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… on energy endorsements Texas adopted The ALTA 36 series includes three other endorsements available for energy projects: 36.4/36.5: covers loss or damage relating to violations of recorded covenants, conditions and restrictions that impact use of the land 36.6: covers, among other things, loss or damage resulting from project improvements encroaching into third-party easement areas 36.9: a very recent addition to the 36 series, covers loss or damage relating …

… of operation or amending existing plans of operations under the General Mining Law of 1872 Issuing any final decision related to R.S. 2477 claims Appointing, hiring or promoting personnel Issuing any onshore or offshore renewable energy authorization including a lease, an amendment to a lease, right of way or any other agreement required to allow for renewable energy development The temporary suspension on most actions conducted by Department of Interior staff is in …

… marketable products. West Virginia’s marketable product rule, however, applies to residual gas and NGLs. Thus, unless the lease expressly permits operators to deduct postproduction expenses, operators will be unable to deduct postproduction expenses from royalties paid on both residual gas and NGLs. Going forward, operators must evaluate whether their current West Virginia leases are subject to the marketable product rule, and if so, ensure that their royalty calculations are consistent with Romeo’s …

… each month,” and because that language did not “expressly stipulate” compounding interest, the Court could not read compounding interest into the lease. Thus, only simple interest was available. What can oil-and-gas lessors and lessees take from Samson? If you want compounding interest on unpaid royalty payments, do not leave it to chance. Make sure it is “expressly stipulate[d].”

… permitting process to ensure states are not taking on significant liability. On the other hand, supporters of the ownership and liability transfer approach claim that the state’s assumption of responsibility will encourage the growth of the carbon sequestration industry. They argue that the transfer of ownership provides more predictability for investors looking to back projects with concrete timelines and liability risks. Proponents also believe that the state assumption of responsibility could ensure appropriate …

… “at-the-well” royalty calculation. She read Randle to mean that “free-use” clauses—such as the one in Carl’s lease—changed her obligation to bear her share of post-production costs. The Court rejected this argument, stating that Randle only “reiterate[d] the longstanding rule that an ‘at-the-well’ royalty ‘bears its usual share of post-production costs.’” Practical Takeaways The Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Carl v. Hilcorp provides …

… Second Circuit also explained that under the one-pipeline provision of ETC’s pipeline servitude, ETC could not lay a second pipeline below its existing high-pressure pipeline. Finally, the Second Circuit concluded that ETC’s pipeline servitude did not authorize ETC to prohibit underground crossings at safe depths. Takeaways for All Jurisdictions The Second Circuit’s decision stands for the proposition that the holder of a pipeline personal servitude of right — at least …

… the GAO report has made the following recommendations to increase accessibility to information and guidance pertaining to Mega Rule Parts I and III: The Administrator of PHMSA should, as PHMSA considers possible changes to the potential impact radius calculation, evaluate what additional data are needed from operators to better understand the actual impact of pipeline incidents. The Administrator of PHMSA should develop an implementation plan for the remaining activities for the 2022 final rule …

… Props., LLC v. Marathon Oil Co., No. 17-cv-456, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99819, 2022 WL 1766925, at *14 (N.D. Okla. 2022) (declining to certify class "given the general inaccuracies in the Lease Charts"); Hicks v. Southwestern Energy Co., 330 F.R.D. 183, 192-93 (E.D. Ark. 2018) (denying certification where the plaintiff failed to present evidence about the lease language outside of a specific drilling unit despite the …

… storage facility, but also groups of adjacent tanks known as “tank batteries.” Methane Leak Requirements: The EPA revised its leak detection and repair requirements to provide options for advanced measurement technologies and alternative inspection frequencies. Well Closure: Fugitive emissions monitoring is required until well closure, with a final optical gas imaging survey. Results must be submitted to the EPA, and any detected emissions must be eliminated. Pneumatic Pump and Controller Requirements: All pneumatic pump …

… demonstrates continued regulatory oversight of the energy sector with specific interest in cybersecurity. Energy lawyers will play a crucial role in helping their clients ensure compliance with the TSA’s directive, communicate with TSA in the face of cyber threats and foster collaboration as TSA likely issues new directives in the future.

… Rule’s many requirements stemming from changes to 49 CFR Part 192.

… spaces belongs to the injector, while the minority rule finds that the pore space belongs to the surface rights owner, and, when gas is injected therein, the surface rights owner claims ownership over the gas.

… normally be federal business.

… water.” Id. at 739. The court surmised that the burden of safe disposal of produced water has rested with the operators for years. Thus, the court held that the mineral leases were negotiated against this backdrop and with this understanding, and found that no provisions of COG’s mineral leases indicated the parties intended to contradict this industry norm. This decision may come into play in any future perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl (also known as …

… portion of the Leasehold with any other land or lands, whether contiguous or not contiguous ... so as to create one (1) or more drilling or production units” and “to change the size, shape and conditions of any unit created.” It then specified that “[a]ny [o]perations conducted on the drilling or production unit ... shall have the same effect in continuing [the] [2006 Lease] ... as if such [o]perations were conducted upon the Leasehold …

… the life of pipelines operating below 100 psig, service lines and plastic pipelines amending Section 192.517. The NPRM proposes an expanded list of pipeline emergencies under Section 192.615 and would include, for “distribution line operators only, unintentional release of gas and shutdown of gas service to 50 or more customers or, if the operator has fewer than 100 customers, 50 percent or more of its total customers.” The NPRM proposes to amend …

… clients prepare for and prevent incidents through advising and counseling around significant legal and policy developments. This practice group manages the varying interests that arise pre- and post-incident, balancing these interests while ensuring employee and public safety, limiting a company’s litigation and other exposure, and facilitating a company’s efforts to keep the affected asset in service.

On Aug. 2, 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced the grant of $64.4 million to states to improve the safety of pipelines and underground natural gas operations.The goal of the grant is to provide states with the funding necessary to inspect pipelines and underground natural gas facilities to ensure safety and compliance with federal and state regulations.Currently, the United States has 3.4 …

… schedules based on the leak’s public safety and environmental risks. To comply, operators would be required to demonstrate that their equipment and programs can detect all leaks above a minimum threshold.Operators of part 193-regulated liquefied natural gas facilities also would have to perform quarterly methane leakage surveys of non-tank equipment. These operators would be required to repair leaks consistent with maintenance or abnormal operations procedures.Please contact an alert author …

… temporarily ban fossil fuel-powered, cryptocurrency mining operations for two years. The legislation sought to restrict the use of carbon-based mining operations, while allowing permits for operations that used alternatives for power, such as hydro or wind. In contrast, in May 2022, the Oklahoma Senate sought to introduce the Commercial Digital Asset Mining Act (SB590) to provide tax exemptions for the sale of crypto-mining equipment.Economic Input. In April 2023, the World …

… cybersecurity strategy to segregate IT and OT systems to protect against infections across systems.To address IT system and OT system threats, as well as other cybersecurity threats, the ANPRM describes the “core elements” of a cybersecurity risk management program. Those core elements include, among other things:designation of a responsible individual for cybersecurity;access controls;training, drills and exercises;technical and physical security controls;incident response plan and operational resilience; andrecord keeping and …

… challenging “new normal” for energy companies. McGuireWoods has an experienced team, including former senior officials from key offices of attorneys general across the country, that counsels clients through price-gouging investigations in the energy space and other industries. The team also helps clients preemptively avoid state regulatory actions.

Operators of gas and hazardous liquid pipelines must comply with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s new Valve Installation and Minimum Rupture Detection Standards.