Court of Appeals of Texas, El Paso · 08-25-00031-CV

The El Paso Court of Appeals denied a permissive interlocutory appeal in a wastewater disposal case where defendants sought to establish that the statute of limitations accrued when Stateline's predecessor learned in 2021 of potential wastewater risks from neighboring operations, rather than when actual interference with drilling operations occurred in 2022. The court found that unresolved questions of material fact precluded the purely legal determination required for permissive appeal.

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division · 3:24-cv-00316

Oyster lease owners in Galveston Bay survived a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss their maritime negligence and trespass claims against Florida Gas Transmission Company and its contractor Sunland Construction, alleging pipeline repair operations deposited sediment and spoil materials that damaged oyster beds and reefs. The Southern District of Texas found the complaint provided sufficient fair notice despite defendants' arguments that allegations lacked specificity regarding which vessels and dates caused the alleged damage.

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division · 4:25-CV-00641

Arena Energy sued Maritech Resources and TETRA Technologies for breach of contract after defendants allegedly failed to perform decommissioning obligations on a Hurricane Ike-damaged platform at EC Block 328 in the Gulf of Mexico, despite a 2002 Purchase and Sales Agreement requiring Maritech to assume all plugging and abandonment liabilities. The Southern District of Texas denied both defendants' motions to dismiss, though the court's full reasoning was not available in the published excerpt.

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division · 4:23-cv-00432

An energy broker's Letter of Assurance promising to "assure the energy supply rate" for a Massachusetts supermarket location did not create an enforceable guarantee against mandatory pass-through regulatory charges that increased the all-in electricity price beyond initial estimates. The Southern District of Texas granted summary judgment to Finite Utility Consulting on counterclaims alleging breach of contract and misrepresentation, finding the LOA explicitly disclaimed any guarantee and stated the broker would only use "best efforts" to resolve rate disputes.

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas · 4:24-cv-4037

Bluebeck Holdings alleges SWN Production systematically underpaid royalties on Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale production through affiliate transactions with sister company SES and improper deductions, while SWN reported zero marketing deductions on monthly statements. The Southern District of Texas denied dismissal of breach of contract claims while dismissing all claims against individual defendants including SWN's CEO, CFO, and General Counsel.

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division · 4:24-cv-3047

W&T Offshore's sureties moved for preliminary injunctions to compel cash collateral deposits securing BOEM-mandated decommissioning bonds for Gulf of Mexico operations, arguing their indemnity agreements contractually stipulated to irreparable harm. Magistrate Judge Palermo recommended denial, finding that contractual stipulations of irreparable harm, without more, are insufficient to satisfy the burden for preliminary injunctive relief.

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division · 4:20-CV-02426

A Spanish oilfield equipment supplier's $3 million breach of contract claim against Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA and its purchasing agent Bariven reached a critical juncture when the district court declined to enter default judgment and instead permitted defendants to file a motion to dismiss. The magistrate judge recommended granting the motion to dismiss, finding Ashburton's allegations constituted 'threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements' that failed to satisfy Twombly-Iqbal pleading standards.

U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit · 24-20347

The Fifth Circuit affirmed summary judgment against Lexon Insurance, which issued performance bonds securing offshore decommissioning obligations and sought reimbursement from Chevron, BP, and Sojitz as prior leaseholders under subrogation, contribution, and unjust enrichment theories. Applying Louisiana law to fill gaps in OCSLA, the court held that the surety had no right of recourse against prior leaseholders who were non-parties to the bonds and that the prior leaseholders did not share an equal burden with the surety.

