At the Well Weekly (v.9.4.2026)
Oil + Gas Update: Surface Use, Royalties, and Title Disputes Lead Late-Summer Docket.
Since our last report, oil prices spiked and dropped wildly as the conflict in the Middle East persists while natural gas prices dropped alongside a fairly steady rig count. In Appalachia, courts addressed surface use; royalties; statutes of limitations on royalty claims; prejudgment interest on royalty accounting claims; recoupment of overpaid royalties; implied waiver of arbitration rights; "title wash"; taxation of royalty income; deed construction; and zoning approvals for well pads. In other regions, courts addressed fixed- versus floating-royalties and "double fraction" language; post-production cost deductions from overriding royalties; deficiency fees deducted from overrides; statutory vs. lease royalties; Pugh clauses; royalty payments on a cotenant's production before payout; eviction for nonpayment under a surface use agreement; lease expiration; and executive rights reserved in a mineral deed.
Rig Counts, Spot Prices + Oil Prices
Rigs: National (588); Marcellus (🔻23); Utica/Point Pleasant (10).
Brent Crude: 🔺$96.28/bbl.
West Texas Intermediate: 🔺$91.48/bbl.
NYMEX: October 2026 @ 🔺$2.98/MMBtu; 12-Month Strip @ 🔻~$3.19/MMBtu.
Spot Prices: Henry Hub @ 🔺$2.90/MMBtu; Appalachian Regional Avg. @ 🔻~$1.75/MMBtu.
U.S. Natural Gas Storage: 3,214 Bcf (+30 Bcf, national).
Headlines & Holdings - Appalachia
Pa. Super. Ct. Says Implied Surface Use Sometimes Requires “Strict Necessity.” In a dispute over access to a severed oil and gas estate, a Pennsylvania appellate court concluded that although a subsurface owner or his lessee need not always hold an express right-of-way to reach the oil and gas estate, the implied rights under the common law may require a showing of both “strict” necessity and reasonable use, creating tension with more than a century of settled surface-use jurisprudence holding that implied surface rights must be exercised as reasonably necessary with due regard to the surface estate. Pennesi v. DL Resources, Inc., --- A.3d ----, 452 WDA 2025, 2026 WL 1889392 (Pa. Super. July 1, 2026).
Ohio Appeals Court Upholds City Tax on O+G Royalties as Income. In a municipal tax dispute, an Ohio appeals court held that a city could tax a resident’s oil and gas royalty income, rejecting arguments that the royalties were intangible income or sourced to property outside the city, and affirmed summary judgment and a delinquent-tax award for the city. City of St. Clairsville v. Barricklow, --- N.E.3d ----, 2026-Ohio-2670, 2026 WL 2016760 (Ohio Ct. App. July 13, 2026).
Fed. Ct. in Virginia Greenlights MVP Easement Condemnation. In a pipeline condemnation case, a federal court in Virginia held that Mountain Valley Pipeline was entitled to summary judgment on both its right to take permanent and temporary easements for the Southgate Pipeline and the amount of just compensation owed to the landowners, relying on its FERC certificate and the Natural Gas Act. Mountain Valley Pipeline, LLC v. Easements to Construct, Operate, & Maintain a Natural Gas Pipeline, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 4:21-CV-00002-EKD, 2026 WL 1960771 (W.D. Va. July 7, 2026).
Fed. Ct. in Ohio Greenlights O+G Royalty Dispute. In a dispute over alleged breaches of an oil and gas lease, a federal court in Ohio held that a lessor adequately pled claims against the lessee that paid royalties to a competing claimant, rejecting the lessee’s argument that it had “notice” of a competing deed (which notice did not meet the lease’s requirements) and noting that the driller kept paying the competing claimant even after learning of a lawsuit over ownership. Lucas v. Rice Drilling D LLC, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 2:25-CV-00176, 2026 WL 2065073 (S.D. Ohio July 17, 2026).
