Energy Law

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Posted on February 03, 2011
Thanks to you, our readership, Liskow's Energy Law Blog has been nominated for the LexisNexis Top 50 Environmental Law & Climate Change Blogs!  If you like what you see on our blog, please let the ELCCC (LexisNexis Environmental Law & Climate Change Community) know by commenting 'here' (go ahead and do it now, nomination support ends February 14)...

EPA Denied Extension to Promulgate Boiler MACT Rule

Posted on February 03, 2011
By: Megan J. Spencer EPA first issued its Boiler MACT Rule on September 13, 2004. However, these standards were vacated by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit after the Court found EPA's definition of 'commercial or industrial waste' conflicted with the language of the Clean Air Act in NRDC v...

Fifth Circuit Reverses District Court Ruling Protecting Mineral Owner's Rights of Ingress and Egress Over National Park Service Land

Posted on January 18, 2011
by: Megan J. Spencer               In its decision, filed January 7, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed, vacated and remanded the opinion of a Texas district court that had found that the National Park Service's Oil and Gas Management Plan was invalid under the Administrative Procedure Act ('APA') because it denied Plaintiffs rights of ingress and egress established in the state and federal law creating the park...

Fifth Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment in Oil Pollution Act Case

Posted on January 10, 2011
In Gabarick v. Laurin Maritime (America), Inc., 2010 WL 5421015 (5th Cir. Dec. 30, 2010), the Fifth Circuit reversed the district court's finding of summary judgment on liability under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 ('OPA').  In doing so, the Court determined that at the summary judgment stage of a complex OPA case involving a number of different parties, it was improper for the court to rely solely on allegations made in the pleadings in order to find that one particular party was not liable under OPA...

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EPA Releases Guidance On Greenhouse Gas Permitting Leaving Many Questions Unanswered

Posted on December 02, 2010
by Megan Spencer     On November 10, 2010, EPA released guidance for states and permitting authorities to begin including greenhouse gas ('GHG') emissions in PSD and Title V permitting processes entitled PSD and Title V Permitting Guidance For Greenhouse Gases...

EPA Encourages Consideration of Ocean Acidification in Clean Water Act Impairment Listings

Posted on November 23, 2010
By Carlos J. Moreno: On November 15, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a memorandum providing States with guidance on how to address ocean acidification in their Clean Water Act 303(d) impairment listings.  Section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act requires States to list water bodies that will not meet Water Quality Standards, even after technology-based permit requirements are implemented...

EPA Releases Final Rule Requiring Oil and Gas Sources to Report Emissions of Greenhouse Gases

Posted on November 18, 2010
By Carlos J. Moreno On November 8, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final Subpart W rule to cover petroleum and natural gas facilities under the agency's Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Reporting Program. The original Subpart W rule for petroleum and natural gas facilities was proposed in March 2010...

Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal Reverses District Court's Dismissal in Arsenic Land Damage Case

Posted on November 12, 2010
By Stephen Wiegand In David v. Mosaic Global Operations, (La. App. 3 Cir. 10/27/10), the Louisiana Third Circuit Court of Appeal reversed the dismissal of land contamination claims brought against the manufacturer of a tick-killing agent used on cattle...

Louisiana Supreme Court Issues Opinion in Marin et al. v. Exxon Mobil Corp. et al.

Posted on November 12, 2010
By Michael A. Mahone, Jr. On October 19, 2010, the Louisiana Supreme Court issued its opinion in Marin et al. v. Exxon Mobil Corp. et al., a 'legacy' lawsuit involving damage to property located in St. Mary Parish caused by historical oil and gas operations...

Louisiana Supreme Court Issues Opinion in Marin v. Exxon Mobil Corp.

Posted on November 12, 2010
  By Michael A. Mahone, Jr. On October 19, 2010, the Louisiana Supreme Court issued its opinion in Marin v. Exxon Mobil Corp., a 'legacy' lawsuit involving damage to property located in St. Mary Parish caused by historical oil and gas operations...

