Disclosures During Oil and Gas Lease Negotiations - Texas and Louisiana



The oil and gas industry has always been subject to booms and busts. Barnett Shale and Haynesville Shale lessors are recovering from their first “bust.” Their roller coaster ride started with oil and gas lease terms of $200/acre and a 1/8th royalty, up to $27,200/acre and a 1/4th royalty, and then back down to $500-$5,000/acre and a 1/5th royalty. In some cases, it seemed like the “going rates” changed…

The State of Louisiana is undoubtedly the largest landowner in the state, and therefore is likely the largest mineral owner as well. Just like any other party, the State often acts aggressively to protect and establish its ownership of mineral rights throughout Louisiana. This blog post is meant to give a summary of some of the legal issues surrounding ownership of mineral rights when the State of Louisiana is involved.  This post is for educational purposes only, and is certainly no…

One of the unique aspects of Louisiana property law is the regime governing servitudes. For Louisianans and out-of-staters alike, the nomenclature and rules can be quite confusing. This post is to provide a brief summary of the ins and outs of Louisiana servitudes, in their basic forms, in hopes of alleviating some of that confusion. I will go into more depth into mineral servitudes because that is subject matter of this site.

This post is meant to be educational, but certainly should…

I have leases with 11 different operators and have tried to come to terms with the best and the worst. On this site it is sometimes very apparent who is the worst, but not a lot about who might be the best. I have a new worst, that actually has pushed CHK down to second place. Samson Resources has always given me heartburn, but since the recent boy out by KKR has catapulted them to the front of the line. Samson has recently added a section to their Web-site that shows their core values and…

I went on line and then called TRRC cause I couldn't figure it out.  Talked with a woman named Nancy, absolutely no help.  Called the office of John Pintera and a woman called me back.  Her name is Ramona Nye.  Super lady game me all that I asked for...until my internet crashed!  Thanks ma. Bell, again.  Kudos to Ms. Nye.

It has been a while since I posted and some things have happend on the lease that may be of interest.

About a year ago, they drilled a horizontal Hainsville, the Wells 2H, but it has never been completed, probably waiting for gas prices to increase.

And recently they brought in the Wells 3H, a Hardwood Cotton Valley. It has been doing quite well since Jan 9, 2012, producing about 4M a day plus some condensate. Waiting for that first check.

And since all…

Natural Gas Prices  Remain at 10-Year Lows

On Tuesday, March 27, 2012 Natural gas futures ended the day to fall 1.8 cents to $2.21 per 1,000 cubic feet after dropping 5 cents on Monday, Mar. 26th.  Natural gas supplies are currently more than 50 percent above the five-year average for this time of year.

On Monday, March 12, 2012:  Natural gas futures price fell to a new 10-year low, falling by 5.5…

In the first half of 2011, the Big Four benefited from tight supply-demand conditions for many key services, as frenzied drilling activity in North American shale oil and gas plays strained the industry’s capacity to meet these needs.

In particular, a shortage of pressure pumping capacity–a service critical to hydraulic fracturing–had enabled service providers to push through substantial price increases in recent years.

Hydraulic fracturing is a process whereby producers pump a…

Huge Supplies & A Mild Winter Causes Natural Gas Prices To Drop on Jan. 12, 2012 To Near Historic Lows:

The price of natural gas for February delivery fell 8 cents to end at $2.6970 per 1,000 cubic feet on Jan. 12.  The price has fallen 13% this week alone due to a relatively mild winter weather cutting heating demand and huge supplies.  On Jan. 12, 2012, the Energy Information Administration said supplies are 13.4…

Austin, TX – Chairman Elizabeth Ames Jones and her fellow commissioners adopted one of the nation’s most comprehensive chemical disclosure rules for hydraulic fracturing chemicals. The rule will require Texas oil and gas operators to disclose on a national public website all the ingredients and water volumes used to hydraulically fracture wells in Texas.

Jones stated, “With the passage of this mandatory Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Disclosure Rule, Texans can be assured they will know…

Hello everyone, and thank you for your interest in my research!

My name is Crawford White and I am a graduate student in The Department of Environmental Sciences at LSU in Baton Rouge. I hold a BS in Geology and am pursuing a Masters in Environmental Science.

As development of the Haynesville Shale continues in Louisiana, I feel that it is important to understand the response from Louisiana's residents. I've developed…

Keith: Tell us a little bit about your background.

Mary: I’ve been the lead attorney for Encana’s US operations since 2001. Originally I got into the business as a joint interest billing clerk for a small independent, eventually did production tech and land work at Anadarko and Chevron. Then law…

Rick Smead is a veteran in the natural gas industry. If you have read anything on shale gas reserves, you have have probably read something that he had a hand in creating. This come-lately niche has led to 100 speeches on the topic over the last 3 years. Rick was holed up in a Washington D.C. law firm for a few days serving as an expert witness. I went in and met with him to discuss his…

Chesapeake is often criticized for its financial decisions and aggressive techniques to develop natural gas and oil. In plain and direct terms, this article analyzes each decision and the result is surprising. What are your thoughts?

Seeking Alpha: CHK's $34B Value Creation with Zero Net Cost

After reviewing many of the posts regarding mineral rights inheritance in Louisiana, I could not find a reply to one poster's question on the value of forming family LLCs to hold mineral rights.  Evidently, many LA attorney's recommend them but I have yet to see anyone list compelling reasons for relatively small mineral rights owners to go to the expense to form one.

   In my case,  I collect relatively small royalties from some 40 wells scattered on many small lots spread throughout…

I have family interested in one company because the company offered the huge bonus check, $2,750. Per acre this of course is nothing to sneeze at right? And the bonus check is…. Well $10,312.00 to be exact and 3/16 or 18.75% royalty from a company with no website, history and no answers…

And then you have Petrohawk.

They offered me $2,000 per acre @ ¼ royalties.  Hey, I know Petrohawk although…

NATURAL GAS PIPELINE EASEMENT AND

RIGHT-OF-WAY AGREEMENTS:

A LANDOWNER’S LIST OF TERMS TO NEGOTIATE



ERIC C. CAMP

DECKER, JONES, MCMACKIN, MCCLANE, HALL & BATES, PC

801 CHERRY STREET, SUITE 2000, UNIT #46

FORT WORTH, TEXAS 76102

(817) 336-2400

ECAMP@DECKERJONES.COM



Disclaimers and Acknowledgements



This paper is not intended as legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.…