Pa. Super. Ct. Confirms Prejudgment Interest in Coal Cotenant Accounting. In a coal rights dispute between cotenants, an appellate court in Pennsylvania affirmed an award of prejudgment interest on an accounting for royalties, rents, and proceeds that one cotenant collected from anthracite leases pursuant to 68 P.S. § 101 and KEM Resources, LP v. Deer Park Lumber, Inc., 310 A.3d 142, 151 (Pa. 2024). Sher v. Reading Anthracite Co., 2026 PA Super 159, --- A.3d ----, No. J-A07028-26, 2026 WL 2147375 (Pa. Super. Ct. July 27, 2026).
Ohio Court Says a Survivorship Deed Conveyed Fee Simple, Not Life Estate. In a dispute over property ownership subject to an oil and gas lease, an appeals court in Ohio held that a deed granting “a joint life estate, remainder to the survivor of them” unambiguously conveyed a fee simple with rights of survivorship rather than a life estate. Roe v. Shutway, 2026-Ohio-2891, --- N.E.3d ----, No. 26 BE 0001, 2026 WL 2168770 (Ohio Ct. App. July 24, 2026).
Third Circuit Adopts SCOPA Decision on Title Wash in Proctor Case. In a quiet title action, a federal appeals court first held that the Pennsylvania Game Commission is a “citizen” for diversity jurisdiction under an updated arm-of-the-state analysis, then — relying on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s answer to a certified question — held that the Proctors retain ownership of the subsurface estate and affirmed a district court quiet title judgment for the Trust. Pennsylvania Game Comm’n v. Thomas E. Proctor Heirs Trust, --- F.4th ----, No. 22-1587, 2026 WL 2209403 (3d Cir. July 31, 2026).
Fed. Ct. in Pa. Confirms Lessee’s Right to Recoup Overpaid Royalties. A federal court in Pennsylvania held that a producer did not breach its leases when it withheld future royalty payments to recover roughly $240,000 in overpaid royalties due to a software error, reasoning that the leases required only payment of 18% of net proceeds at regular intervals and did not restrict recoupment of overpayments. Lindsay Golf Group Ltd. v. XTO Energy Inc., --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 2:24-CV-781, 2026 WL 2294359 (W.D. Pa. Aug. 10, 2026).
Pa. Court Says Gatherer’s Off-Grid Solar Arrays Qualify for Credits. In a case of first impression under PA’s alternative energy law, the Commonwealth Court held that solar arrays powering a pipeline company’s natural gas compressor stations qualify for solar renewable energy credits even though they bypass both the utility’s distribution system and the regional grid. Williams Cos. v. Pa. Pub. Util. Comm’n, --- A.3d ----, No. 1232 C.D. 2024, 2026 WL 2415786 (Pa. Cmwlth. Aug. 19, 2026).
CA2 Upholds N.Y. Water Permit for Offshore Gas Pipeline. In a challenge to water quality certifications issued by the state for a pipeline project under the Clean Water Act, the Second Circuit upheld New York’s 2025 water quality certification for the Northeast Supply Enhancement pipeline and rejected arguments that the state acted arbitrarily by reversing its earlier denials of the same project. Raritan Baykeeper, Inc. v. N.Y. State Dep’t of Envtl. Conservation, --- F.4th ----, No. 25-2938, 2026 WL 2453538 (2d Cir. Aug. 21, 2026).
CA3 Says O+G Lessee Didn’t Impliedly Waive Arbitration Rights. In a royalty class action, the Third Circuit held that an oil and gas producer and lessee did not impliedly waive its right to compel arbitration against unnamed class members whose leases contained arbitration clauses even though the company didn’t raise arbitration as a defense in its answers and otherwise engaged in litigation for more than four years by participating class discovery, participating in mediation, opposing class certification; waiting until after class the class action before moving to compel. Salvatora v. XTO Energy, Inc., --- F.4th ----, No. 25-1327, 2026 WL 2472480 (3d Cir. Aug. 24, 2026).
