Oil & Gas Litigation

The oil and gas lawyers at PMBG have been at the forefront in protecting landowners’ rights and interests in South Texas and throughout the State. When leases are not followed, when royalties are not properly calculated or paid, or when an oil or gas company fails in its implied duties to you under the law, our law firm fights in court for the rights of our landowner clients.

If you receive a printed oil and gas lease form in the mail, you should call an experienced oil and gas attorney before signing.  Before you sign an oil and gas lease, pipeline easement agreement, or division order, you should protect your and your family’s rights and consult with an experienced oil and gas attorney to review it.

Proper handling of oil and gas transactions up front can help avoid litigation later. However, when disputes arise, the oil and gas lawyers at PMBG can provide skilled advice and representation.

Royalty Underpayment

Every oil and gas lease is unique. Establishing a royalty price (through index prices, market value and other sources) and assuring that oil and gas volumes are measured properly can be challenging. Because our oil and gas litigation lawyers have extensive experience, we are able ensure that royalties owed to our clients are fairly paid.

Duty of Oil & Gas Development

Under Texas law, an oil and gas operator has an implied duty to develop the lease and often to drill wells. If there is a lack of development, the oil and gas lawyers at PMBG will consult with geophysicists, geologists, and petroleum engineers to analyze mineral properties and determine if and what type of mineral development a reasonable and prudent operator would have engaged in.

Duty to Protect Against Drainage

When an oil or gas reservoir extends beyond your lease boundaries and a well on a neighboring tract begins producing from such reservoir, your operator may be obligated under law to protect your interests and offset a draining well.  The oil and gas lawyers at PMBG will consult with experts to analyze mineral properties and determine if your property may be in the process of being drained.  

Duty to Market Oil & Gas

Once production is obtained, the oil or gas company has a duty to produce such production and pay according to your lease and Texas law.

Continuous Development of Oil & Gas Properties

Oil and gas leases often contain requirements to drill within an agreed time frame. If wells are not timely drilled, oil and gas leases may terminate or partially terminate.  Your minerals may no longer be subject to the lease, and if the acreage is released of record, it can be open and available for leasing again.

Production in Paying Quantities

Oil and gas leases require production of oil or gas in order to continue, and most require that oil and gas production be sufficient to cover the oil companies’ production expenses.  If lease production falls below a certain level, the lease may no longer be producing in paying quantities resulting in lease termination. The oil and gas lawyers at PMBG will consult with experts to analyze production levels and determine if the lease may no longer be producing in paying quantities and may have terminated.  

When an oil or gas company or a producer does not live up to the lease requirements or the implied duties of a lease, our experienced oil and gas litigation attorneys will protect our client’s rights in court.

The oil and gas attorneys at PMBG serve clients in a professional, bilingual office environment, offering clients confidentiality and excellence in all legal matters. Our oil and gas litigation lawyers have decades of experience throughout Texas including the Eagle Ford counties of Webb, Karnes, Zavala, Dimmit, LaSalle, McMullen, DeWitt, Tilden, Live Oak & Gonzalez as well Zapata, Jim Hogg, Duvall and including the Permian Basin counties and West Texas.  We serve clients in the communities of San Antonio, Laredo and throughout the State.