Legal Updates

On December 12, 2023, the Colorado Supreme Court heard oral argument in Great Northern Properties LLLP v. Extraction Oil and Gas Inc. et al., 2022SC805, about whether the centerline presumption applies to minerals in Colorado.  This type of dispute arises when an owner conveys property next to a right-of-way—like a road, path, or railroad—without expressly […]

Landowners Next to Roads Get Big Win

On September 15, 2022, the Colorado Court of Appeals resolved a question that has circulated in the title community in Colorado for years by clarifying that the centerline presumption applies to mineral interests beneath a dedicated right-of-way. Great Northern Properties, LLLP v. Extraction Oil & Gas, Inc., 2022 COA 110, ¶ 1. The centerline presumption, […]

READING BETWEEN THE LINES: IS NOTICE REQUIRED PRIOR TO RECORDING AN OIL AND GAS LIEN?[1] As the oil and gas industry continues to experience some financial volatility caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it is as important as ever that parties providing supplies or labor stay apprised of their rights to ensure they receive payment.   Part […]

On May 20, 2021, the North Dakota Supreme Court held that the following “free of cost, in the pipeline” oil royalty provision sets the point of valuation at the well: To deliver to the credit of the Lessor, free of cost, in the pipeline to which Lessee may connect wells on said land, the equal […]

Cryptocurrency[1] has become increasingly popular since the creation of the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, in 2009.  In the years following the creation of virtual currency, federal agencies and federal courts have struggled to maintain consistency in how cryptocurrency should be classified and regulated.  In the meantime, interest in the cryptocurrency market has only increased, which has […]

Venezuela is reeling from a multitude of woes. Vast swathes of the population have fled to neighboring countries as a humanitarian crisis flares out of control. The Venezuelan oil industry – the economy’s frail linchpin – has not escaped the morass. PdVSA, the state-owned oil company, is crippled by chronic operating mismanagement and resource nationalism. […]

Although the Obama and Trump administrations differ markedly on climate change and energy policy, their oil and gas decisions are being similarly faulted by federal courts. President Obama had an “all of the above” energy policy that included the development of oil and gas but took addressing climate change as a serious obligation. President Trump […]

On January 14, 2019, the Colorado Supreme Court reached a decision in COGCC v. Martinez, ending more than five years of litigation between seven youth activists from Boulder-based Earth Guardians and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (“COGCC”). The Court held that the COGCC appropriately exercised its agency discretion when it declined to undertake […]

Effective November 27, 2018, the revised Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulations pertaining to waste prevention will take effect. 83 Fed. Reg. 49,184 (Sept. 28, 2018). This final rulemaking eliminates several of the more onerous burdens imposed by the regulations adopted at the end of the previous Administration. 82 Fed. Reg. 83,008 (Nov. 18, 2016) […]

One of the arguments against fracking, and the natural gas industry in general, is that burning gas releases carbon dioxide, which contributes to global warming.i What if burning natural gas resulted in no CO2 emissions? In the next three to five years that may be true. MIT Technology Review has identified “zero carbon natural gas” as […]

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