Pa. Cmwlth. Ct. Says Neighbors Lack Standing to Challenge Well Pad Approval. In a zoning dispute over a proposed well pad, a Pennsylvania appellate court upheld an order quashing an appeal brought by nearby residents challenging a municipality’s approval of a natural gas well pad, holding the neighbors lacked aggrieved status under the Municipalities Planning Code because they showed neither sufficient proximity to the well pad nor a direct effect on their property rights to have standing to appeal. Bates v. N. Fayette Twp., --- A.3d ----, No. 984 C.D. 2025, 2026 WL 2489983 (Pa. Cmwlth. Aug. 25, 2026).
Ohio Ct. App. Says Mineral Buyer Can’t Challenge Prior DOMA Abandonment. In a dispute under the state’s Dormant Mineral Act, an Ohio appellate court held that a company that purchased a portion of a severed mineral interest that the prior owner abandoned pursuant to the statute lacked standing to challenge the deemed abandonment. Long Point Energy, L.L.C. v. Gulfport Energy Corp., 2026-Ohio-3343, --- N.E.3d ----, No. 26 BE 0007, 2026 WL 2529858 (Ohio Ct. App. Aug. 26, 2026).
Fed. Ct. in Ohio Applies Four-Year Limit to O+G Royalty Claims. In a royalty dispute, a federal court in Ohio held that a claim for breach of a lease amendment governing royalties is subject to Ohio’s four-year limitations period and dismissed claims for royalties due more than four years before the suit’s filing date. George v. Gulfport Energy Corp., --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 2:25-CV-1145, 2026 WL 2606270 (S.D. Ohio Sept. 3, 2026).
Fed. Ct. in New York Strikes Down State Climate Superfund Law. In a challenge to New York’s Climate Change Superfund Act, a federal court in New York struck it down and held that the state law is preempted by the Clean Air Act and the foreign affairs doctrine. West Virginia v. James, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 1:25-CV-00168 (BKS/DJS), 2026 WL 2568355 (N.D.N.Y. Aug. 31, 2026).
Headlines & Holdings - Beyond Appalachia
CA2 Says EPCA Doesn’t Preempt NY’s NatGas Appliance Bans. In a challenge to laws banning natural-gas fueled appliances in most new buildings, the Second Circuit held that held the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act (“EPCA”) does not preempt similar laws enacted by NYC and NYS, reasoning that the laws regulate which energy sources new construction may use rather than the efficiency or energy-use standards of covered appliances. The decision deepened a split with the Ninth Circuit that held otherwise. Ass’n of Contracting Plumbers of the City of New York, Inc. v. City of New York, --- F.4th ----, No. 25-2041, 2026 WL 1871692 (2d Cir. June 30, 2026).
Fed. Ct. in Texas Says Casing Contractor’s Insurer Must Defend Operator. In an oil-and-gas insurance coverage dispute, a federal court in Texas held that a casing contractor and its insurer breached their MSA by refusing to defend, indemnify, and extend additional-insured coverage to the operator and the drilling contractor over a wellsite injury. SWN Production Co. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Insurance Co., --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. CV H-25-3208, 2026 WL 1864076 (S.D. Tex. June 29, 2026).
CA7 Says Majors Can’t Remove Chicago Climate Change Case. In a climate-change case, the Seventh Circuit held that that the statute allowing parties acting under a federal officer to remove suits related to their federal acts from state to federal court “does not reach” Chicago’s lawsuit because the oil companies’ asserted federal work is “too attenuated” from the city’s claims. City of Chicago v. BP P.L.C., --- F.4th ----, No. 25-1916, 2026 WL 2042828 (7th Cir. July 15, 2026).
CA9 Says EPCA Doesn’t Preempt California’s Zero-Emission Gas Appliance Rule. The Ninth Circuit held that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act does not preempt a local air quality management district’s rule phasing out gas-fired water heaters, boilers, and process heaters that emit nitrogen oxides despite the conflict the holding creates with the circuit’s prior decisions on EPCA preemption of ordinances banning natural gas hookups in buildings as identified by the dissenting judge. Rinnai Am. Corp. v. S. Coast Air Quality Mgmt. Dist., --- F.4th ----, No. 25-5129, 2026 WL 1912093 (9th Cir. July 2, 2026).
