Insight and Analysis of Legal Issues Impacting the Energy Industry
By Jacob Credeur
The Caddo Parish Commission is preparing for a public hearing on May 21 where it is set to discuss proposed drilling regulations for operators in the Haynesville Shale. The commission is working on the set of ordinances in committee discussions and is seeking to acquire public input before taking action. The proposed…
By Jessica Gladney
In Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Department of the Interior, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a ruling on April 17, 2009 vacating the Department of the Interior’s statutorily-mandated five-year offshore oil and gas leasing program for the period 2007-2012. The five-year leasing program…
By Natalie Barletta
The Texas Supreme Court in, In re Gulf Exploration, LLC, No. 07-0055 (Tex. Apr. 17, 2009), addresses when mandamus relief is available in connection with an order compelling arbitration. In this case, several working interest owners sued Great Western Drilling, their operator, claiming an opportunity to participate in wells drilled by…
The Supreme Court of Texas issued a decision on rehearing in Entergy Gulf States, Inc. v. Summers April 3, 2009. The court’s original unanimous decision in August 2007 that a Texas premises owner can be a statutory employer for workers’ compensation purposes produced a great deal of political heat and a flurry…
By Jacob Credeur
A recent article in the Shreveport Times indicates that payouts from the Haynesville Shale formation are leaving even the biggest players surprised. Even though Petrohawk Energy, Chesapeake, and other producers are scaling back production activity nationally because of reduced demand for natural gas, many producers are ramping up their activities in North…
Last Friday, the Supreme Court of Texas issued decisions in two companion cases, No. 05-1076; Exxon Corp., et al. v. Emerald Oil & Gas Co., et al. (“Miesch”), and No. 05-0729; Exxon Corp., et al. v. Emerald Oil & Gas Co. (“Emerald”). Butch Marseglia, counsel in Liskow & Lewis’s Houston office…
By Katie Cambre
As reported in the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association Daily News Summary, a federal auction of drilling tracts in the central Gulf of Mexico drew far fewer bids at much lower prices than during past auctions, and analysts attributed the decline to a poor economy and new energy policies proposed by…
By Marie Carlisle
In Sun-Key Oil Co., Inc. v. Ernest Cannon & Moncrief Minerals P’ship, L.P., the Eleventh Court of Appeals in Eastland affirmed the District Court’s judgment granting summary judgment in favor of a lessor’s lease termination claim based on cessation of production and denying Sun-Key Oil Company’s motion for summary judgment on…
By Emma Hinnigan
U.S. oil and natural gas producing companies should not receive federal subsidies in the form of tax breaks because their businesses contribute to global warming, U.S. Secretary Timothy Geithner said when speaking to Congress on March 4, 2009. Geithner explained, “we don’t believe it makes sense to significantly subsidize the production and…
By Jason Johanson
On Friday, March 6, 2009, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar stated that the agency is considering an appeal to the United States Supreme Court of the decision in Kerr-McGee Oil & Gas Corp. v. U.S. Department of the Interior, __ F.3d __, 2009 WL57883 (5th Cir. Jan. 12, 2009), in which the Fifth…
