A unanimous panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has held that the United States Department of the Interior violated the Outer Continental Shelf Deep Water Royalty Relief Act (“RRA”) by imposing price threshold conditions that require federal lessees to pay royalties when commodity prices rise. Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas … Continue Reading
By Clare Bienvenu In Marcy v. Rowan Cos., Inc., No. 06-31238, 2008 WL 588745 (5th Cir. 2008), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s decision to dismiss a qui tam action brought under the Federal Claims Act (FCA). The action alleged that the defendants violated the FCA by concealing the discharge of pollutants … Continue Reading
By Jana Grauberger: A recent Interior Board of Land Appeals (“IBLA”) ruling, ATP Oil & Gas Corp., 173 IBLA 250 (2008), affirms an MMS denial of a Suspension of Operations (“SOO”) where the lessee submitted an revised exploration plan (“EP”) and permit to drill (“APD”) just days before the lease’s 10-year primary term expired, but … Continue Reading
By Jonathan Hunter: On October 30, 2007, the Federal District Court for the Western District of Louisiana granted summary judgment in favor of Kerr-McGee Oil and Gas Corporation in a dispute between Kerr-McGee and the Department of the Interior over the enforceability of "price threshold" clauses that Interior inserted into deep water leases granted during … Continue Reading
MMS’s August 22, 2007 Western Gulf of Mexico lease sale offered 3,338 tracts, or approximately 18 million acres, offshore Texas. Forty-seven companies participated, submitting 358 bids on 282 tracts. The total of all bids received was $369,496,840. MMS Director Randall Luthi observed that “the success of this lease sale once again demonstrates industry’s commitment and interest in … Continue Reading
On June 27, 2007, the Minerals Management Service (MMS) issued its notice advising the public of its intention to prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) for proposed OCS Lease Sale 206, which is the Central Gulf of Mexico lease sale to be held in March 2008. Notably, the EA will not include approximately 5.8 million acres … Continue Reading
By Jonathan A. Hunter MMS has announced proposed amendments to its deep gas royalty relief regulations under the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The proposed rule, “Royalty Relief – Ultra-Deep Gas Wells on Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leases; Extension of Royalty Relief Provisions to OCS Leases Offshore of Alaska, 1010–AD33,” would extend … Continue Reading
By Jonathan A. Hunter MMS has issued a proposed notice scheduling Central Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 205 for October 3, 2007. This will be the first sale in the newly configured Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area, and is the first Central GOM sale to be held in MMS’ 2007 – 2012 Outer Continental … Continue Reading
