Austin Oil and Gas Attorney Comments on Chesapeake Energy Squeezing Royalty Owners
Austin, TX (Law Firm Newswire) October 2, 2012 - Chesapeake Energy, the Oklahoma City-based oil and gas producer, has apparently begun reinterpreting contracts with thousands of royalty owners, passing certain costs on to them, even when many lessors believe their leases contain no-cost clauses.
Chesapeake claims that other contract provisions allow the company to deduct costs from royalty payments. At least a dozen lawsuits have been filed against the driller by royalty owners.
“It largely comes down to the language of the initial lease,” says Gregory D. Jordan, an Austin oil and gas attorney. “Royalty provisions in leases can be very sophisticated. A lessor who reads over a contract produced by the drilling company's lawyers, and decides for himself that everything is OK is asking for trouble. Unfortunately, it is now coming back to bite some landowners.”
Costs, said Jordan, may include production, marketing, compression, dehydration, transportation and other expenses. Many contracts explicitly prohibit such costs from being passed on to the landowners, but as Chesapeake's actions have shown, some contract clauses are subject to “reinterpretation.”
“The solution,” noted Jordan, “is to have your lease drafted or reviewed by an experienced oil and gas attorney who is on your side.”
Chesapeake took action in April, as gas prices neared a 10-year low, 30 percent lower than 2010 prices. The company lost market value of $9 billion and ousted its CEO, Aubrey McClendon, over conflict of interest issues. The company has allegedly sought to save money by charging costs to royalty owners from Texas to Pennsylvania. Chesapeake has the rights to drill on more than 15 million acres in the United States.
Now the gas producer is facing lawsuits by landowners in at least five state courts, alleging that Chesapeake underpaid their royalties. Two of the lawsuits were filed as class actions, intended to represent multiple royalty owners.
Earlier this year, Chesapeake argued in federal court in Louisiana that a clause that it pay royalties based on the “market value” of the gas, permitted the deduction of costs. Donna Thornton, a Texas accountant, told Bloomberg News that she had the exact same contract with Chesapeake and with Plains Exploration & Production Co., to drill on her property in Louisiana. She discovered she was being charged for costs when Plains refunded her money.
Law Offices of Gregory D. Jordan
5608 Parkcrest Drive, Suite 310
Austin, Texas 78731
Call: 512-419-0684
Other Practice Areas offered by the Law Offices of Gregory D. Jordan:
[mappress mapid="39"]
- Texas Lawmakers Pass Law to Curtail Common Oil and Gas Scam Tactic
To some extent, the history of Texas is closely tied to the state’s historically ample supply of oil and gas. Texas has been at the forefront when it comes to establishing oil and gas laws throughout the country. Unfortunately, due to the value of the commodity, over the years, enterprising scammers have come up with [...] - Texas Court Holds Plaintiff Failed to “Pierce the Corporate Veil” of Employer
One of the primary factors business owners consider when choosing how to set up their company is how each type of structure will impact their personal liability, should the business fail, or incur sizable debt during its operation. Historically, there have been three main types of business organization structures: sole proprietorship, partnership and corporation. Sole [...] - Texas employees who are pregnant or recently returning from maternity leave are protected from employment discrimination
In 1964, the United States Congress passed the Civil Rights Act. The Civil Rights Act was a landmark piece of legislation that ended segregation of public places and banned discrimination based on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin. The Civil Rights Act did much to combat the discrimination that was common [...]
Tags: Austin business attorney, Austin business lawyer, Austin business litigation attorney, Austin business litigation lawyer, austin employment attorney, austin employment lawyer, Austin oil and gas attorney, Austin oil and gas lawyer, Texas oil and gas attorney, Texas oil and gas lawyer