At the Well Weekly (v.7.25.2025)
- George A. Bibikos
- Jul 30
- 16 min read
Oil + Gas Update: "Title Wash," Pore-Space Ownership, Lease-Expiration Issues Highlight Summer O+G Docket.
Since our last report, natural gas prices are largely flat while oil prices have edged slightly lower alongside a gradual decline in the rig count.
In pipeline news, the D.C. Circuit upheld FERC’s extension of the MVP Southgate pipeline construction deadline.
In Appalachia, courts addressed surface‐use agreements and topography plats, “title wash," implied covenants to develop and duties to market, lease maintenance through pre‑drilling preparations, trespass and forfeiture claims, expert exclusions in royalty class disputes, arbitration waiver, subsurface access limitations, gift‑deed severance of joint tenancies, and zoning challenges to well‑pad and pipeline approvals.
In other regions, decisions spanned shareholder derivative suits, royalty and post‑production cost class actions, salt‑cavern storage rights, state trust‑land lease assignments, short‑notice pipeline tariff interpretations, TROs over drilling operations, lease maintenance and expiration determinations, blue‑penciling of contract language, NEPA, environmental permit remands, forced‑pooling cost deductions, produced‑water ownership, statute‑of‑limitations for streambed oil and gas disputes, arbitration, water rights, jurisdictional limits of administrative commissions, conflicting lease assignments, FLSA exemption for field specialists, bankruptcy treatment of leases, and lease expiration.
Rig Counts, Spot Prices + Oil Prices
Rigs: National (542); Marcellus (23); Utica/Point Pleasant (12)
Brent Crude: $68.36/bbl
West Texas Intermediate: $65.07/bbl
NYMEX: August 2025 @ $3.077/MMBtu; 12-Month Strip @ $3.748/MMBtu
Spot Prices: Henry Hub @ $3.07/MMBtu
Headlines & Holdings - Appalachia
Sixth Circuit Rejects Landowner Claims in Surface Use Dispute. In a case involving a dispute over surface use that contradicted a plat attached to an oil and gas lease, the Sixth Circuit concluded that a well operator did not exceed surface rights by constructing a fence and storing topsoil on a landowner’s property, holding that the parties’ separate surface-use agreement authorized the well operator’s activities and the topography plat attached to the parties surface-use agreement “for informational purposes only” did not bind the parties. Pirl v. Rice Drilling D, LLC, --- F.4th ----, No. 24-3838, 2025 WL 1369335 (6th Cir. May 12, 2025).
PA Supreme Court Sides with Proctors in “Title Wash” Case. In a long-standing dispute originating in federal court between the Proctor Heirs and the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court answered a certified question from the Third Circuit and held that the Proctor Heirs, not the Game Commission, have title to oil and gas rights to potentially tens of thousands of acres despite a 1908 tax sale that ordinarily would result in a “title wash” under statutes then in effect that would have divested the Proctors of their title. The court relied on the district court’s “finding” that the buyer at the tax sale was an “agent” of the defaulting surface owner who had a duty to pay taxes such that the agent’s purchase at the tax sale worked only a “redemption” of the surface estate, not a title wash that would have vested title to the surface and subsurface estate in the tax sale purchaser. Pennsylvania Game Commission v. Thomas E. Proctor Heirs Trust, --- A.3d ----, No. 31 EAP 2023, 2025 WL 1535949 (Pa. May 30, 2025).
Ohio Fed. Ct. Rejects Implied Covenant Claims. In a case involving a lessee’s decision to plug and abandon a well, a federal court in Ohio rejected claims that the lessee breached the development covenant for gas production, holding that the lease is indivisible, the lessee had storage rights, and those rights provided for compensation that satisfied any gas development obligations. The court acknowledged an implied covenant to develop oil but held that the lessee satisfied it and had no obligation to further develop. Reed v. Columbia Gas Transmission, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 2:22-CV-3417, 2025 WL 1474658 (S.D. Ohio May 22, 2025).
WV. App. Ct. Upholds Trespass Claim after Forfeiture of O+G Leases. A court of appeals in West Virginia affirmed an order in favor of a lessor on its breach of contract and willful trespass claims related to oil and gas leases, holding that the jury had sufficient evidence to determine that the lessee and its affiliate breached a right of first refusal that caused a forfeiture of the leases and that the lessee’s affiliate trespassed by accessing the property thereafter. Carbon Energy Corp. v. Shonk Land Co., --- S.E.2d ----, No. 24-ICA-154, 2025 WL 1466164 (W. Va. Ct. App. May 22, 2025).
