Professionals – Part 1
By Charles Sartain on February 16, 2021 Gray Reed’s in-house Cassandra, energy partner Paul Yale, has set out to educate energy industry professionals, and anyone else willing to learn, on

Why Right-of-Way Matters
All Title Matters Including a Right-of-Way Usually when there is a “play”, the client will want to know who owns the oil and gas rights,

How To Be a Good Landman
Almost all landmen share the same story: they stumbled upon the land business, or at best, they have some friend or family member that is