Texas Supreme Court Offers Exemplary Damage Guidance

Posted on June 29, 2010
Bennett v. Reynolds, No. 08-0074, 2010 WL 2541096 (Tex. June 25, 2010). By Natalie Barletta and Andrew Wooley In Bennett v. Reynolds the Supreme Court of Texas clarifies that the maximum ratio for exemplary to actual damages in Texas will rarely exceed 4 to 1 and that a defendant's conduct generally, not just that specifically related to a tort, may be considered in gauging reprehensibility for federal due process purposes...

Fifth Circuit Dismisses Appeal in Comer v. Murphy Oil USA, et al

Posted on June 07, 2010
By Michael A. Mahone, Jr. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently dismissed the appeal in Comer v. Murphy Oil USA et al. because of the lack of a quorum. The appeal had been taken from the Southern District of Mississippi and a panel of the Fifth Circuit ruled on the merits...

Texas Court Upholds Lease Cancellation for Failure to Pay Shut-In Payments To Proper Party

Posted on May 10, 2010
By Kevin Connolly: In Nitschke v. Circle Ridge Production, Inc., No. 12-09-00150CV, _____ S.W.3d ____ (Tex. App.—Tyler 5/5/2010), the Tyler Court of Appeals upheld a trial court's findings of fact and conclusions of law with respect to the termination of an oil and gas lease for failure to pay shut-in royalty payments to the proper party...

U.S. Fifth Circuit Finds Contractual Claim Under JOA Not Impermissible "Collateral Attack"

Posted on May 04, 2010
By Robert L. Theriot In EOG Resources Inc. v. Chesapeake Energy Corp., No. 09-30362, __ F.3d __ (5th Cir. 4/29/10), the Fifth Circuit reinstated EOG's contractual claim against Chesapeake under the parties' joint operating agreement (JOA).  EOG claimed that Chesapeake had unilaterally drilled three wells in the parties' pooled mineral leases in Bossier Parish, Louisiana, without first obtaining EOG's written consent as required by their JOA...

Proposal Encourages Oil & Gas Exploration in South Louisiana

Posted on April 21, 2010
By Michael A. Mahone, Jr. The Louisiana Mineral and Energy Board is currently reviewing an incentive proposal that would offer a 'royalty relief incentive' on new drilling leases along the Louisiana coast. Specifically, the proposal would offer royalties for a period of three years for wells drilled to a depth of fifteen thousand feet along the coastal zone...

EPA Announces January 2011 as Likely Date for Regulation of Greenhouse Gases Under PSD Program

Posted on April 07, 2010
By Stephen Wiegand EPA recently announced its position regarding the timing of the regulation of greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act's Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) Program. A PSD permit is required before a new industrial facility can be built or an existing facility can be modified in a way that significantly increases pollutant emissions...

Houston Court Rejects Weighted Average Royalty Payment Calculations Under Lease Agreement

Posted on April 06, 2010
By Natalie Barletta:             In Shell Oil Co. v. Ross, No. 01-08-00713-CV (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] February 25, 2010, no pet. h.), Ross, a mineral interest owner, brought a breach of contract, unjust enrichment, and fraud action against natural gas lessee, Shell...

Texas Court Analyzes When Operator "Actually" Commences Operations Under JOA

Posted on April 06, 2010
By Natalie Barletta:              The principal issue addressed in Valence Operating Company v. Anadarko Petroleum Corporation, 303 S.W.3d 435 (Tex. App.—Texarkana 2010, no pet.h.), is whether Valence actually commenced work on its proposal to drill four wells within the time specified by the parties' joint operating agreement ('JOA')...

Texas Court Upholds Temporary Injunction, Finds Cash in Lieu of Bond Meets Statutory Requirements

Posted on April 06, 2010
By Marie Carlisle:             The principle issue addressed in Adobe Oilfield Services v. Trilogy Operating, Inc., No. 11-09-00162-CV (Tex. App.—Eastland January 29, 2010), involves the granting of a temporary injunction to prevent the filing of liens against oil wells...