Fed. Ct. in PA Excludes Royalty Owner Expert in Class Certification Dispute. In a class dispute over royalties and post-production costs, a federal court in Pennsylvania granted the lessee’s motion to exclude expert testimony regarding class certification, concluding that the expert’s opinions were inadmissible under Rule 702 because they reflected legal conclusions and not purely technical or industry insights about royalties. Kriley v. XTO Energy Inc., --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 2:20-CV-00416-CBB, 2025 WL 1548687 (W.D. Pa. May 30, 2025).
PA Super. Ct. Rejects Lease-Busting Bid based on Prep Work for Drilling. In a dispute over whether a lease expired, the PA Superior Court held that a lessee commenced “preparations” for drilling a well sufficient to maintain the lease, including obtaining permits and related pre-drilling activities, and confirmed on summary judgment that the well traversed the subsurface of the lessor’s property. The dissent would have remanded to consider estoppel arguments based on the lessee’s alleged statements disclaiming its interest in renewing the lease. Balint v. EQT Prod. Co., --- A.3d ----, No. 301 WDA 2024, 2025 WL 1565540 (Pa. Super. June 3, 2025).
WV Supremes Confirm Implied Duty to Market in In-Kind Royalty Lease. In a decision answering a certified question from federal court, the Supreme Court of West Virginia again reaffirmed a prior decision that the implied duty to market applies to oil and gas leases with in-kind royalty provisions and that the Wellman and Tawney decisions governing post-production costs and deductions likewise apply in that situation. The dissent criticized the majority for blurring lease classifications and rewriting contractual terms. Francis Kaess v. BB Land, LLC, --- S.E.3d ----, Nos. 23-522, 2025 WL 1604407, 1604405, 1603976 (W. Va. June 6, 2025).
D.C. Circ. Upholds MVP Southgate Pipeline Construction Deadline Extension. The D.C. Circuit denied petitions challenging FERC’s decision extending the construction deadline for the MVP Southgate pipeline, holding that the Commission reasonably concluded that permitting and litigation delays warranted the extension. The court also held that FERC appropriately declined to reevaluate market need and environmental findings absent significant new circumstances. Appalachian Voices v. FERC, --- F.4th ----, No. 24-1094, 2025 WL 1600153 (D.C. Cir. June 6, 2025).
Fed. Ct. in Pa. Denies Reconsideration in Briggs 2.0. A federal court in Pennsylvania denied the Briggs’ motion to reconsider summary judgment in SWN’s favor on claims of subsurface trespass and conversion tied to hydraulic fracturing activities. Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Prod. Co., --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 3:21-CV-520, 2025 WL 1618148 (M.D. Pa. June 6, 2025).
PA Super. Ct. Says Gate Exceeded Subsurface Owners’ Rights. The Pennsylvania Superior Court held that an oil and gas owner’s right to use the surface is limited to what is reasonably necessary for oil and gas development and concluded that gates installed by the subsurface owner to block vehicular access to parts of the surface area exceeded the subsurface owners’ rights. Anderson v. Brawand, --- A.3d ----, No. 950 WDA 2024, 2025 WL 1642085 (Pa. Super. June 10, 2025).
WV Supremes Clarify Marketable Product Rule for NGL Royalties. Answering certified questions, the West Virginia Supreme Court again held that the Wellman/Tawney marketable product rule applies beyond natural gas to NGLs, requiring lessees to pay royalties without deducting processing and transportation costs unless expressly permitted by lease language. Romeo v. Antero Res. Corp., --- S.E.3d ----, No. 23-589, 2025 WL 1650051 (W. Va. June 11, 2025).
WV Supremes Extend Duty to Market to In-Kind Royalty Leases. On certified questions from a federal court, the West Virginia Supreme Court again held that oil and gas leases containing in-kind royalty provisions carry an implied duty to market and that the Wellman/Tawney limits on post-production cost deductions apply to such leases. Kaess v. BB Land, LLC, --- S.E.3d ----, No. 23-522, 2025 WL 1604407 (W. Va. June 6, 2025).
