In 1988, FERC, pursuant to the Natural Gas Act of 1938, issued Standards of Conduct to regulate natural gas pipelines" interactions with their marketing affiliates. The Standards required pipelines and ther marketing affiliates to function independently and imposed restrictions the the sharing of information between them. In 2004, FERC extended the reach of the Standards so Continue Reading
Louisiana Law Does Not Apply to Settlement Agreement with the United States
In Waterfowl Limited Liability Co. v. United States, No. 05-30219 (5th Cir. Dec. 12, 2006), the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit granted the petition for panel rehearing, withdrew its earlier panel opinion, and held that Louisiana law did not apply to a settlement agreement that arose out of earlier litigation over Continue Reading
Reservation of Mineral Servitude – Interpretation of Deed
By Stevia M. Walther A deed reserving a mineral servitude for a period of ten years does not create a ten-year fixed servitude, but instead re-affirms the statutory ten-year prescription of nonuse applicable to mineral servitudes established in article 27 of the Louisiana Mineral Code. Thus, the right did not expire after the passage of ten Continue Reading
Texas Supreme Court to Hear Miesch Case
On February 13, the Texas Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case involving important issues to the Texas oil and gas industry, including whether or not Texas recognizes an independent private cause of action for waste based on violations of Texas conservation laws and whether an oil and gas lessee commits waste by plugging Continue Reading
Additional Insured Cannot Rely On Certificate of Insurance
Contributed by Andrew Wooley In Via Net v. TIG Insurance Co., the Supreme Court of Texas recently concluded it was not reasonable for a party to believe it was an additional insured under another party"s commercial general liability policy, based only on a certificate of insurance provided by the other party"s insurance broker. After noting that Continue Reading
DOI Signs Agreement with Oil Companies
In the continuing dispute between federal offshore lessees and the Department of the Interior over missing price threshold provisions in 1998 and 1999 federal oil and gas leases, MMS announced today that it has signed agreements with BP, ConocoPhillips, Marathon Oil Company, Shell, and Walter Oil and Gas Corporation. Continue Reading
Supreme Court Denies Relief to Oil Companies
In BHP America Petroleum Co. v. Burton, 549 U.S. – (2006), the Supreme Court resolved a legal issue that has been at the center of federal royalty litigation for twenty years: viz., whether 28 U.S.C. § 2415(a), which imposes a 6-year statute of limitations for Government “every action for money damages founded upon any contract,” Continue Reading
Pipeline Canal Class Action Dismissed
In Barasich v. Columbia Gulf Transmission, et al., Judge Sarah Vance of the Eastern District of Louisiana dismissed a suit in which plaintiffs claimed that oil and gas production and pipeline companies" activities in South Louisiana marshes contributed to the destruction wreaked by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The plaintiffs alleged that dredging of pipeline canals and Continue Reading