Mealey's Fracking
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December 08, 2023
Judge Denies Company’s Motion To Compel Documents In Abandoned Wells Dispute
WHEELING, W.Va. — A federal judge in West Virginia has denied a motion to compel production of documents related to landowners’ claims in an abandoned wells dispute, ruling that the requests in the motion are “not relevant to any of the issues in the case, are not proportional to the needs of the case,” and taking the time to respond to the discovery requests would place an undue burden on the party producing the documents.
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December 08, 2023
Company: District Court Ruling In Complex Mineral Rights Case Was Correct
COLUMBUS, Ohio — An energy company has filed a response brief in the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals contending that a lower court correctly granted it summary judgment when it dismissed another energy company’s claims in a complex mineral rights dispute and held that the second energy company did not have claims to specific tracts of land.
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December 08, 2023
Panel Remands Part Of Fracking Case Dealing With Surety Under Louisiana Law
BATON ROUGE, La. — In an unpublished opinion, a Louisiana state appellate court partially remanded a hydraulic fracturing case, ruling that a trial court did not consider a fracking operator’s potential liability as a surety under Louisiana law with regard to its drilling activities that affected property adjacent to the parcel on which the company had authorization to operate.
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December 08, 2023
Groups Seek Emergency Relief From 9th Circuit In Ongoing Willow Project Opposition
SAN FRANCISCO — A Native Alaskan group and environmental advocates have filed an emergency motion in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals seeking injunctive relief to avoid “the imminent, irreparable destruction of Arctic wetlands and tundra, and harms to wildlife and people” they say will be the result of ConocoPhillips Alaska Inc.’s construction of the Willow Project, a hydraulic fracturing operation in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska.
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December 08, 2023
Judge Certifies Appeal Over Expert Testimony In Case About Fracking Data
HOUSTON — A federal judge has issued an order certifying an interlocutory appeal of a ruling that denied a defendant’s motion to exclude a plaintiff’s witness regarding his testimony on reasonable royalty damages in a dispute over the disclosure of unlicensed seismic data to a third-party oil and gas operator. The judge, who had concluded that the testimony is permitted as long as it complies with the requirements of Federal Rule of Evidence 701, certified the appeal, saying the matter presents “a controlling question of law” and the resolution of the issue would “materially advance the litigation.”
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December 08, 2023
5th Circuit Says Opposition To Fracking Lease Sale In Gulf Of Mexico Fails
NEW ORLEANS — A panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that environmental groups that opposed the competitive sealed-bid auction of offshore oil and gas leases known as Lease Sale 261 lack standing to independently prosecute their appeal and ordered that the deadline for conducting the lease sale is now Dec. 21.
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December 08, 2023
Alaska Fracking Advocates Seek Relief In Dispute With Biden Administration
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Hydraulic fracturing advocates have filed a reply brief in Alaska federal court seeking relief from final judgment which granted summary judgment to the Biden administration in a dispute over the president’s moratorium on federal fracking leases, arguing that the decision by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to cancel the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority’s (AIDEA) oil and gas leases on the Coastal Plain has rendered the controversy moot.
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December 07, 2023
Judge Dismisses Contract Case On Grounds Signature Requirement Was Not Met
HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas on Dec. 6 granted an energy company’s motion for summary judgment and dismissed with prejudice the contract dispute related to a hydraulic fracturing drilling rig, ruling that an email from the fracking company involved in the contract did not meet the signature requirement under the statute of frauds.
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December 07, 2023
Company Says It Has No Connection To Allegedly Defective Drilling Rig
OKLAHOMA CITY — A company that provides infrastructure development to oil and gas companies on Dec. 6 filed a reply brief in Oklahoma federal court arguing that it should dismiss a lawsuit brought against it and a company that makes drilling rigs on grounds that there is an absence of evidence that the infrastructure company was involved in the sale or manufacture of an allegedly defective drilling rig.
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December 06, 2023
D.C. Circuit Denies En Banc Review Of Ruling Related To Fracking In Utah
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled en banc to deny a petition for rehearing filed by intervenors in litigation pertaining to a proposed rail line in Utah that would carry, among other things, products related to hydraulic fracturing to and from the shale formation in the Uinta Basin. In the order the Circuit Court did not elaborate on its decision.
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December 06, 2023
Judge Denies Injunction, Rules Willow Project Construction Activities May Proceed
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A federal judge in Alaska has denied motions for an injunction pending appeal of her decision to dismiss claims brought by groups that oppose the Willow Project, a hydraulic fracturing operation in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, ruling that the groups failed to satisfy “the Winter factors” and “have not raised a serious question going to the merits.”
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December 06, 2023
Chief Justice Roberts Denies Emergency Stay Sought By Pipeline Opponents
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Chief Justice of the United States John G. Roberts Jr. on Dec. 5 denied an application for an emergency stay sought by opponents of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) who sought a writ of injunction to preserve the status quo for parcels of land that would be affected by construction of the MVP.