Pa. Cmwlth. Ct. Invalidates Conditional Use Approval for O+G Well Pad. The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court reversed the approval of conditional use permits for a natural gas well pad, pipeline, and facilities in a rural residential district, finding that the local zoning ordinance prohibited additional principal structures on the affected lots. Protect Elizabeth Twp. v. Elizabeth Twp. Bd. of Commissioners, --- A.3d ----, No. 830 C.D. 2024, 2025 WL 1672263 (Pa. Cmwlth. June 13, 2025).
PA Superior Ct. Says Gas Co. Waived Arbitration in O+G Royalty Dispute. The Pennsylvania Superior Court upheld an order denying a motion to compel arbitration filed by a lessee in a dispute over royalty payments, holding that the lessee waived its right to arbitrate by litigating in court before seeking arbitration. Cholak v. CNX Gas Co., LLC, No. 1563 WDA 2024, 2025 WL 1755226 (Pa. Super. Ct. June 25, 2025).
Ohio Fed. Ct. Denies Bid to Shift Burden to Lessee in Dispute over PPCs. A federal court in Ohio denied a bid by class plaintiffs to shift the burden of proof to the lessee to prove that post-production costs deducted before paying royalties are reasonable, holding instead that landowners bear that burden as they would for any breach-of-contract claim. Eaton v. Ascent Res.-Utica, LLC, No. 2:19-CV-03412, 2025 WL 1725773 (S.D. Ohio June 20, 2025).
Fed. Ct. in Ohio Rejects Remand in O+G Royalty Dispute. In a dispute over royalties and post-production costs, federal court in Ohio held that a forum-selection clause requiring that disputes be resolved “solely in the State of Ohio” did not constitute a clear and unequivocal waiver of the lessee’s right to remove the case to federal court. Didado’s Ridge, LLC v. Gulfport Energy, --- F. Supp. ----, No. 2:25-CV-040, 2025 WL 1920499 (S.D. Ohio July 14, 2025).
Fed. Ct. in Ohio Says Lease Didn’t Expire after Plugging Well. A federal court in Ohio upheld the validity of an oil and gas lease even though the lessee plugged the last well because the lessee used the leasehold for gas storage and further exercised its right to maintain the lease after plugging the last well by tendering payments. TB Farms Wellington, LLC v. Columbia Gas Transmission Co., LLC, ---- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 1:22-CV-720, 2025 WL 1928935 (N.D. Ohio July 14, 2025).
Pa. Super. Ct. Addresses JTWROS and Gift Deed. In a dispute over a gift deed that purported to sever a joint tenancy with right of survivorship and transfer oil and gas rights subject to a lease to the grantee/appellee, the Pennsylvania Superior Court remanded for further proceedings to evaluate the circumstances surrounding the gift deed, the grantor’s intent to sever the JTWROS, and related evidence of intent to resolve whether the grantee/appellee is properly receiving royalties. Callen v. Foertsch, --- A.3d ----, No. 1158 WDA 2024, 2025 WL 1938747 (Pa. Super. July 15, 2025).
Fed. Ct. in NY Says NatGas Ban Survives Dismissal. A federal court in New York denied a motion to dismiss a complaint challenging a state law banning natural gas hookups in new buildings, holding that Energy Policy and Conservation Act does not preempt state laws banning natural gas hookups despite other cases holding otherwise. Mulhern Gas Co., Inc. v. Mosley, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 1:23-CV-1267 (GTS/PJE), 2025 WL 2062194 (N.D.N.Y. July 23, 2025).
Headlines & Holdings - Beyond Appalachia
Fifth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Shareholder Suit vs. Cabot/Coterra. The Sixth Circuit held that The court affirmed the district court's dismissal of all claims in the shareholder derivative suit brought by Jody Ezell and other shareholders against Cabot Oil & Gas Company's directors because the plaintiffs failed to demonstrate that Cabot/Coterra breached fiduciary duties. Ezell v. Dinges, --- F.4th ----, No. 24-20050, 2025 WL 1377393 (5th Cir. May 13, 2025).
Okla. Fed. Ct. Green-Lights O+G Royalty Class Action. In a class action involving claims that a lessee shorted royalty owners by deducting class plaintiffs’ share of gathering costs before paying royalties, a federal court in Oklahoma denied a bid to dismiss the class complaint, holding that the class plaintiffs have shown a plausible entitlement to relief and that the proposed class is presently ascertainable despite differences in oil and gas lease agreements. Colton v. Sandridge Exploration & Production Company, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. CIV-22-00986-JD, 2025 WL 1387798 (W.D. Okla. May 13, 2025).