CA10 Says NGA Preempts Kansas Consumers’ Price-Gouging Claims. The Tenth Circuit held that the Natural Gas Act preempts state-law claims brought by a class of Kansas consumers accusing interstate wholesalers of profiteering during Winter Storm Uri, reasoning that Congress occupied the field of wholesale interstate gas sales. In re Winter Storm Uri Natural Gas Litigation, --- F.4th ----, No. 25-3046, 2026 WL 1944831 (10th Cir. July 6, 2026).
CA5 Says Environmental Groups Lack Standing to Challenge Gulf LNG Port. In a challenge to a deepwater LNG export terminal, the Fifth Circuit held that environmental groups lacked standing to contest the Maritime Administration’s approval of the Delfin LNG port because they identified no member who suffered a concrete, particularized injury. Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Department of Transportation, --- F.4th ----, No. 25-60282, 2026 WL 1959172 (5th Cir. July 7, 2026).
Colorado Appeals Court Dismisses Mineral Trespass Appeal as Not Final. In a mineral rights dispute, a Colorado court of appeals held an unresolved quiet title claim in the trial court precluded an appeal from an order disposing of other claims in the case. Bechtholdt v. Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc., --- P.3d ----, 2026 COA 57, No. 2025CA227, 2026 WL 1980582 (Colo. App. July 9, 2026).
Tex. Ct. App. Affirms Says Grantor Reserved Executive Rights and Fixed Royalty. In a deed construction dispute, a Texas appeals court affirmed that grantors under three 1962 mineral deeds retained an additional undivided one-eighth executive right (the power to lease minerals) rather than conveying it, and that a 1958 deed’s “double fraction” reserved a fixed, not floating, royalty interest. Ovintiv USA, Inc. v. High Noon Resources, LLC, --- S.W.3d ----, No. 11-21-00103-CV, 2026 WL 1992100 (Tex. App. July 10, 2026).
Tex. Ct. App. Says Economic Loss Rule Bars Negligent Misrepresentation Claim. In an oilfield services payment dispute, a Texas court of appeals held that the economic loss rule barred a claim for negligent misrepresentations where the alleged misrepresentations concerned invoicing and payment obligations under a contract and the claimed damages were purely economic, with no injury independent of the contract. Asset Risk Management, LLC v. Comal Energy Services, LP, --- S.W.3d ----, No. 01-24-00277-CV, 2026 WL 2023233 (Tex. App. July 14, 2026).
Tex. Ct. App. Says Pipeline Technician Exempt from Federal Arbitration Act. In an arbitration dispute, a Texas appellate court held that a pipeline technician who repairs and maintains valves on interstate natural-gas pipelines is a transportation worker whose employment contract falls outside the Federal Arbitration Act such that the trial court correctly refused to compel arbitration. The court explained that neither the parties’ agreement to apply the FAA nor a clause delegating threshold questions to the arbitrator relieves a court of deciding whether the FAA’s transportation-worker exemption applies. Energy Transfer LP v. Purland, --- S.W.3d ----, No. 14-25-00110-CV, 2026 WL 2052117 (Tex. App. July 16, 2026).
Tex. Biz Ct. Says Ex-Employee’s Call Notes Aren’t Work Product. In a discovery dispute, a Texas business court held that one party’s notes of a phone call between a former employee and the opposing side’s non-lawyer representatives are neither protected work product nor noncore protected work product because they contained no mental impressions of an attorney and the requesting party showed undue hardship in obtaining the information elsewhere, but the court ordered production under an AEO designation. Synergy Thermogen, Inc. v. BlackBrush Oil & Gas, --- S.W.3d ----, 2026 Tex. Bus. 47, 2026 WL 2086142 (Tex. Bus. Ct. July 16, 2026).