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas · 4:25-MC-02083

Two Congolese environmental NGOs successfully obtained Section 1782 discovery from Texas-based oil and gas companies in preparation for an administrative lawsuit challenging a 2022 methane gas block auction in Lake Kivu, DRC, alleging the auction violated Congolese law through lack of transparency, failure to obtain Council of Ministers approval, and inadequate environmental evaluation and community consultation. Judge Drew B. Tipton of the Southern District of Texas granted the petition for discovery including document production and depositions, finding the statutory requirements satisfied and that the proceeding need only be in reasonable contemplation under Intel Corp. v. Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (1st Dist.) · 01-23-00660-CV

A crude oil purchasing company sought to freeze $2.18 million in assets of a broker that failed to pay for 79,310 barrels of crude oil delivered in March 2023, claiming the broker's downstream counterparty Delek's nonpayment created an insolvency event under the parties' agreement incorporating ConocoPhillips General Terms and Conditions. The Houston First Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's temporary injunction, finding Apricus failed to establish irreparable harm where Axis maintained $4 million in cash and $33.6 million in receivables despite the payment dispute.

U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, Austin Division · 1:24-CV-648-RP

A renewable energy subsidiary of a Chinese company challenged Texas' Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act under the Supremacy Clause and Equal Protection Clause, arguing federal CFIUS authority preempted state restrictions on foreign investment in critical infrastructure. The Western District of Texas granted defendants' motion to dismiss, rejecting conflict preemption, field preemption, and dormant foreign affairs preemption theories, and finding the plaintiff lacked standing to assert Equal Protection claims.

U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, Waco Division · 6:24-CV-00159-ADA-DTG

A magistrate judge recommended denying class certification for investors who purchased interests in FIC partnerships promoting carbon capture technology, finding that individualized issues would predominate over common questions despite plaintiffs' arguments regarding the Texas Securities Act. The putative class action targets advisory professionals and banks who allegedly facilitated Roy Hill and Eric Shelly's $155 million Ponzi scheme involving non-working carbon capture unit prototypes that raised funds from over 500 investors nationwide.

U.S. District Court, Northern District of Texas, San Angelo Division · 6:24-CV-070-H

Five Oklahoma LLCs holding working interests and overriding royalties in Glasscock County wells survived Ovintiv's motion to dismiss claims for pre-September 2020 revenues, with the court finding plausible allegations that Ovintiv's 2022 communications—including division orders stating "Effective Date: Date of First Sales—07/31/2020" and alleged promises to pay revenues from first sales to present—constituted unequivocal acknowledgment reviving otherwise time-barred debts under Texas Natural Resources Code Chapter 91. The decision turns on whether the operator's written communications specifically referenced ascertainable obligations sufficient to toll the four-year statute of limitations, a question the court found survived the pleading stage.

U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Texas, Beaumont Division · 1:25-CV-00473

W&T Energy sought emergency injunctive relief to prevent Murphy Exploration from plugging and abandoning the Medusa SS06 well in the Gulf of Mexico, arguing the well could be reworked to extract significant reserves despite a 2016 sand control system failure. The court denied the motion, holding that economic harms from lost future production and prior investments are calculable as monetary damages and do not constitute irreparable injury warranting preliminary injunctive relief.

U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, Pecos Division · PE:24-CV-00050-DC-DF

Mineral owners in Reeves County challenged Permian Resources' deduction of post-production costs from royalties on wells subject to Production Sharing Agreements, arguing the PSAs' express "without deduction of any pre-production or post-production costs" language superseded the underlying lease's "at the mouth of the well" royalty clause. The magistrate judge applied Heritage Resources and Warren to recommend dismissal, finding the no-deductions clause "simply meant nothing" under Texas Supreme Court precedent establishing that "at the well" language creates both a valuation point and valuation method that subsequent clauses cannot alter without changing the computation point itself.