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December 04, 2023
Groups Appeal Ohio Agency’s Decision To Frack Parcels Of Land In State Parks
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Environmental advocacy groups filed a notice of appeal in state court challenging adjudicative orders issued by the Ohio Oil & Gas Land Management Commission (OGLMC) arguing that its decision to approve hydraulic fracturing in state parks and wildlife areas is not supported by “reliable, probative, and substantial evidence” and that the decision is “not in accordance with law.”
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December 04, 2023
Pipeline Opponents’ Emergency Application Seeks Injunction To Preserve Land
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Opponents of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) have filed an emergency application with U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. seeking a writ of injunction to preserve the status quo related to parcels of land that would be affected by the construction of the MVP. The application marks the second time the pipeline opponents have brought their case to the Supreme Court.
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November 29, 2023
Federal Agencies: Injunction Sought By Willow Project Opponents Has ‘No Valid Basis’
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Federal agencies on Nov. 28 filed a brief in Alaska federal court contending that it should deny environmental and Native American groups’ motions for an injunction pending appeal of the court’s decision to dismiss the claims brought by the groups, which oppose the Willow Project, a hydraulic fracturing operation in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, because the groups “have identified no valid basis” for the court to revisit its “recent and thorough analysis.”
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November 28, 2023
Texas Appellate Panel Affirms $23.56M Award In Fracking Contract Dispute
HOUSTON — An appellate panel in Texas has ruled that evidence was legally sufficient to support a jury’s verdict that awarded a freshwater pipeline company $23,560,541.20 in damages for breach of contract after a hydraulic fracturing company started buying fresh water from suppliers other than the pipeline with which the fracking company had a supply agreement.
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November 13, 2023
Judge Says Plaintiff’s Expert May Testify In Case Over Seismic Data For Fracking
HOUSTON — A federal judge in Texas has denied a defendant’s motion to exclude a plaintiff’s witness regarding his testimony on reasonable royalty damages in a dispute over disclosure of unlicensed seismic data to a third-party oil and gas operator, ruling that the testimony is permitted as long as it complies with the requirements of Federal Rule of Evidence 701.
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November 10, 2023
Judge Dismisses With Prejudice Groups’ Challenges To Willow Project Approval
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A federal judge in Alaska on Nov. 9 dismissed with prejudice all claims brought by environmental groups and Native Americans who oppose the Willow Project, a hydraulic fracturing operation in the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, ruling that federal agencies were not “arbitrary and capricious” in reaching the conclusion that the project should be approved.
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November 10, 2023
Panel Reverses, Remands Case Over Mineral Interests Based On Experts And Evidence
EL PASO, Texas — A Texas appellate court panel has reversed and remanded a trial court’s summary judgment ruling in a dispute over whether a hydraulic fracturing operator trespassed onto another fracking company’s mineral interests by contaminating the area of operation with fracking wastewater. The panel said the plaintiff offered evidence of harm and produced experts that were reliable (Iskandia Energy Operating Inc. v. SWEPI LP, No. 08-22-00103, Texas App., 8th Dist., 2023 Tex. App. LEXIS 8288).
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November 10, 2023
Appellate Justice Says State Agency Has ‘Sole’ Authority To Regulate Gas Wells
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A state appeals court justice in West Virginia has reversed a lower court ruling and held that a city cannot hinder a hydraulic fracturing operator’s ability to begin drilling once the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) has issued a permit. The justice said a city’s approval scheme is in direct conflict with state law that vests the WVDEP with “sole and exclusive authority” to regulate the “permitting” and “location” of horizontal gas wells.
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November 09, 2023
Judge Dismisses Case Over Fracking Permits Due To Groups’ Lack Of Standing
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has dismissed a dispute over federal permits for hydraulic fracturing, ruling that environmental groups failed to allege a cognizable injury in fact and therefore could not establish standing.
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November 09, 2023
5th Circuit Affirms Contract Dispute Award, But Remands For Further Consideration
NEW ORLEANS — A panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has affirmed a $11,897,689.39 jury award in a hydraulic fracturing breach of contract case but remanded the case to have the trial court consider whether it should allow the appellant to pursue discovery relating to the possibility that a settlement between the plaintiff and other parties in the dispute should be subtracted from the final judgment.
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November 09, 2023
Arkansas Appellate Panel: Energy Company Improperly Reduced Royalty Payments
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — An Arkansas appeals panel has affirmed a lower court’s ruling that an energy production company made improper deductions from royalties payments in violation of Arkansas state statutes.
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November 08, 2023
Judge Dismisses, Allows Some Claims In Federal Fracking Permit Dispute
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has dismissed multiple claims related to the issuance of federal permits to drill for hydraulic fracturing for lack of standing but has held that claims involving the U.S. Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) record of decision (ROD) related to land use are valid.
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November 07, 2023
Amici Tell 10th Circuit Biden Exceeded Authority With National Monuments Decision
DENVER — On Nov. 6, multiple parties filed amicus curiae briefs in the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in support of Utah and two counties that have appealed the ruling of a lower court on grounds that that court erred when it dismissed the state and counties’ claims against the Biden administration for its decision to reinstate the dimensions of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante national monuments because the action exceeded the scope of the Antiquities Act.