There have been a number of recent developments in Texas energy law. Those developments are synthesized for readers to come up to speed in 5 minutes or less. Here goes:
1. Subsurface trespass claims—drilling through competitor’s lease. In early September, the Supreme Court of Texas refused to overturn a holding by the San Antonio Court of Appeals suggesting that mineral lessees may not have as broad a right to exclude others as once thought. Anadarko could not get permission to drill on a lease it had in a wildlife sanctuary, so it got permission from the adjacent Briscoe Ranch surface owner to drill on ranch land and then directionally drill into the minerals underlying the wildlife sanctuary. Lightening Oil had already leased the Briscoe Ranch mineral estate (severed from the surface rights), and filed a trespass lawsuit to stop Anadarko from drilling through its leasehold. The court granted Anadarko’s motion for summary judgment, the Court of Appeals agreed with the ruling, and on September 4, 2015, the Supreme Court of Texas refused to hear the case.
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