On May 23, 2025, the Texas Supreme Court issued a long-awaited opinion in Cromwell v. Anadarko E&P Onshore, LLC, in which it held that two habendum clauses written in the passive voice did not specifically require production by the lessee, but instead could be perpetuated by production from anyone on the leased premises.
Continue Reading Not All Lessees Must Produce, According to New Texas Supreme Court Opinion Rejecting Washout
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.
Continue Reading Red Flags Negate Fraud Claims in Recent Texas Supreme Court Opinion
The Texas Supreme Court, in Myers-Woodward, LLC v. Undergrounds Services Markham, LLC, — S.W.3d —, No. 22-0878, 2025 WL 1415892 (Tex. May 16, 2025), held that surface owners own subsurface salt caverns, even when such caverns are created by mineral owners.
Continue Reading Ownership of Underground Storage Space Under Texas Law Resolved by Texas Supreme Court Decision
On Friday, May 2, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) announced its intent to revise the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) 2024 Risk Management and Financial Assurance of OCS Lease and Grant Obligations Rule (2024 Rule).
Continue Reading DOI to Overhaul BOEM’s 2024 Risk Management and Financial Assurance Regulations for Offshore Leases and Grants
When an operator mistakenly overpays a royalty owner, it can recoup the overpayment from future royalties. While this is a common industry practice, the doctrine of equitable recoupment is seldom discussed in detail by Texas courts.
Continue Reading Fifth Circuit Provides Rare Overview of the Doctrine of Equitable Recoupment
In 2024, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) issued new financial assurance (“FA”) regulations requiring an estimated $6.9 billion in new supplemental FA from federal offshore oil and gas lessees and grantees, all in excess of base-level bonding amounts (the “Rule”).
Continue Reading BOEM Now Considering Repeal of Its $6.9B Rule and Will Only Seek Supplemental Financial Assurance from Select Properties During Regulatory Review
The Offshore Parity Act of 2024 (H.R. 10183), introduced on November 20, 2024, by Congressmen Garret Graves (R-LA) and Troy A. Carter, Sr. (D-LA), looks to extend Louisiana’s state authority from 3 to 9 nautical miles offshore into the Gulf of Mexico.
Continue Reading Casting a Wider Net: Proposed Expansion of Coastal States’ Authority
In 2021, the Biden Administration set a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts (“GW”) of federal offshore wind projects by 2030, and in 2022, the U.S. Department of the Interior (“DOI”) set an additional goal of deploying 15 GW of floating offshore wind by 2035.
Continue Reading U.S. Federal Offshore Wind in 2024: Growth and Growing Pains
This week, a Maryland federal district court amended its prior Biological Opinion (“BiOP”) vacatur judgment, extending the timeline for vacatur from December 20, 2024, to May 21, 2025, which averts for now a potential shutdown of Gulf of Mexico (“GOM”) oil and gas operations.
Continue Reading Potential Shutdown of GOM Oil and Gas Operations Due to BiOp Vacatur Averted – For Now
On August 19, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland issued its merits decision in Sierra Club et al. v. NMFS, API, et al., No. 8:20-cv-03060-DLB, which vacated the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service’s (“NMFS”) 2020 programmatic Biological Opinion on the Federally Regulated Oil and Gas Program Activities in the Gulf of Mexico (the “2020 BiOp”), and corresponding Incidental Take Statement (“ITS”), for violations of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), 16 U.S.C. §§ 1531 et seq., and Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. §§ 551 et seq.
Continue Reading Maryland Court’s Vacatur of Biological Opinion Could Cause Severe Disruption of Gulf of Mexico Oil & Gas Activities