The Texas Supreme Court recently heard oral argument in Barrow-Shaver Res. Co v. Carrizo Oil & Gas, Inc., on the interpretation of a farmout agreement providing that an assignment could not be made “without the express written consent,” according to a post on the website of Porter Hedges.

“The issue—whether the provision means consent can be withheld arbitrarily or only reasonably,” the post states. “Regardless how the Texas Supreme Court rules, there are three lessons in Barrow-Shaver for contract drafters: (1) be precise in contractual language; (2) address the use of non-final drafts in interpretation disputes; and (3) consider other provisions that may be impacted by the implied reasonableness issue.”

The post offers some pointers on each of those three points.

Read the article.

Charles Sartain of Gray Reed & McGraw has posted a list of what he calls “2018’s parade of reprobates, rapscallions and others generally lacking in moral hygiene” in the world of energy law.

He reports on a “mendacious filing” in an SEC civil enforcement action against Chris Faulkner; seven defendants, nine co-conspirators and three unnamed “government officials” allegedly involved in the embezzlement of funds from Venezuela’s government-owned oil company; a former Chevron employee charged with conspiracy to commit many felonies; a former Texas state senator; the culprit in a garden variety wire fraud and money laundering case; and more.

Read the article.

A Louisiana appellate court has added to the relatively sparse body of appellate rulings in pipeline expropriation matters with an unpublished opinion affirming that landowners whose property is expropriated must prove their entitlement to severance damages to a “legal certainty.”

Writing in the Liskow & Lewis Energy Law Blog, Laura Springer Brown discusses the case of  Enterprise Products Operating, LLC, v. Southwood Terminal, L.L.C.

In its ruling, the court affirmed a two-part test for severance damages: The landowner must prove a diminution in value, “and only then could the jury continue on to the issue of the amount of damages.”

Read the article.

POWER magazine has posted the first of a two-part series examining what dealmakers need to know before making any power industry mergers and acquisitions.

The authors, Jeff M. Dobbs and Robert S. Goldberg, are partners with Mayer Brown LLP in the firm’s Houston office.

The series is designed to describe the legal due diligence process, the types of agreements, and issues that are frequently encountered in the diligence review of operating electric power generation assets. It also will outline the structure of a typical acquisition agreement for these assets, and highlight typical provisions and issues that are heavily negotiated between buyers and sellers.

Read the article.

The Dallas Morning News reports that Texas businessman Christopher Faulkner, better known by his now infamous moniker “Frack Master,” has admitted to securities fraud, tax evasion and money laundering and faces up to 12 years in prison, federal officials said Tuesday.

Reporter Jess Mosier writes that Faulkner, the former CEO of Dallas-based Breitling Energy, became a star in business circles for his high-profile media appearances defending hydraulic fracturing or fracking. He used fake college degrees and skimpy business experience to convince Dallas business elite and Texas political elite that he was an oil and gas expert.

“The SEC effectively shut down Breitling Energy and related businesses after suing Faulkner and 11 others in 2016 for misusing $23.8 million of the $80 million they raised for oil and gas investments,” according to Mosier. “Besides the prison time, Faulkner must pay back the nearly $24 million made from his schemes, under the terms of his settlement.”

Read the Dallas News article.

The National Transportation Safety Board is well known for its sleuthing on plane crashes. However, oil and gas executives often need better education about how the agency tackles one of its other responsibilities—investigating pipeline accidents, advise attorneys with the national law firm LeClairRyan.

The catastrophic gas explosions that destroyed dozens of homes in Massachusetts this month have called attention to the NTSB’s role in investigating such incidents, noted Mark A. Dombroff, an Alexandria-based member of LeClairRyan and co-leader of its Transportation Industry practice. “Most, but not all, in the pipeline business are aware that something like this will immediately trigger a federally mandated and led investigation,” he said. “But their counterparts in aviation tend to be far better prepared to contend with the highly specific—and high-stakes—investigative process relied upon by NTSB.”

Read the article.

A recent case from the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania highlights how expensive a Fair Labor Standards Act case can be when an employee prevails for unpaid overtime compensation, writes Jay Carr in Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease’s Energy & Environmental Law Blog.

The article describes Sammy Mozingo v. Oil States Energy Services L.L.C., in which oil field workers in Texas filed a class action alleging that their employer Oil States had misclassified them as exempt from overtime laws. Most of the employees settled, but eight went to trial, resulting in Oil States paying damages, fees, and costs totaling $3,385,884 for just these eight employees.

Read the article.

Holland & Hart will host a panel discussion titled “Shifting Tides: What Will the 2018 Elections in Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Alaska Mean for the Energy Industry?”

The event, which includes lunch, will be Friday, Oct. 12, 2018, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in the firm’s Denver office.

Key governors’ races in the energy-producing states of Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, and Alaska are in full swing, the firm says on its website. The panel will discuss how these races, along with potential shifts in the make-up of state legislatures, might affect energy policy and future development in these critical states.

