By Bret Sumner & Jacob Everhart The Big Beautiful Bill or the Reconciliation Act of 2025 (the Act) (House Resolution 1), contains an important provision for upstream oil and natural gas operators on federal lands. This provision directs the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to draft a rule authorizing commingling of production from diverse mineral ownership (federal and fee, federal,…
The recent Richard v. Marathon Petroleum Corp. decision compels oil and gas operators to adopt rigorous due diligence standards prior to lease acquisitions. The New Mexico Court of Appeals (NMCA) ruled that New Mexico State Land Office (SLO) approved lease assignments do not absolve assignors or their successors in interest from liability for tortious or statutory harms caused before the…
Today, in a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court of the United States issued a “course correction. . .to bring judicial review under NEPA back in line with the statutory text and common sense.”[1] In Seven County, the Court held that the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals erred in finding deficiencies in the agency’s NEPA analysis for approval of a railroad…
In Continental Resources, Inc. v. North Dakota Board of University and School Lands, the Eighth Circuit resolved a dispute between North Dakota and the United States over entitlement to royalties from minerals extracted from beneath Lake Sakakawea, and ruled in favor of the State of North Dakota. 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 10619 (8th Cir. 2025). When North Dakota was admitted…
In January, the United States Supreme Court decided not to weigh in on a climate change lawsuit between the City of Honolulu and Sunoco. The lawsuit alleges that oil companies made misleading statements about the impacts of their fossil fuel products in creating human-induced climate change. However, the Supreme Court’s decision says nothing about the merits of the underlying claims.…
The Royalty Resiliency Act (RRA or Act) requires the Secretary of the Interior, or the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under delegation of the Secretary, to issue all determinations of allocations of production for units and communitization agreements (CA) within 120 days of a lessee’s request for determination. Enacted by Congress on September 20, 2024, to relieve delays in allocation…
On June 3, 2024, Colorado Governor Jared Polis approved House Bill 24-1472 (the “Bill”), which increases the damage caps for tort and wrongful death actions beginning January 1, 2025. The Bill will increase the cap for non-economic losses or injuries[1] from $250,000 to $1.5 million, as well as increase the wrongful death cap to $2.125 million. The Bill will adjust…
Each year, the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) allows states to determine whether they want to participate in a royalty reporting simplification process, benefiting leaseholders of marginal wells. The process includes ONRR providing a list of qualifying marginal federal oil and gas properties to the states receiving a portion of federal royalties from those properties. This report is issued…
Last week, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) adopted amendments to New Mexico’s Community Solar Rule (17.9.573 NMAC) that will bring significant developments to the state’s solar energy landscape. Importantly, the PRC raised the statewide solar capacity cap from 200 MW to 500 MW, authorizing an additional 300 MW to New Mexico’s Community Solar program cap effective November 1,…
The Royalty Resiliency Act, House Resolution 7377, (“the Act”) was signed into law by President Biden on September 20, 2024, and requires the Secretary of the Interior to issue all determinations of allocations of production for units and communitization agreements (“CA”) within 120 days of a request for determination. Sponsored by Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX-38) and passed by unanimous consent…