Due perhaps to geologic serendipity, Texas has a long and extensive history of oil and gas exploration and production. Consequently, much of Texas’ lands have experienced severance of mineral from surface estate and resulting complications of concurrent occupancy by parties whose interests are not always fully aligned. In Texas, the owner of a severed mineral interest (and its mineral lessee) generally enjoy an implied right to enter upon the surface and to use the surface estate for the purpose of exploring, drilling, producing, transporting, and marketing the minerals. The Texas Supreme Court has described this implied right as “a well established doctrine from the earliest days of the common law.” The underlying rational is that a grant, lease, or reservation of minerals would be worthless if the grantee, reserver, or lessee did not have access to and use of the surface estate.

This article features a portion of the Railroad Commission Update paper presented at the 45th Annual Ernest E. Smith Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Institute and provides an update to the Commission’s prohibition against double-assignment of acreage.

McGinnis Lochridge’s Oil & Gas Newsletter: Producer’s Edge keeps clients informed about Texas oil and gas case law, regulatory updates, and insightful articles relevant to the oil and gas community. 

In this edition, we present several insightful articles, including an article covering the recent Barrow-Shaver opinion from the Texas Supreme Court involving the role of expert witness testimony in contract construction cases. You’ll also find an article surveying surface use disputes, an article discussing a recent drainage/offset case, and an article discussing acreage assignment issues at the Texas Railroad Commission. In addition, we have included a guest article from the International Trade and Transactions Practice Group, analyzing key legal factors when engaging in international oil and gas transactions. Finally, you’ll find a short summary of several recent Texas oil and gas cases, and a list of oil and gas cases pending before the Texas Supreme Court.

Download the second issue of Producer’s Edge here.

McGinnis Lochridge’s Oil & Gas Newsletter: Producer’s Edge keeps clients informed about Texas oil and gas case law, regulatory updates, and insightful articles relevant to the oil and gas community. In this first edition, we highlight several recent Texas oil and gas cases. We also highlight Partner Donald D. Jackson, and his recent article, Can A Driller Trespass While Fracking On Its Own Lease? You’ll also find our article listing a brief summary of several oil and gas cases pending in front of the Texas Supreme Court.

Download the first issue of Producer’s Edge here.