Fifth Circuit Clarifies Force Majeure Standards in Natural Gas Sales Contracts After Winter Storm Uri

The Fifth Circuit held that a force majeure clause in a natural gas sales agreement does not require literal impossibility of performance, and that 'seller's gas supply' refers only to gas the seller produces from its own operations—not replacement gas available on the spot market. The court reversed summary judgment on whether Pioneer exercised contractually-required due diligence to overcome Winter Storm Uri's impacts on its Permian Basin gas deliveries to MIECO.