In a unanimous decision endorsing the position argued by Welborn counsel Joe Pierzchala and Sam Bacon, the Colorado Supreme Court held that landowners next to a road own the minerals under and through to the centerline of the road, unless the seller expressed a...
The Welborn litigation team of Sam Bacon, David Hrovat, Anthony Roeber, and Brian Tooley prevailed in a marathon jury trial spanning two months this past fall. Welborn represented the plaintiffs, which were two non-operators of an oil lease outside Bakersfield,...
Welborn’s Scott Turner, a Colorado reporter for The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, shares his thoughts on recent developments in Colorado and BLM natural resources law, including the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision not to adopt a universal...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...