Moderator: Sean Parnell
Attorney | Holland & Hart LLP
Former Alaska Governor

Speakers:

COLORADO
Eric Waeckerlin
Partner | Holland & Hart LLP

Tracee Bentley
Colorado Petroleum Council Executive Director

NEW MEXICO
Ryan Flynn
New Mexico Oil & Gas Association Executive Director

WYOMING
Susan Aldridge
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Director, Wyoming Regulatory and External Relations

Joe Milczewski
Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Government Relations Manager

Location:
Holland & Hart LLP
555 17th Street,
Suite 3200
Denver, CO 80202

For more information contact Lauren Israel at 303.295.8201 or lmisrael@hollandhart.com.

Register for the event.

A post on the website of Haynes and Boone calls attention to the apparent failure to acknowledge how the economic realities of oil and gas leasing and operating in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in increasingly deepwater environments at a time of low oil and gas prices impacts the Interior Department’s stated goal of achieving “American Energy Dominance.”

“Once a serious concern only to small and mid-sized operators, the existence of mounting decommissioning liabilities to new lessees and predecessors-in-interest has stunned the offshore industry where some companies are discovering that their decommissioning liabilities are greater than existing assets,” according to Robert (Bob) P. Thibault and Christopher J. Reagen.

“This new reality in the OCS has created barriers to entry for all but the super-majors as new, small, and mid-sized independents face impossible-to-satisfy demands for many operators and leases,” they write.

Read the article.

On the heels of Volkswagen announcing moves toward electrifying its vehicle fleet, and Tesla beginning its production run of its highly anticipated Model 3, several other recent developments show momentum continuing to build toward the replacement of fossil fuels with electricity to power the cars of the future, reports Foley & Lardner.

The article by Jason P. Britt discusses France’s plan to ban the sale of gasoline- and diesel-powered vehicles by 2040, and Volvo electrifying its fleet.

“Even as Brexit and the election of Donald Trump have shown a souring appetite for a global approach to the economy in some sectors, these developments reinforce just how international the auto industry is and will continue to be,” Britt writes.

Read the article.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration lowered its crude-oil price forecast and raised its production outlook for 2018 in its latest Short-Term Energy Outlook, reports Oil & Gas Journal.

“EIA expects that supply growth from the US, Brazil, and members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 2018 will contribute to world oil inventories increasing by 100,000 b/d in 2018, with the largest builds expected in that year’s second quarter. EIA also forecasts that implied global petroleum and liquid fuels inventories will decline by 200,000 b/d in 2017 and then increase by an average of 100,000 b/d in 2018,” according to the journal.

The agency’s forecast assumes OPEC extends its cuts beyond March 2018, “but that noncompliance, which begins to grow in late-2017, increases somewhat in second-half 2018. Without a further extension of the OPEC agreement, EIA would expect larger inventory builds in 2018 than are included in this forecast.”

Read the article.

Join Our LinkedIn Group

BP Global will present a webcast discussing data generated by the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, on Tuesday, June 13, 9:30-11 a.m. Eastern time.

Using robust global data, the Statistical Review of World Energy provides an objective overview of what happened to energy markets in 2016, BP Global says on its website.

The 2017 launch webcast will be hosted by Bob Dudley, group chief executive, and Spencer Dale, group chief economist.

Register for the webcast.

Join Our LinkedIn Group

Chesapeake Energy Corp. and the estate of co-founder and former CEO Aubrey McClendon have agreed to settle a multimillion-dollar dispute over data, stocks and use of a corporate jet, reports The Oklahoman.

The deal calls for Chesapeake to pay $3.25 million in legal fees and drop claims for $445 million related to data McClendon took from the company when he was fired in April 2013.

In exchange, the McClendon estate agreed to drop claims on remaining compensation from the separation, including cash, stock and use of Chesapeake’s corporate jet,” writes Adam Wilmoth.

Read The Oklahoman article.

Join Our LinkedIn Group

Hunton & Williams LLP announces the formation of a global cross-disciplinary legal team to advise corporations and investors on issues related to sustainability and efforts to increase utilization of renewable energy.

In a news release, the firm said this move, which reflects increased client demand for Hunton’s capabilities in these areas, brings together lawyers with global experience in transactional, finance (including “green bonds” and similar programs), corporate, securities, tax, environmental and real estate law to counsel clients on the complex legal issues arising out of participation in the market for renewable energy and related transactions. This initiative also centralizes the firm’s knowledge and experience with data center development and financing.

The release continues:

“Retailers, manufacturers and technology companies are either entering the renewable energy arena for the first time or are significantly bolstering their current positions,” said partner Eric R. Pogue, who heads the firm’s efforts in this space. “This multidisciplinary initiative will focus on the unique legal issues that companies face in meeting their sustainability and clean power procurement goals.”

