In Boerschig v. Rio Grande Electric Cooperative, the Texas Supreme Court addressed two questions: 1) what are the elements of an easement by estoppel; and 2) what is the scope of that easement.John Boerschig bought a large ranch in
The Texas Oil and Gas Attorney Blog, published by the Law Office of Aimee Hess, focuses on legal issues related to oil and gas operations in Texas. It covers topics such as ownership and rights to produced water, interpretation and enforcement of lease clauses like the habendum clause, classification and regulatory implications of pipelines as common carriers, enforceability of oral representations in mineral transactions, and legal disputes involving royalty payments and recoupment. The blog analyzes recent court decisions and their impact on operators, mineral owners, and other stakeholders in the Texas oil and gas industry.
In Boerschig v. Rio Grande Electric Cooperative, the Texas Supreme Court addressed two questions: 1) what are the elements of an easement by estoppel; and 2) what is the scope of that easement.John Boerschig bought a large ranch in…
In Endeavor Nat. Gas III, LLC v. Comanche Maverick Ranch Investments, L.P., No. 14-24-00639-CV, 2025 WL 3072934, at *2 (Tex. Civ. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] Nov. 4, 2025, no pet.), the Houston Court of Appeals decided a case involving a…
In Evans Resources, L.P. v. Diamondback E&P, LLC, 725 S.W.3d 718, 726 (Tex. Civ. App. Eastland 2025, no pet.), the Eastland Court of Appeals heard a case in which one of the claims by the landowners was that the…
Recently the Corpus Christi Court of Appeals addressed a statute of frauds issue in Alcott v. 1893 Oil and Gas Ltd., No. 13 23-00492-CV, 2025 WL 2858113, at *3 (Tex. Civ. App.—Corpus Christi–Edinburg Oct. 9, 2025, no pet.). Initially,…
Recently, in Fasken Oil and Ranch Ltd. v. Puig et al, the Texas Supreme Court addressed a claim by a nonparticipating royalty owner that its royalties should be free of post-production costs.
In the deed that created the nonparticipating…
Recently the Texas Supreme Court in Clifton v. Johnson addressed another double fraction of royalties case. The issue was whether the original deed in 1951 granted a fixed or floating royalty interest.
The deed granted a “1/128 (1/16 of the…
With the growing concern these days about possible title fraud, it is important to know about a new remedy for victims of title fraud that was passed by the Texas Legislature. The remedy is set out in Texas Government Code…
In the recent case of Cactus Water Services LLC v. COG Operating LLC, the Texas Supreme Court addressed the question of who owns produced water resulting from oil and gas production.
Produced water, consisting of salt water mixed with…
In Cromwell v. Anadarko E&P Onshore, LLC (No. 23-0927 May 25, 2025), the Texas Supreme Court issued an opinion concerning the habendum clause in two oil and gas leases. An example of a typical habendum clause, that is required in…
The Houston Court of Appeals decided a case recently on whether a pipeline was a common carrier or not. The issue is very important: if a pipeline is a common carrier it has condemnation power, and if it is not…