In companion decisions issued May 2, 2016, the Colorado Supreme Court (Gabriel, J.) affirmed district court summary judgment orders invalidating home-rule oil and gas regulations concerned with hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). The Court relied on the intent and scope of state-wide oil and gas legislation as reflected in the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Act, §§ […]
Come November, Colorado voters may decide whether oil and gas development should be subjected to more stringent regulation. Three ballot initiatives proposed by Boulder-based Coloradans Resisting Extreme Energy Development have survived legal challenges and are now headed for signature collection. Supporters have until August 8 to collect the necessary signatures to get these measures on […]
Over the past several years there has been an ongoing debate on whether local governments have the authority to limit or even ban oil and gas operations. In 2012, residents of the City of Longmont voted to approve a ban on hydraulic fracturing within city limits. Similarly, in 2013, Fort Collins voters approved a five […]
The recent shale boom has greatly increased the amount of natural gas produced and transported across the country’s network of pipelines in recent years. Unfortunately, the increase in production has resulted in several significant environmental and safety incidents, including a widely reported 2010 gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, California, that killed 8 people and […]
One of the more loosely used terms from Colorado’s Conservation Act and Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (“COGCC”) Rules, and one of many lawyers’ favorite words to analyze, is the term “reasonable.” When filing for an involuntary pooling application in front before the COGCC, an applicant must comply with COGCC Rule 530, which requires […]
The University of Wyoming’s Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute (“EORI”) recently made available to the public a new Interactive Data Platform (“IDP”). The IDP allows users to display and identify oil and gas information from the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the Wyoming State Geological Survey, the Wyoming Geological Association, and the Wyoming Pipeline Authority, […]
Colorado House Bill 16-1310 was introduced on March 2, 2016, by State Senator Morgan Carroll (D) and State Representative Joseph Anthony Salazar (D). Under current Colorado law, to prevail on a claim against an oil and gas operator, the surface owner must present evidence that the operator’s use of the surface “materially interfered” with the […]
Developers and owners of real property typically enter into a variety of contracts concerning the use of real property. This is particularly true in the natural resource extraction industry. Generally, under Colorado law contractual obligations may be deemed personal covenants that bind only the parties signing the agreement, or they may be covenants that “run […]
In Pennaco Energy Inc. v. KD Company LLC, 2015 WL 7758324 (Wyo.) (“Pennaco I”), the Wyoming Supreme Court recently confirmed a precedent that subjects lessees and operators to liability for successors’ acts and failures under surface use agreements. At issue was the continued liability of Pennaco for obligations contained in a surface use agreement (“SUA”) […]