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Galveston Division · 3:25-cv-00164

Homeowners sued solar panel sellers alleging fraudulent misrepresentations by a Vivint salesperson regarding tax credits, energy resale, lower electricity bills, and backup battery requirements. Vivint moved to dismiss all six causes of action under Rule 12(b)(6), with Magistrate Judge Andrew M. Edison recommending the motion be granted in part and denied in part.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Texarkana · 06-24-00080-CV

The Texarkana Court of Appeals reversed a trial court's summary judgment that barred claims under the Texas Tax Code statute of limitations, finding genuine issues of material fact regarding whether a Sheriff's Deed following a $4,500 tax foreclosure sale conveyed only wellbore-specific royalty interests in three pooled units or broader mineral interests across seven Harrison County tracts. Appellants Obra J. Moore, III and affiliated entities argued the deed conveyed interests limited to specific API-numbered wells in the Minnie Bell Gas Unit, A.G. Birdwell Gas Unit, and J. Johnson A-1 Unit, while appellee 1789 Minerals Fund I, LP claimed broader mineral estate ownership through its chain of title from tax sale purchaser Regina Roberts.

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division · 4:25-CV-03085

Stroud Production, operator of the Kelly Bayou Jeter Field Wide Unit in Miller County, Arkansas, sued oil purchaser DK Trading & Supply for breach of contract and violation of Arkansas Code § 15-74-601(a) after DKTS redirected working interest revenue to a third-party judgment holder without garnishment proceedings. Judge Andrew S. Hanen of the Southern District of Texas denied DKTS's motion to dismiss, though the full reasoning is not yet available in the published portion of the opinion.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (1st District) · 01-24-00088-CV

The Houston First Court of Appeals affirmed denial of summary judgment on Oncor's statutory indemnity defense under Texas Health & Safety Code § 752.008, holding that genuine fact issues existed as to whether an oil and gas pumper electrocuted while investigating a brushfire qualified as a "person responsible" under § 752.003(a)'s high voltage overhead line notification requirements. The court applied a "control-over-the-details" test and found unresolved factual disputes regarding scope of employment and whether the pumper exercised sufficient control over the work or activity near the line to trigger statutory notification obligations.

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas, Houston Division · 4:20-cv-00576

Following Fifth Circuit remand, the Southern District of Texas granted class certification in institutional investors' securities fraud action against Anadarko Petroleum and senior executives for allegedly misrepresenting viability and profitability of a deepwater Gulf of Mexico oil field project. The court denied cross-motions to exclude expert testimony, finding both investors' rebuttal report and defendants' surreply report on sunk-cost valuation principles satisfied Daubert reliability standards.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Beaumont · 09-25-00012-CV

Zarvona Energy secured reversal of summary judgment denial in dispute over whether identical oil and gas leases covering Tyler and Polk County acreage terminated under a 90-day cessation provision or required application of the Clifton v. Koontz reasonably-prudent-operator standard for measuring production in paying quantities. The appellate court addressed three controlling questions: whether the lease's 90-day cessation language replaces the traditional Clifton standard, whether cessation provisions apply on a pooled-unit basis or to all retained acreage collectively, and whether the retained acreage clause operates as a one-time snapshot provision or permits rolling partial terminations.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (1st District) · 01-24-00180-CV

A minority working interest owner in Williston Basin wells operated under a 1999 Joint Operating Agreement alleged that Chord Energy and affiliated midstream entities collusively inflated gas processing costs through 2017 Midstream Agreements, asserting ten claims including breach of contract, fraud, civil conspiracy, and alter ego theories against upstream operators, midstream service providers, and individual executives. The First Court of Appeals reversed the trial court's severance of dismissed tort claims from surviving contract claims, holding the claims were interwoven because each incorporated allegations that the parties "collusively agreed to artificially inflate gas processing costs" and risked inconsistent rulings on whether an express contract bars quasi-contract restitution theories.

