Insight and Analysis of Legal Issues Impacting the Energy Industry
by April Rolen-Ogden
This case involved a suit by an unleased landowner against an oil and gas unit operator seeking unpaid production proceeds. The landowner owned a portion of a small tract of property, which was included in an oil and gas production unit that was apparently being operated by the defendant, Cedyco. The trial court awarded…
On July 12, 1996, the Jameses purchased immovable property from Gray Investments, a corporation owned by Leon Gray, Sr. and his wife, Mary Gray. The deed conveyed to the Jameses one-half of the royalties and mineral interests in the property and reserved the other one-half to Gray Investments. Division orders were prepared by Kelley Oil Corporation, a…
by Elisabeth Lorio
The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently affirmed the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana’s decision to grant partial summary judgment in favor of the operator co-owner in a dispute over liability after a fellow co-owner’s assignment of lease interests governed by joint operating…
Despite the current problems facing the national economy, Louisiana collected $3.5 million at its mineral lease sale in November, which State Mineral Board Director Marjorie McKeithan describes as “showing interest [that] leasing Louisiana mineral rights for energy production is still strong.” Bids on tracts in the Haynesville Shale area decreased from the peak sales in June…
By Anundra M. Dillon
As previously reported, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that Act 312 of 2006 is constitutional and reversed the district court’s judgment declaring Act 312 unconstitutional and unenforceable under La. Const. art. V, § 16, La. Const. art. I, § 4 and the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. M.J. Farms, …
by John Almy.
Grand Isle Shipyard Inc. v. Seacor Marine, LLC (5th Cir. 2008)
The 5th Circuit reversed a Louisiana District Court decision that held a platform worker’s injuries, sustained while being transported from platform to platform by vessel, were subject to the Louisiana Oilfield Anti-Indemnity Act through the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act …
by: April L. Rolen-Ogden
Currently, the talk of the town in North Louisiana is the “Haynesville Shale.” Experts describe this mineral formation “as one of the richest fields of natural gas ever discovered in this region.” Technically speaking, the Haynesville Shale is defined as “a layer of sedimentary rock more than 10,000 feet below the surface.” The Shreveport…
The Texas Supreme Court this morning issued its long-awaited decision in Coastal Oil & Gas Corp. v. Garza Energy Trust, holding that the rule of capture bars recovery for damages for subsurface trespass caused by hydraulic fracturing. A concurring opinion and an opinion concurring in part and dissenting in part were also filed. Copies of…
In March 2008, several oil and gas companies announced the finding of what could potentially be the fourth largest deposit of natural gas in the world underneath northwestern Louisiana, southwestern Arkansas, and eastern Texas: the Haynesville Shale.
The Louisiana Natural Resources Department has now created a website to provide information to the public related to…
On July 1, 2008, the Louisiana Supreme Court held that Act 312 of 2006 (“Act 312”) is constitutional and reversed the district court’s judgment declaring Act 312 unconstitutional and unenforceable under La. Const. art. V, § 16, La. Const. art. I, § 4 and the Fifth Amendment of the United States Constitution. M.J. Farms…