As part of the firm’s renewable energy practice group, the sustainability and corporate clean power team will counsel corporations and investors on matters related to

– clean power procurement;
– green bonds and similar clean power financing and investment transactions;
– development of sustainable facilities, including data centers;
– tax equity investments;
– joint ventures with renewable energy companies;
– securities law compliance;
– renewable energy certificate (REC) trading;
– project permitting and real estate; and
– environmental law compliance.

The Hunton & Williams global energy practice dates back to the firm’s founding in 1901, and the firm’s experience in the area of renewable energy and clean power started decades before the current global focus on renewable and clean sources of energy. Since these beginnings, the firm’s renewable energy and clean power practice has grown and evolved to meet the changing needs of clients in this dynamic sector of the energy market.

A lawsuit that accused a Fort Worth lawyer of cheating another lawyer out of his share of legal fees in the $51 million Chesapeake Energy settlement has been dismissed, reports The Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

A state district judge in Fort Worth shut down the litigation against Dan McDonald in which attorney Jim Ward was seeking up to a third of the millions in legal fees stemming from the Chesapeake case.

“In May, McDonald announced the settlement of his massive lawsuit against Chesapeake, once the face of the Barnett Shale gas drilling boom. In about 400 lawsuits representing more than 13,000 clients, McDonald accused Chesapeake of deducting higher-than-necessary production costs from royalty checks,” writes reporter Max B. Baker.

Read the Star-Telegram article.

Oil & Gas Journal will present a webinar sponsored by Schneider Electric on computational pipeline monitoring (CPM) techniques and their use in detecting commodity releases on pipelines.

The free webinar will be Oct. 6, 2016, beginning at 1 p.m. Central time.

“This webcast will look at what is so special with natural gas pipelines compared to liquid pipelines and how these specifics impact the base assumptions associated with Computational Pipeline Monitoring (CPM) techniques. An evaluation will then be done as to whether the five well-known CPM techniques outlined in RP API 1130 are suitable for detecting commodity releases on natural gas pipelines,” the Journal says on its website.

The speaker will be Lars Larsson, a Senior Product Manager at Schneider Electric.

Register for the webinar.

Wednesday, July 20, 12 p.m. CDT
Register

Bracewell’s next event in its Power Regulatory Webinar Series will be a July 20 webinar titled “Qualifying Facilities, Exempt Wholesale Generators and Market-Based Rates: The Basics and Beyond.”

The Wednesday, July 20, webinar will begin at noon Central time.

Speakers will be Catherine P. McCarthy, Stephen J. Hug, and Blake Urban.

Future events and speakers in the series will be:

Wednesday, September 14
“Developments in Western Markets”
Deanna E. King and Stephen J. Hug

Wednesday, October 12
“FERC Audits”
Robert E. Pease and Tyler S. Johnson

Wednesday, November 9
“FERC Update on Anti-Market Manipulation – Power”
Michael W. Brooks and Serena A. Rwejuna

Register for the next webinar.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP announced that it advised TSSP, a leading special situations investment platform of TPG, on its agreement with Hunt Oil Co., a privately held oil and gas exploration and production company, to develop certain of Hunt Oil’s assets in the Midland Basin in Texas.

The development area covers approximately 18,000 net acres across Martin, Glasscock, Midland and Upton counties. Under the agreement, TSSP has committed up to $400 million to fund the development which is expected to take approximately three years to deploy.  Additional terms were not disclosed.

The Kirkland team was led by corporate partners Anthony Speier and David Castro and associates Christopher Heasley, Nick Wenker, Ryan Martin and Lindsey Jaquillard; debt finance partners William Bos and Lucas Spivey; tax partner Chad McCormick and associate Joe Tobias; environmental transactions partner Paul Tanaka and associate Stefanie Gitler; restructuring partner Ryan Bennett; and litigation partner Anna Rotman.

Read more details.

Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis LLP will host a complimentary one-hour webinar on what industry needs to know about the increasingly severe enforcement of energy efficiency rules.

The event will be Tuesday, May 3, 2016, at 12:30 p.m. EDT.

Speakers Scott Blake Harris and John Hodges will provide information on enforcement proceedings at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Environmental Protection Agency (for its Energy Star program), Federal Trade Commission, and the California Energy Commission.

The presentation will include an opportunity for participants to ask questions. This webinar is designed for manufacturers, importers, and marketers of appliances and equipment that are, or may become, subject to energy efficiency rules.

Register for the webinar.

Aubrey McClendon, the co-founder and former chief executive officer of Chesapeake Energy Corp., was indicted on charges that he conspired to rig bids for the purchase of oil and natural gas leases in northwest Oklahoma, reports Bloomberg.

“McClendon is accused of orchestrating a scheme between two ‘large oil and gas companies’ to not bid against each other for leases, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday in a statement. From December 2007 to March 2012, the conspirators decided ahead of time who would win the leases and the winning bidder would then allocate an interest in the leases to the other company, the government said,” according to the report.

While leading Chesapeake, McClendon embraced the fracking shale revolution that helped the company develop into what was for a time the largest U.S. source of gas.

Read the story.