On March 17, 2015, Secretary Jewell presented what was billed as a “major speech” to describe her vision of a “balanced prosperous energy future” at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Directly tying the U.S. “energy transformation” to the recovered...
The Colorado Oil and Gas Task Force submitted its Final Report on February 27, 2015 making nine recommendations to the Governor that received two-thirds of the vote of the Task Force members as required by Executive Order 2014-005 to constitute recommendations of the...
On February 17, 2015, in a decision that is contrary to the principle that is nearly universally applied in other oil and gas producing jurisdictions, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that an oil and gas lessee is not entitled to an equitable extension of the...
On February 17, 2015, in State ex rel. Morrison v. Beck Energy Corp. (Slip Opinion No. 2015-Ohio-485), the Ohio Supreme Court ruled, in a 4-3 decision, that Munroe Falls, a suburb or Akron, could not use local zoning laws to supersede or override the state of Ohio’s...
The Colorado Supreme Court held that an option to purchase oil and gas properties did not violate the common law rule against perpetuities. Atlantic Richfield Company v. Whiting Oil and Gas Corporation, f/k/a Equity Oil Company, 2014 CO 16. In 1968, Atlantic Richfield...
On January 14, 2015, the Obama Administration announced a plan to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations by 40 to 45 percent by 2025....
On January 19, 2015, in a 199-page summary judgment opinion in SWEPI, LP v. Mora County, New Mexico (CIV 14-0035 JB/SCY), New Mexico U.S. District Court Judge James Browning declared that a 2013 Mora County ordinance banning corporate oil and gas drilling and...
As part of a suite of federal oil and gas leasing reforms introduced by Secretary Salazar in 2010, the BLM introduced the concept of master leasing plans (“MLPs”). The MLP is a federal land use planning tool that allows the BLM to amend a governing resource management...