Tex. Supremes Say Surface Owner Owns Empty Subsurface Space. In a case involving salt mining which results in “salt caverns” (empty space) used to store oil or gas reserves, the Texas Supreme Court held that the surface owner owns the empty caverns in the subsurface; mineral owners (or their lessees) have the right to reasonable use of surface and subsurface including the salt caverns for purposes of oil and gas production; but storage of hydrocarbons produced off the property at issue in this case is unrelated to the mineral owner’s production of salt on the property and therefore unauthorized:
Extracting salt from an underground salt-rock formation can create large, empty caverns within the formation. These caverns are more than just an interesting geological byproduct of salt mining. Technological development has enabled the storage of oil and gas in them, which has made the right to use these “salt caverns” a valuable commodity. Agreements written before salt caverns became economically useful, including the mineral deed at issue in this case, had little reason to allocate the right to use the empty spaces left behind by salt mining. This dispute arose because the mineral owner and the surface owner disagree over which of them has the right to use the salt caverns under the land to store oil and gas that is produced off-site and transported to the property.
As explained below, we agree with the court of appeals that, under the conveyances at issue here, the holder of the surface estate owns the empty underground spaces left behind by the mineral owner's salt mining. The mineral owner is of course entitled to make reasonable use of both the surface and the subsurface, including caverns, for the production of the property's minerals. But empty space is not a mineral, no matter how economically valuable it becomes. And storage of hydrocarbons produced off the property is not related, at least under these facts, to the mineral owner's production of salt on the property. Absent an agreement otherwise, ownership of underground salt does not include ownership of underground empty space within or around a salt formation. Nor does it include a right to use that empty space for purposes unrelated to the production of the property's minerals.
Myers-Woodward, LLC v. Underground Servs. Markham, LLC, --- S.W.3d ----, No. 22-0878, 2025 WL 1415892 (Tex. May 16, 2025).
NM App. Ct. Addresses Effect of Assignment of O+G Lease Covering State Lands. In a case of first impression, a court of appeals in New Mexico held that the state’s commissioner who approved an assignment of oil and gas leases covering state trust lands does not relieve the assignors of obligations arising under statute and common law for remediating damages to state trust lands. Garcia v. Marathon Petroleum Corp., --- P.3d ----, No. A-1-CA-40747, 2025 WL 1430595 (N.M. Ct. App. May 14, 2025).
Fifth Circ. Says Non-Simultaneous Short-Notice Shipments on Pipelines are OK. In a case involving a dispute over whether short-notice shippers on a pipeline must deliver and take gas simultaneously, the Fifth Circuit upheld a FERC order that the pipeline company’s tariff is ambiguous and does not require simultaneous give/take arrangements on the pipeline for short-notice shipments, particularly given the pipeline company’s long history of never requiring simultaneous deliveries in this situation until after Winter Storm Elliot. ANR Pipeline Co. v. FERC, --- F.4th ----, No. 24-60222, 2025 WL 1473790 (5th Cir. May 22, 2025).
La. Ct. Tosses CHK’s TRO that Prevented Interference with Drilling Ops. A court of appeals in Louisiana dissolved a TRO and denied an injunction that CHK sought to operate on leased property, holding instead that the record did not support CHK’s position that it had the requisite 75% consent to the surface site on the leased property required by state law. Chesapeake Louisiana, L.P. v. Bonchasse Land & Timber, LLC, 2025 WL 1456822 (La. App. 2 Cir. May 21, 2025).
Texas Supremes Say Non-Op’s O+G Lease Didn’t Expire. In a case involving separate leases for property – one held by a unit operator and another held by a non-operator who never signed a JOA put paid joint billing expenses – the Texas Supreme Court held that the habendum clauses in the leases do not specify who has to do the producing, and because the unit operator caused continuous production in commercial paying quantities on the leased premises, neither of the leases expired for lack of production. Cromwell v. Anadarko E&P Onshore, LLC, --- S.W.3d ----, No. 23-0927, 2025 WL 1478494 (Tex. May 23, 2025).