Business Court of Texas, Fourth Division · 25-BC04B-0007

In a McMullen County Eagle Ford farmout dispute, the Business Court of Texas addressed whether a 2009 farmout agreement constituted a conditional assignment vesting immediate interest in the farmees subject to divestment, or merely an agreement to transfer requiring prerequisite performance. The court's partial summary judgment ruling turned on whether defendants' alleged failure to properly designate earned acreage within contractual deadlines would trigger automatic reversion of the leases to the farmors.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (14th District) · 14-25-00006-CV

The Fourteenth Court of Appeals reversed dismissal of an oilfield contractor's breach of contract and mineral lien foreclosure suit against Rise Petroleum Investments LLC, holding that Gulf Coast Lease Service's failure to timely move for default judgment was not intentional or the result of conscious indifference where the Secretary of State's delay in issuing the required Whitney certificate made filing impossible. The court applied Rule 165a(3)'s standard for reinstatement, finding that counsel's inability to obtain jurisdictional proof before the deadline negated intent or conscious indifference.

U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, San Antonio Division · SA-25-CA-00595-XR

Gringita, Ltd., a royalty owner holding 1,014.76 acres in Dimmit County, Texas, challenged INEOS and Chesapeake's deduction of post-production costs from its 25% royalty share under a mineral lease. The Western District of Texas granted partial summary judgment for the lessor, finding that lease provisions requiring deductions to be "added to the price received by Lessee" prohibited the defendants from charging post-production costs against the royalty.

U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, Midland-Odessa Division · MO:25-CV-00214-DC-RCG

Alkane Midstream LLC alleges Mesa Natural Gas Solutions fraudulently induced its purchase of 19 generator units by misrepresenting field testing and reliability of a newly released engine model, with all units allegedly suffering systemic mechanical failures within weeks of deployment. The Western District of Texas must determine whether Alkane adequately pleaded fraudulent inducement under Rule 9(b)'s heightened particularity standard when the purchase contract was executed with Mesa's alleged agent Alterra rather than Mesa directly.

U.S. Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit · No. 23-30294 (consolidated with No. 23-30422)

The Fifth Circuit remanded consolidated coastal erosion lawsuits brought by Plaquemines Parish and Cameron Parish against BP, Chevron, Shell, and other major operators after the Supreme Court vacated its prior judgment regarding federal officer removal jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1). The remand returns high-stakes environmental litigation concerning decades of oil and gas operations in Louisiana's coastal zone to the district courts for further proceedings.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Eastland · 11-26-00131-CV

Pioneer Natural Resources sought mandamus relief after the trial court denied its motion to disqualify defense counsel who contacted Pioneer's former in-house counsel outside formal discovery channels in a $534 million tortious interference case involving top leases in the Permian Basin. The Eastland Court of Appeals denied the petition, affording great deference to the trial court's credibility determinations and factual findings regarding whether defense counsel's communications exceeded a narrow attorney-client privilege waiver.

Texas Court of Appeals (Multiple Districts) · Not specified in source

Texas appellate courts are reversing jury awards favoring royalty owners where lease addenda contain 'free of cost' language but the underlying lease establishes market value at the well as the valuation point. Applying Heritage Resources v. NationsBank, courts hold that such addenda constitute surplusage because no post-production costs are incurred at the wellhead under Texas's 'at the well' framework, rendering the addenda legally inoperative.

District Court, Bexar County, Texas · Not specified in source

Bexar County District Court entered a $393 million judgment against CPS Energy for unpaid natural gas invoices stemming from fixed-price spot contracts executed during Winter Storm Uri in February 2021, comprising $263 million in principal, $119 million in contract interest accrued since early 2021, and $9.3 million in attorney fees. The court rejected CPS's unconscionability defense, holding that sophisticated commercial parties cannot avoid performance under spot market contracts negotiated during crisis pricing conditions—the largest Uri gas-pricing judgment reported to date.

Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission · Various enforcement proceedings

Colorado's Energy and Carbon Management Commission approved settlement agreements with Noble Energy, Crestone Peak, Bonanza Creek, HighPoint, Extraction Oil & Gas, and Kerr-McGee reducing aggregate civil penalties from $13.4 million to under $2 million for submitting falsified plugging and abandonment compliance data through third-party contractors. The settlements were finalized one day before ECMC Director Julie Murphy announced her resignation amid a separate investigation revealing a $1 billion financial assurance shortfall for cleanup of defunct wells.