Tex. Ct. App. Says 1944 Deed Reserved a Floating Royalty. In a royalty dispute, a Texas appellate court held that a 1944 deed’s double-fraction language of “one half of the usual 1/8 royalty” reserved a floating one-half royalty — half of whatever royalty any lease covering the property provides — rather than a fixed one-sixteenth royalty, reasoning that the “the usual 1/8 royalty” typically indicates a floating royalty despite a later reference to a different fraction in the deed. Shorter v. Coffield Family Props., Ltd., --- S.W.3d ----, No. 11-25-00251-CV, 2026 WL 2117288 (Tex. App. July 23, 2026).
Colo. Ct. App. Says Non-Consents Must Pay Operator Costs before Paying ORRIs. In case of first impression in Colorado, an appellate court interpreted the state’s pooling statute and held that an overriding royalty derived from a nonconsenting owner’s interest can’t be paid until the consenting owners recover all the non-consent’s share of drilling and operating costs. Myrick v. Colo. Energy & Carbon Mgmt. Comm’n, --- P.3d ----, No. 25CA0686, 2026 WL 2119216 (Colo. App. July 23, 2026).
Fifth Circuit Asks SCOTX Whether Gas Seller Must Tap the Spot Market During Force Majeure under NAESBs. In a natural gas supply dispute, a federal appeals court certified two questions to the Texas Supreme Court: whether the force majeure clause in the standard NAESB contract requires a non-producer seller that already buys part of its supply on the spot market to keep buying there during a force majeure event, and, if so, how to define the “reasonable efforts” the seller must make in that circumstance. MIECO, L.L.C. v. Targa Gas Mktg., L.L.C., --- F.4th ----, No. 23-20567, 2026 WL 2145869 (5th Cir. July 24, 2026).
Seventh Circuit Says Enbridge Trespassed on Tribal Land. In a closely watched pipeline right-of-way dispute, the Seventh Circuit held that Enbridge is trespassing on Bad River Reservation parcels where its Line 5 easements expired in 2013, but federal statutory law displaced the Tribe’s common law nuisance claims, and the court remanded to reconsider the district court’s order for the removal of the line and restitution. Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians v. Enbridge Energy Co., --- F.4th ----, No. 23-2309, 2026 WL 2198120 (7th Cir. July 30, 2026).
Eighth Circuit Resolves Dispute over Competing O+G Leases. In a dispute over which of two leases covers a piece of property, the Eighth Circuit held that, under North Dakota law, continuous production on a unit that included the 1948 lease containing a 12.5% royalty rate (which lacked any Pugh clause) controlled over a 2019 lease covering the same tract at a 20% royalty rate, reasoning that the 2019 lease is only a top lease. Rolfsrud v. Cont’l Res., Inc., --- F.4th ----, No. 25-2942, 2026 WL 2197768 (8th Cir. July 30, 2026).
Fed. Ct. in Tex. Tackles Royalty + Lease-Busting Dispute. In a dispute over the expiration of a lease for failure to pay royalties, a federal court in Texas agreed that an underpayment of royalty qualifies as a “nonpayment” under the lease that may lead to lease expiration, but the lessor’s notice of breach did not identify any uncured nonpayment and therefore did not trigger lease expiration. In addition, the court held that certain adjustments for transportation and fractionation fees built into the pricing formula in the operator’s third-party sales contracts do not violate any lease prohibition on deducting post-production costs. YMC Royalty Co., LP v. WPX Energy Permian, LLC, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 1:24-CV-00266-DAE, 2026 WL 2211771 (W.D. Tex. July 28, 2026).
Eighth Circ. Says Arkansas Statutory Royalty Does Not Replace Lease Royalty. In a royalty dispute, the Eighth Circuit held that Arkansas’ statutory royalty does not replace the first 1/8 royalty owed under the parties’ private leases and that the term “net proceeds” as used in the statute does not authorize deductions beyond those that are specifically allowed by the lease. Pennington v. BHP Billiton Petroleum (Fayetteville), LLC, --- F.4th ----, No. 24-3382, 2026 WL 2223863 (8th Cir. Aug. 3, 2026).