Texas Supremes Reject “Blue Pencil” Approach to Pipeline Contract Dispute. The Texas Supreme Court chastised a trial court after it “blue-penciled extra words” into a gas transportation agreement when a contracting party’s performance otherwise would have been excused. Am. Midstream (Alabama Intrastate), LLC v. Rainbow Energy Mktg. Corp., --- S.W.3d ----, No. 23-0384, 2025 WL 1478174 (Tex. May 23, 2025).
SCOTUS Upholds NEPA Deference for Railroad Project EIS. The Supreme Court held that the D.C. Circuit failed to afford the Surface Transportation Board the substantial deference required under NEPA when reviewing its environmental impact statement for an 88-mile rail line connecting northeastern Utah to the national freight network, confirming that agency decisions on the scope and depth of EIS analyses are entitled to broad deference if within a zone of reasonableness and finding that the Board’s EIS complied with NEPA. Seven Cnty. Infrastructure Coal. v. Eagle Cnty., Colorado, --- U.S. ----, No. 23-975, 2025 WL 1520964 (U.S. May 29, 2025).
Ninth Circ. Addresses Willow Oil Project in Alaska. The Ninth Circuit affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded challenges to the Willow Project in Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve, concluding that the Bureau of Land Management’s NEPA analysis was largely sufficient but required limited corrective action, preserving the project’s underlying approvals. Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Bureau of Land Mgmt., --- 4th ---, No. 23-3624, 2025 WL 1669344 (9th Cir. June 13, 2025).
Fifth Circuit Addresses Post-Production Costs in Forced Pooling Context. In a dispute over royalties payable on unit production, the Fifth Circuit held that, under Louisiana law, operators may deduct post-production costs from revenues distributed to owners of interests in a forced pooled unit under the doctrine of negotiorum gestio and La. Rev. Stat. § 30:103.2. Dow Constr., L.L.C v. BPX Operating Co., --- F.4th ----, No. 22-30379, 2025 WL 1621635 (5th Cir. June 9, 2025).
Kan. Fed. Ct. Denies Class Cert. in Royalty, PPC Row Stemming from Settlement. A federal court in Kansas denied a motion for class certification in a suit alleging that lessees improperly deducted post-production costs in violation of a prior class action settlement and declining as moot a motion by lessees to strike expert reports after ruling that class treatment is inappropriate. Cherry Rider v. OXY USA, Inc., No. CV 23-1274-KHV, 2025 WL 1707377 (D. Kan. June 18, 2025).
Tex. Supremes Say Lessee Owns Produced Water Absent Reservation. The Texas Supreme Court held that, unless expressly reserved, produced water is included in a conveyance of oil and gas rights such that the lessee of a mineral estate holds the right to control and dispose of the water extracted in connection with oil and gas production. Cactus Water Servs., LLC v. COG Operating, LLC, --- S.W.3d ----,No. 23-0676, 2025 WL 1783686 (Tex. June 27, 2025).
Texas App. Ct. Says SOL Bars Takings Claim for Streambed O+G. A court of appeals in Texas concluded that landowner claims against the state for allegedly taking oil and gas rights beneath a streambed in connection with a dam construction project is barred by the ten-year limitations period commensurate with the applicable limitations period for certain adverse possession claims. State v. Riemer, No. 07-24-00302-CV, 2025 WL 1757924 (Tex. App. June 25, 2025).
Fed. Ct. in Okla. Denies Bid to Kick Fraud, Contract Claims in Royalty Row. In a royalty dispute, a federal court in Oklahoma denied the lessees’ bid to dismiss breach-of-contract and fraud claims arising from allegedly failing to pay royalties based on an amount “received by the lessee” but agreed to dismiss the plaintiffs’ corresponding RICO claims for lack of evidentiary support. Jeter v. Wild West Gas, LLC, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 12-CV-411-JDR-CDL, 2025 WL 1819239, 2025 WL 1819241 (N.D. Okla. July 1, 2025).
NM Supremes Affirm Abandonment of Most Water Rights in Pecos River. The New Mexico Supreme Court held that a refinery abandoned all but 150 acre-feet per year of its Pecos River water rights due to prolonged nonuse, and any improvements made to infrastructure to lease water rights for oil and gas operations came too late to overcome principles of abandonment and beneficial use under New Mexico law governing water rights. State ex rel. Off. of State Eng’r v. Intrepid Potash, Inc., --- S.W.3d ----, No. S-1-SC-40182, 2025 WL 1821806 (N.M. July 2, 2025).