Federal Judge Grants Motions to Dismiss Terrebonne Assessor's Ad Valorem Tax Suits

Posted on March 31, 2010
By Kelly Becker Federal Judge Ginger Berrigan issued a comprehensive Order and Reasons addressing and granting a series of motions to dismiss filed by oil and gas company defendants, and individual executive officer defendants, all of which were pending in the consolidated federal court Bonvillain Terrebonne Parish ad valorem tax suits...

Proposed EPA Rules Would Subject Additional Sources to Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Rule

Posted on March 31, 2010
By Stepehen Wiegand In October 2009, EPA promulgated the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule. This rule required reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from a number of large sources including suppliers of fossil fuels or industrial greenhouse gases, manufacturers of vehicles and engines, and certain facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more per year of greenhouse gas emissions...

Proposed EPA Rules Would Subject Oil and Gas Sources to Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Posted on March 31, 2010
By Stepehen Wiegand In October 2009, EPA promulgated the Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases Rule. This rule required reporting of greenhouse gas emissions from a number of large sources including suppliers of fossil fuels or industrial greenhouse gases, manufacturers of vehicles and engines, and certain facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more per year of greenhouse gas emissions...

Office of Conservation Publishes Proposed Amendments to Statewide Order 29-B

Posted on March 30, 2010
In early 2010, the Louisiana Office of Conservation published in the Louisiana Register a Notice of Intent to amend Statewide Order 29-B, the regulation governing the storage, treatment, and disposal of exploration and production waste at oilfield sites...

Office of Conservation Proposes Amendments to Statewide Order 29-B

Posted on March 23, 2010
By Stephen Wiegand In early 2010, the Louisiana Office of Conservation published in the Louisiana Register a Notice of Intent to amend Statewide Order 29-B, the regulation governing the storage, treatment, and disposal of exploration and production waste at oilfield sites...

Federal Court Remands Mineral Lease Dispute for Lack of Evidence of Amount in Controversy

Posted on February 02, 2010
By Emma J. Hinnigan In Sullivan v. Chesapeake Louisiana, L.P., 09-0579, 2009 WL 3735798 (W.D. La. Nov. 6, 2009), the Western District of Louisiana remanded a case seeking rescission of a mineral lease back to state court after the defendant failed to provide proof of the amount in controversy, namely the total value of the lease...

Courts as Battlefields in Climate Fights

Posted on February 02, 2010
By Elisabeth Lorio Baer Kivalina, Alaska, an Inupiat Eskimo village of 400 inhabitants perched on a barrier island north of the Arctic Circle, is bringing suit against two dozen fuel and utility companies, including ExxonMobil and Shell Oil, accusing them of helping to cause the climate change that it alleges is accelerating the island's erosion...

Fifth Circuit Considers Gas Price Manipulation Allegations

Posted on January 21, 2010
By Michael A. Mahone, Jr. In U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission v. Dizona, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently considered allegations by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission that a natural gas trader had attempted to manipulate the price of natural gas by knowingly delivering false and inaccurate price and volume data to reporting services...

Secretary of Interior Announces Reform in Nation's Oil and Gas Development Policy

Posted on January 06, 2010
By Matthew Simone On January 6, 2010, the Secretary of the Interior, Ken Salazar, announced plans to reform the nation's policy on oil and gas development in an effort to shift from the Bush Administration's 'anywhere, anyhow' policy. The goals of this reform are to improve environmental protection and to reduce costly litigation and protests...

EPA Issues Final Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding

Posted on January 06, 2010
By Stephen Wiegand On December 15, 2009, EPA published in the Federal Register its final endangerment findings with respect to greenhouse gases. See 74 Fed. Reg. 66496 (Dec. 15, 2009) [http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/endangerment/downloads/Federal_Register-EPA-HQ-OAR-2009-0171-Dec...

Texas Court Holds Produced and Stored Oil Transferrable as Personal Property in Assignment

Posted on November 24, 2009
By Sarah Steward-Lindsey In ERG Resources, LLC v. Merlon Texas, Inc., the First Court of Appeals in Houston held that oil which had been severed and stored in tanks on site was personal property and thus was transferred by an assignment of the oil and gas property on which the tanks were located...

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