Mich. High Court Vacates Approval of Line 5 Tunnel. In a pipeline permitting case, Michigan’s highest court held that courts review an agency’s application of the state’s environmental protection act without deference, vacated the utility commission’s order approving a tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac, and remanded because the commission failed to weigh whether the tunnel would extend the pipeline’s operating life, compared alternatives inconsistently, and ignored effects on public trust resources. In re Enbridge Energy, --- N.W.3d ----, No. 168335, 2026 WL 2212865 (Mich. July 31, 2026).
Tex. Ct. App. Says Deficiency Fees Are Deductible from Overriding Royalties. In an overriding royalty dispute, a Texas appellate court held that deficiency fees an operator incurred under firm transportation and supply agreements are transportation costs and therefore deductible as post-production costs before calculating overriding royalties. Burlington Resources Oil & Gas Co. LP v. Texas Crude Energy, LLC, --- S.W.3d ----, No. 13-25-00179-CV, 2026 WL 2268665 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi–Edinburg Aug. 6, 2026).
Fed. Ct. in Illinois Upholds Village’s NatGas Ban. In a case involving bans on natural gas hookups in new buildings, a federal court in Illinois held that the federal appliance efficiency statute (EPCA) does not preempt a village ordinance requiring all new buildings to run on electricity rather than fossil fuels despite the Ninth Circuit’s contrary decision in California. Restaurant Association v. City of Berkely, 89 F.4th 1094 (9th Cir. 2024). Clean Energy Choice Coalition, NFP v. Village of Oak Park, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 25-CV-04353, 2026 WL 2205908 (N.D. Ill. July 30, 2026).
Tex. Ct. App. Says Well Operator is Additional Insured Bound to Arbitrate. In an insurance coverage dispute arising out of oilfield services, a Texas appellate court held that an operator claiming additional insured status must arbitrate under the policies’ arbitration clauses even though it never signed the policies, reasoning that the operator sought direct benefits under those policies and cannot take the contract while rejecting the parts it dislikes. Kinsale Insurance Co. v. Mewbourne Oil Co., --- S.W.3d ----, No. 12-26-00094-CV, 2026 WL 2349870 (Tex. App.-Tyler Aug. 12, 2026).
CA5 Says DOE’s Appliance Rule Failed Procedural Requirements. In a challenge to Biden-era federal appliance restrictions, the Fifth Circuit set aside DOE’s efficiency rule for stoves, ovens, and cooktops, holding that the agency had to withdraw its direct final rule once seven states filed adverse comments and that the rule failed in any event because the industry stakeholders backing it did not fairly represent the relevant points of view. Mississippi v. U.S. Department of Energy, --- F.4th ----, No. 24-60529, 2026 WL 2320839 (5th Cir. Aug. 11, 2026).
Tex. App. Ct. Says Lessee Can’t Wait for Payout Before Paying Royalties on Cotenant’s Production. In a dispute over payments under terms of an oil and gas lease and Texas’s royalty payment statute, a court of appeals in Texas held that an oil and gas lease required a lessee to pay royalties on production as production occurs, including on a cotenant’s share of production, even before payout. The court stated, however, that there is room to negotiate around this result:
We conclude that the unambiguous terms of the Lease required Pioneer to pay royalty based on the net amount received for the sale of oil and gas beginning with first production. We emphasize that lessors and lessees remain free to contract for a different rule. A lease may expressly defer royalty on a cotenant’s production until payout or condition payment on the lessee’s receipt of proceeds. This Lease does not.
Pioneer Nat. Res. USA, Inc. v. Elberta M. Royalty, LLC, --- S.W.3d ----, No. 08-24-00133-CV, 2026 WL 2435350 (Tex. App. Aug. 19, 2026).