U.S. Supreme Court · Not specified

The Supreme Court granted certiorari to resolve a circuit split over whether the Fifth Amendment or state law governs compensation—including attorney's fees—when interstate pipeline companies exercise federal eminent domain authority under the Natural Gas Act. The Eighth Circuit's exclusion of $383,000 in attorney's fees awarded under North Dakota law to landowners directly conflicts with Third, Fifth, Sixth, and Eleventh Circuit precedent permitting state-law fee recovery in Natural Gas Act condemnation proceedings.

District Court, Lampasas County, Texas · Not specified

A Lampasas County jury awarded approximately $7 million to Artemis Ranch owners after Matterhorn Express Pipeline condemned a half-mile easement across their 4,000-acre eco-tourism property, rejecting the pipeline company's $21,000 final offer in a verdict 330 times higher. The April 2026 award highlights the substantial gap that can emerge between pipeline companies' compensation offers and jury valuations in condemnation proceedings involving properties with specialized commercial operations.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Houston (1st District) · 01-21-00712-CV

The Houston First Court of Appeals affirmed a $23,560,541.20 jury verdict awarding lost profits to a water supplier after Equinor breached an exclusivity provision by purchasing water from competing suppliers for its oil and gas wells. The court held that a contractual bar on consequential, indirect, or special damages—including lost profits—did not preclude recovery of direct lost profit damages measured by the benefit-of-the-bargain standard.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Eastland · 11-22-00350-CV

ETC Texas Pipeline sued XTO Energy for breach of an exclusivity clause in their gathering and processing agreement, alleging XTO sold gas to third parties without compensation, but the Eastland Court of Appeals affirmed summary judgment after holding that a dedicated acreage map satisfied the statute of frauds' writing requirement and that the contract's damage limitation clause precluded recovery of lost profit damages. The court determined the agreement was a service contract rather than a mineral interest transfer, but still required compliance with the statute of frauds as a contract requiring performance beyond one year through July 2029.

Court of Appeals of Texas, Eastland · No. 11-22-00365-CV, No. 11-23-00001-CV

The Eastland Court of Appeals held that a deed provision reserving "an undivided one-fourth (1/4th) of the usual one-eighth (1/8th) royalty" created a perpetual floating 1/4 royalty interest rather than a fixed 1/32 interest, applying the presumption that 1/8 reflects the entire mineral estate in double-fraction provisions. The court rejected Fasken's affirmative defenses of quasi-estoppel, contractual estoppel, division order estoppel, and judicial estoppel, though it reversed the trial court's determination that the royalty owners could bring a breach of contract claim.

Texas Business Court, Eleventh Division · 25-BC11B-0005

NGL Water Solutions sought declaratory relief in Harris County based on a venue-selection clause in a Shut In Agreement, arguing it immunized the company from liability for alleged wastewater migration that damaged Lime Rock's Bone Spring formation wells in Loving County. The Business Court transferred venue to Loving County, holding that Section 15.011's mandatory venue provision for actions to recover damages to real property superseded the contractual forum selection clause, which failed to qualify as a "major transaction" under Section 15.020(a).

U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas · 4:22-CV-01192

Following Hurricane Ida, Wapiti Energy's crude oil barge SMI 315 grounded on ConocoPhillips marshland, triggering a coverage dispute over $926,840.32 in removal costs under a P&I policy's wreck removal clause requiring removal be "compulsory by law." The Fifth Circuit reversed the district court's initial dismissal, holding that Louisiana possessory action law created sufficient liability to make removal compulsory, and remanded for determination of whether the grounded-but-intact barge qualified as a "wreck" under the policy.

United States Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Texas, Waco Division · Case No. 24-60308

The Western District of Texas Bankruptcy Court held that a Chapter 11 debtor could reject an executory gas gathering agreement despite covenants running with the land, marking a matter of first impression in bankruptcy law. The court applied the business judgment standard and found continuing mutual obligations rendered the agreement executory, even though the operator had already constructed the compression system.