ND Supremes Say Commission Lacks Jurisdiction to Resolve Contract Dispute. The Supreme Court of North Dakota held that the North Dakota Industrial Commission lacked jurisdiction to resolve a dispute over saltwater disposal charges between Equinor and another private operator because the dispute involved private contract rights that falls outside the Commission’s statutory authority. Equinor Energy, LP v. N.D. Indus. Comm’n, --- N.W.3d ----, No. 20240357, 2025 WL 1839990 (N.D. July 3, 2025).
Colo. Ct. App. Considers Double Assignment in Wellbore Interest Dispute. In a dispute over assignments of wellbore interests, an appellate court in Colorado reviewed a conflict arising from separate assignments of wellbore interests in the same wells to two parties and concluded that ambiguities and fact issues pervaded over whether the assignor conveyed the same interests twice or distinct interests to separate assignees. Incline Energy, LLC v. PDC Energy, Inc., --- P.3d ----, No. 24CA1630, 2025 WL 1833884 (Colo. App. July 3, 2025).
Fifth Circuit Says FLSA Exemption Applies to O+G Field Specialist. The Fifth Circuit held that two “measurements while drilling” (“MWD”) specialists qualified as exempt “highly compensated employees” under FLSA because they satisfied the “administrative duties” exemption from overtime requirement by regularly performing advisory and consulting duties. Gilchrist v. Schlumberger Tech. Corp., --- F.4th ----, No. 22-50257, 2025 WL 1924690 (5th Cir. July 14, 2025).
D.C. Circ. Says Enviros Lack Standing to Challenge O+G Permits. The D.C. Circuit affirmed a district court’s dismissal of environmental groups’ challenges to multiple drilling permits, holding that the plaintiffs failed to link their alleged health, aesthetic, or climate-change injuries to any specific permit as Article III requires. Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. United States Dep’t of the Interior, --- F.4th ----, No. 23-5308, 2025 WL 1933680 (D.C. Cir. July 15, 2025).
N.D. Supremes Sides with Lessee in Surface-Use Dispute. The North Dakota Supreme Court held that express provisions of an oil and gas lease coupled with the “accommodation doctrine” authorized the lessee’s construction of saltwater pipelines, well pads, flowlines, and utilities because they are reasonably necessary for developing oil and gas underlying the leased premises. Bang v. Continental Res., Inc., --- N.W.3d ----, No. 20240239, 2025 WL 1969773 (N.D. July 17, 2025).
Tex. App. Ct. Says City Gets Wellhead Royalties. A court of appeals in Texas held that an oil and gas lease between a lessee and a city requires gas royalty payments to be calculated solely based on the market value of the gas at the wellhead where the lessee sold gas and not on the market value of the gas at the well plus the value of all post-production costs deducted from royalties. City of Crowley v. TotalEnergies, Inc., --- S.W.3d ----, No. 02-24-00088-CV, 2025 WL 2005511 (Tex. Ct. App. July 17, 2025).
Fed. Ct. in N.D. Strikes Class Allegations Claiming Statutory Interest on Late Royalty Payments. A federal court in North Dakota issued an order striking class allegations regarding interest on unpaid royalties, holding that the class definition required an individual examination of each class member and payment and inquiry into whether the statute’s safe-harbor provision applied. Colton v. Lime Rock Res. GP V, L.P., --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 1:22-CV-123, 2025 WL 2061692 (D.N.D. July 23, 2025).
Tex. Bankruptcy Ct. Says Debtors’ O+G Leases did not Expire. A bankruptcy court in Texas held that oil and gas leases on state lands did not expire and passed into the debtors’ estates upon their bankruptcy filings. In re: Pearl Resources LLC, Pearl Resources Operating Co. LLC, --- B.R. ----, No. 20-31585, 2025 WL 2081876 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. July 22, 2025).
CA8 Says O+G Lease Expired Despite Pre-Existing Well on Leased Premises. The Eighth Circuit held that an North Dakota oil and gas lease expired despite the presence of a pre-existing well producing gas from the leased premises, holding that the lessee failed to engage in any activities to hold the lease and rejecting the lessee’s attempt to rely on the pre-existing well to hold the lease give that the parties expressly agreed to exclude that well’s production from perpetuating the now-expired lease. MBI Oil & Gas, LLC v. Royalty Ints. P’ship, LP, --- F.4th ----, No. 24-2031, 2025 WL 2091142 (8th Cir. July 25, 2025).
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