La. Court OK’s Eviction of Operators for Missed Surface Use Payment. In a surface use dispute, a Louisiana appellate court affirmed an order evicting operators who failed to pay a $2,000 annual rental under a surface use agreement, holding that the SUA functioned as a lease and that summary eviction was proper in any event once the operators’ rights to occupy ended. Birdsong v. Hunt Oil Co., --- So. 3d ----, No. 56,956-CA, 2026 WL 2416776 (La. App. 2 Cir. 8/19/26).
Alaska Fed. Ct. Says Enviro Groups Lack Standing to Challenge Offshore Leasing. In a challenge to Trump’s decision to reestablish offshore leasing programs, a federal court in Alaska dismissed a petition brought by environmental groups for lack of jurisdiction, holding that the groups showed no imminent injury from the rescission of prior presidential withdrawals because no lease sales or exploration permits were pending in the reopened waters. N. Alaska Env’t Ctr. v. Trump, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 3:25-CV-00038-SLG, 2026 WL 2475281 (D. Alaska Aug. 24, 2026).
La. Ct. App. Says O+G Lessors Don’t Own Condensate. In a mineral ownership dispute, a Louisiana appellate court held that title to oil and gas vests at the wellhead in the party that captures it, so landowners who leased their mineral rights owned none of the condensate captured by their lessees and therefore could not recover for lessee’s alleged conversion. Furlow v. Petro-Chem Operating Co., --- So. 3d ----, No. 56,802, 2026 WL 2507847 (La. Ct. App. Aug. 26, 2026).
Fed. Bankr. Ct. in Tex. Greenlights Unpaid Post-Petition Production Revenues. In an oil and gas bankruptcy, a federal bankruptcy court in Texas authorized administrative expense claims brought by a working interest owner for production revenues the debtor withheld post-petition given that the debtor continued to receive post-petition benefits operation of wells. In re Barrow Shaver Res. Co., --- B.R. ----, No. 24-33353, 2026 WL 2493843 (Bankr. S.D. Tex. Aug. 24, 2026).
D.C. Circ. Upholds FERC’s Approval of La. LNG Terminal and Pipeline. In a challenge to FERC’s approval of a $10 billion LNG export project, a federal appeals court denied a petition for review filed by environmental groups who didn’t carry their burden of proving that the project is inconsistent with the public interest and that the agency’s environmental reviews violated NEPA. For a Better Bayou v. FERC, --- F.4th ----, No. 24-1291, 2026 WL 2484310 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 25, 2026).
Fed. Ct. in Cali Says Insurer Should Defend Claim of H2S Exposure at Well Site. In an insurance coverage dispute involving a pollution exclusion, a federal court in California held that an insurer breached its duty to defend a landowner sued by a worker who alleged cardiac arrest from hydrogen sulfide exposure at a gas well site. Bradley Land Co. v. Travelers Prop. Cas. Co. of Am., --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 2:25-CV-10605-DSF-JDE, 2026 WL 2548594 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 28, 2026).
D.C. Circ. Says No Due Process Problems for FERC’s Late Data Responses. In a pipeline rate dispute, the D.C. Circuit held that FERC didn’t violate the due process rights of a shipper’s customers when it belatedly produced data about the shipper’s rates and services because they ultimately received the data. E. Tennessee Grp. v. FERC, --- F.4th ----, No. 24-1253, 2026 WL 2542553 (D.C. Cir. Aug. 28, 2026).
Kan. App. Ct. Says Royalty Class Settlement Enforceable Despite Passage of Time. In a royalty class action challenging deductions for post-production costs, a Kansas appellate court reversed a ruling that a 2008 class-action settlement became dormant and unenforceable under the state’s dormancy statute, holding that the statute does not extinguish a judgment under which the court continues to supervise ongoing royalty payments. Littell v. Merit Energy Co., --- P.3d ----, No. 127,221, 2026 WL 2540061 (Kan. Ct. App. Aug. 28, 2026).