U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Southern District of Texas · 24-33353 (ARP); Adversary No. 24-3167

A Texas bankruptcy court denied a motion to stay pending appeal in a dispute over whether oilfield service providers holding Chapter 56 mineral liens can invoke Chapter 67's statutory withholding mechanism to intercept over $2.5 million in crude oil proceeds. The ruling affects Force Pressure Control and Axis Energy Services, which had demanded Plains Marketing withhold payments from debtor Barrow Shaver Resources' oil sales based on unpaid service claims totaling approximately $2.5 million.

Court of Appeals of Texas, El Paso · 08-19-00124-CV

MRC Permian Company missed a drilling deadline under its lease and sought declaratory relief that a force majeure clause prevented termination, while Point Energy Partners claimed successor rights and counterclaimed for breach. The El Paso Court of Appeals, on remand from the Texas Supreme Court, held that the lease's retained-acreage clause was a covenant rather than a special limitation, meaning breach could not result in automatic lease termination or limit production unit size, and further clarified that horizontal wellbore length must be measured from the kickoff point into the producing formation.

Court of Appeals of Texas, El Paso · 08-24-00065-CV

The El Paso Court of Appeals resolved competing summary judgment motions concerning a 1950 Brazos County mineral deed containing internally inconsistent reservation language—expressly reserving a 1/32 interest in minerals to each grantor while excluding bonus and rentals, yet concluding with language reserving "a one-fourth non-participating interest in the customary one-eighth royalty." The court held that each grantor reserved a 1/4 mineral interest stripped of all rights except the right to royalty payments equal to 1/4 of the lease royalty, harmonizing the deed's contradictory provisions through application of the four-corners rule.

U.S. District Court, Western District of Wisconsin · 3:19-cv-00602

District court stayed its June 16, 2026 shutdown injunction requiring Enbridge to cease operations on Line 5's 2.33-mile segment crossing Bad River Reservation despite finding the pipeline operator lacks valid easement and committed ongoing trespass on tribal lands. The stay pending Seventh Circuit appeal balances tribal sovereignty against international treaty obligations under the 1977 Transit Pipelines Treaty, with the court acknowledging no legal authority supports indefinite trespass but citing 'devastating impact' on energy trade.

Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission · Not specified in source

Six Front Range operators—including Noble Energy (now Occidental), Bonanza Creek, and Extraction Oil & Gas—settled falsified toxic substance reporting violations at 344 drill sites for $2 million after consultants Eagle Environmental and Tasman Geosciences allegedly altered laboratory data between 2021-2024, avoiding $11 million in potential penalties. The Colorado ECMC approved settlements 4-1 over Commissioner Ackerman's dissent that 'purposeful fraud' in environmental compliance reporting warranted full statutory penalties rather than 82% reductions.

Texas Business Court · Not specified in sources

Texas Business Court enforced drag-along rights in Primexx Energy Corporation's forced sale to Callon Petroleum, granting partial summary judgment against PE-backed limited partners who sought to impose common law fiduciary duties requiring enhanced sale processes beyond the partnership agreement's express contractual terms. The court denied summary judgment on post-closing waterfall allocation mechanics and sidecar entity valuation issues that will proceed to trial.

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (Rulemaking Proceeding) · Not applicable (rulemaking)

TCEQ's proposed rulemaking would transfer treated produced water land application permitting authority from the Railroad Commission, applying existing municipal and industrial wastewater standards—testing only for salts, nitrate, E. coli, and bacteria—to fracking wastewater spread on Texas farmland. The framework lacks specific standards for produced water's chemical constituents and relies on operator-submitted technical assessments for groundwater protection determinations, drawing criticism following the April 2026 Grandfalls incident that released 1.5 million gallons of toxic wastewater.

