Northern District of Texas Allows Revival of Time-Barred Revenue Claims Based on Operator's 2022 Acknowledgment of Debt from First Sales

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.