Alaska Supremes Say Oil Leases Expired for Unpaid Rents Pending Appeal. In a dispute over a state agency’s refusal to include leases in an exploration unit, the Alaska Supreme Court upheld a regulation requiring rental payments on leases pending administrative appeals, concluding that five leases therefore expired for nonpayment during the pendency of appeals and upholding the agency’s refusal to include a surviving sixth lease in the unit. Donkel v. State, Dep’t of Nat. Res., --- P.3d ----, No. S-18977, 2026 WL 2543409 (Alaska Aug. 28, 2026).
Fed. Ct. in New Mexico Lets Some Shale Oil Antitrust Claims Proceed. In an antitrust case, a federal court in New Mexico declined to dismiss most claims against major shale oil producers accused of conspiring to restrain production and raise crude prices, finding challenges to justiciability, conspiracy pleading, and antitrust standing premature at this stage, though it dismissed some state-law claims as a matter of law and ordered further factual development on certain jurisdictional questions. In re Shale Oil Antitrust Litigation, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 1:24-MD-03119-MLG-LF, 2026 WL 2568534 (D.N.M. Aug. 31, 2026).
Fed. Ct. in La. Says Damages Waiver Doesn’t Bar Oil Spill Claim. In an offshore pipeline dispute, a federal court in Louisiana held that a contract barring consequential damages did not defeat a claim for economic loss under the Oil Pollution Act where the claimant adequately pleaded gross negligence but dismissed the claim for removal costs because the claimant did not plead compliance with the National Contingency Plan. Main Pass Oil Gathering Co. v. Subsea 7 Marine, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. CV 25-890, 2026 WL 2566629 (E.D. La. Aug. 31, 2026).
Fed. Ct. in Cali. Tosses Offshore Oil Challenge for Lack of Standing. In a challenge to federal offshore oil approvals, a federal court in California dismissed environmental groups’ claims because they failed to establish Article III standing even after amending once and denied further leave to amend as futile. Center for Biological Diversity v. Burgum, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 2:25-CV-02840-MWC-MAA, 2026 WL 2574833 (C.D. Cal. Aug. 31, 2026).
Texas App. Ct. Says Lessee Owed Nothing for Required Railcar Upgrades. In a lease dispute involving crude-hauling tank cars, a Texas appellate court held that a railroad-tank lessee did not breach the lease by refusing to pay for modifications the federal government required for safety, holding that the tank cars at issue are not in service to transport oil and therefore require no upgrades. Sunoco Partners Marketing & Terminals L.P. v. Trinity Industries Leasing Co., --- S.W.3d ----, No. 05-24-00468-CV, 2026 WL 2572827 (Tex. App. Aug. 31, 2026).
Fed. Ct. in D.C. Blocks EPA From Sending Cali’s Emission Waivers to Congress. In a Clean Air Act case, a federal court in D.C. held that EPA’s decision to reclassify California’s vehicle emission preemption waivers as “rules” subject to the Congressional Review Act was final agency action open to judicial review and enjoined the EPA’s reclassification. Cali. v. EPA, --- F. Supp. 3d ----, No. 26-CV-2185 (BAH), 2026 WL 2593640 (D.D.C. Sept. 2, 2026).
CA8 Says Pollution Exclusion Bars Coverage for Well Explosion. In an insurance coverage dispute, the Eighth Circuit held that a pollution exclusion in a contractor’s umbrella policy barred coverage for the well owner’s payments to people injured in a well explosion. XTO Energy, Inc. v. Commerce & Industry Insurance Co., --- F.4th ----, No. 24-3101, 2026 WL 2607472 (8th Cir. Sept. 3, 2026).
CA8 Revives Tribal Court Jurisdiction Over Right-of-Way Side Letters. In a tribal jurisdiction dispute, the Eighth Circuit vacated an injunction that had barred a tribal court from hearing allotment owners’ claims over side letter agreements tied to pipeline rights-of-way, holding the operator had not shown it was likely to prove the tribal court lacks jurisdiction. WPX Energy Williston, LLC v. Fettig, --- F.4th ----, No. 25-1083, 2026 WL 2618609 (8th Cir. Sept. 4, 2026).
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