Texas Business Court · 24-BC11B-0004

Energy Transfer subsidiary Lone Star NGL seeks $432.7 million from Blackstone-backed Eagle Claw Midstream for allegedly breaching Y-grade gas delivery agreements by diverting volumes to Targa's Grand Prix pipeline in exchange for ownership interests. The Texas Business Court bench trial concluded June 2, 2026, with defendants contending plaintiff's corporate structure limits recoverable damages to $3.97 million—less than 1% of the claimed amount.

Texas Business Court · 2026 Tex. Bus. 10

Following the second-ever Texas Business Court trial, Judge Barnard split trade secret misappropriation settlement proceeds 50/50 between post-bankruptcy Mesquite Energy (f/k/a Sanchez Energy Corporation) and Sanchez Oil & Gas Corporation, holding that joint development of Eagle Ford cost-saving initiatives created co-ownership rights despite Sanchez Energy providing all funding for the underlying proprietary methods. The court further ordered Sanchez Oil & Gas to reimburse half of pre-bankruptcy litigation expenses under unjust enrichment theory, finding the parties' 2022 post-bankruptcy settlement agreement did not bar the reimbursement claim.

Texas Business Court, Fourth Division (San Antonio) · Not specified

The Texas Business Court held that farmees in a farmout agreement acquire a vested fee simple determinable interest immediately upon execution, not upon completion of drilling obligations, rejecting the farmors' argument that the instruments were mere conditional assignments. Judge Sharp ruled that earned-acreage requirements function as special limitations and that payout calculations under the farmout must be tied exclusively to earning wells rather than subsequent non-earning wells drilled on already-earned acreage.

U.S. District Court, District of Montana · Not specified in source

Chief Judge Brian Morris ordered BLM and Wyoming to refund $109 million in bonus bids to energy companies after finding Secretary Zinke's 2018 memo illegally authorized 2019 lease sales in Wyoming sage grouse habitat by unreasonably misconstruing 2015 habitat protection plans. The court permitted nine producing wells to continue operations despite the underlying lease invalidation, with those leases having generated $15.1 million in state taxes.

Texas Court of Appeals, First District · 01-23-00573-CV

South Texas Pipelines, an Enterprise Products subsidiary, sought to condemn easements for a polymer-grade propylene pipeline from Mont Belvieu to Corpus Christi, with the First District addressing whether PGP qualifies as an 'oil product' under Texas Business Organizations Code §2.105. The appeal turns on statutory construction of eminent domain authority and whether the pipeline operator demonstrated sufficient common carrier public use to satisfy constitutional takings requirements.

Texas Railroad Commission Administrative Proceeding · Not publicly disclosed

The Texas Railroad Commission is seeking $6.95 million—230 times the average well plugging cost—from WaterBridge Operating LLC following a September 2024 Ward County disposal well blowout that released toxic wastewater from a 1950s-era legacy well. The administrative proceeding tests whether operators of permitted disposal wells operating within regulatory injection pressure limits can be held financially liable for blowouts at improperly plugged offset wells allegedly induced by subsurface pressure migration.

District Court of Crane County, Texas · Not publicly disclosed

A Crane County landowner sued eight oil and gas operators alleging improperly operated produced water injection wells and inadequately plugged abandoned wells on his 6,000-acre ranch caused a 200-foot saltwater geyser and multiple blowouts between January 2022 and April 2024. The December 2024 complaint directly challenges the Railroad Commission's May 2025 injection well operating guidelines and seeks declaratory relief on operator liability for subsurface waste migration from disposal operations.

Texas Supreme Court · No. 25-0010, No. 25-0012

The Texas Supreme Court reversed the Eastland Court of Appeals' jurisdictional holding that it could not consider the presumed-grant doctrine on permissive interlocutory appeal, where Fasken claimed a floating 1/4 royalty interest after treating the 1933 deed reservation as a fixed 1/32 interest for 85 years. The Court held that the presumed-grant doctrine was a "fairly included subsidiary issue" within the certified controlling question of whether Fasken was barred from claiming anything other than a fixed 1/32 interest through affirmative defenses.