The Texas Supreme Court interpreted yet another confused mineral reservation in a deed in the case of Van Dyke v. Navigator Grp., ___ S.W.3d ___, 2023 WL ___ (Tex. Feb. 17, 2023). The 1924 deed contained a reservation of “one-half of one-eighth” of the mineral estate. The question was: did…
Texas oil and gas companies can engage in a variety of procedures as part of their exploratory process before they drill an oil and gas well. One such procedure is seismic testing or a seismic survey. Seismic testing is a process that results in an image of the subsurface of…
In a case last year before the Texas Supreme Court, BPX Operating Co. v. Strickhausen, 629 S. W. 3d. 189 (Tex. 2021), the Court addressed whether the acceptance of royalty checks by a lessor constituted a ratification of the oil company’s pooling of the leased premises in violation of the…
I get complaints weekly from Texas homeowners who have problems with the solar panels they have had installed on their roof or with the company that installed the panels. Of course, there are good companies that install solar panel systems. There are also a number of…
The Texas Supreme Court recently issued its long-awaited opinion in Terrance J. Hlavinka et al v. HSC Pipeline Partnership, LLC, —S.W.3d— (Tex. May 27, 2022). There were two important issues in this case: (1) whether a pipeline company transporting polymer-grade propylene can be a common carrier with condemnation authority under…
The American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers recently published its “Texas Rural Land Value Trends” for 2021. According to its website “Chapter members from all the regions of Texas provide data to develop the annual market study.” The study is a good source for current land values, leasing…
The Texas Supreme Court recently decided a case involving a covenant to protect against drainage. In Rosetta Resources Operating, LP v. Martin, the Court considered several issues, one of which was whether the covenant had been triggered by language in the addendum to the oil and gas lease. Rosetta and…
There are no doubt a number of honest and reputable companies installing residential solar systems in Texas. However, based on the number of folks who call me each month about problems with the company they dealt with, there are a certain number of dishonest and disreputable companies as well. Residential…
You can’t watch a newscast these days without seeing a Senator or Congressman or some other talking head insist that the actions of the current Administration in curtailing domestic oil and gas production and pipelines were unwise and that oil and gas production must be restarted immediately. The posture of…
In a recent case decided by the Eastland Court of Appeals in Texas, Foote v. Texcel Exploration, Inc., the Court held that the operator of an oil well was not liable for cows apparently killed by an oil and salt water spill. The Plaintiff leased property for grazing 650 head…