The Fifth Circuit’s recent decision in Lexon Insurance Co., Inc. v. Chevron U.S.A. Inc., No. 24-20347 (5th Cir. Aug. 19, 2025) (slip op.), addresses who should pay offshore decommissioning costs when a current leaseholder fails to meet its legal obligations. Federal law requires that wells, pipelines, and platforms on the Outer Continental Shelf
On June 27, 2025, the Texas Supreme Court issued yet another landmark decision: Cactus Water Services, LLC v. COG Operating, LLC. Justice Devine delivered the opinion of the Court, holding that produced water is oil-and-gas waste, and, therefore, it belongs to the hydrocarbon lessee (i.e., the operator who is legally obligated to dispose of
On May 9, 2025, the Texas Supreme Court issued a per curiam opinion in Roxo Energy Co., LLC v. Baxsto, LLC, — S.W.3d —, No. 23-0564, 2025 WL 1349581 (Tex. May 9, 2025), in which it held that a lessee was entitled to judgment as a matter of law on a lessor’s claims for fraud, fraudulent inducement, statutory fraud, and fraud by non-disclosure, all arising from the lessee’s alleged oral representations that were inconsistent with the parties’ written contracts.
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