Experts In Oil & Gas Commission Laws
The attorneys in the Onshore Development and Regulatory Group of Beatty & Wozniak, P.C., have decades of experience representing operators before state oil and gas commissions. Over the past thirty years, state commissions have conducted numerous rulemakings changing the course of onshore oil and gas development in the Southwest, Mid-Continent, Northern Plains and Rocky Mountain Regions. Our attorneys have been instrumental in crafting regulations that are workable for industry, while meeting the goals of the regulators and the requirements of the relevant statutes.
Our attorneys not only assist in matters of policy before these agencies but are among the most active attorneys representing companies before state commissions for regular adjudicatory filings. The Onshore Development and Regulatory Practice Group assists companies in filing oil and gas development plans, applications for well spacing and density, applications for statutory or compulsory pooling, unitization applications, applications for variances, and comprehensive development or area plans.
While our team’s goal is to navigate the regulatory process in a manner that results in uncontested applications, we understand that is not always possible. Landowners, surface owners, environmental activists and others challenge state commissions with increasing frequency. Our team is poised and ready to assist operators in obtaining favorable orders from commissions in contested cases. Indeed, the attorneys in the Onshore Development and Regulatory Practice Group are among the most experienced attorneys in successfully litigating disputes before state commissions. For example, we led the way in assisting a Colorado operator in obtaining the only two Comprehensive Drilling Plans established by the COGCC, which designated the company operator over a combined 100,000 acres in the Denver-Julesburg Basin. Additionally, Beatty & Wozniak, P.C. secured COGCC approval for a 17,000-acre state unit for primary recovery operations—the first of its kind in Colorado.
In Wyoming, we paved the way for substantial cost savings on multiple large new development projects, by obtaining critical regulatory approvals that mitigate facilities costs, midstream unavailability issues, and regulatory delays. We have also facilitated conversations among our clients and state government, to enhance policies that benefit oil and gas development. Finally, our team of attorneys and staff are located not only in Denver, but in Casper, Wyoming, Midland, and Santa Fe, New Mexico, providing a local perspective from the heart of some of the most prolific basins in the lower 48.
When operators face enforcement actions before state commissions, our group guides clients through the enforcement process, counseling operators on completion of corrective actions and negotiating settlements with the agency. When settlement cannot be reached, our attorneys assist operators in enforcement hearings before the agency.
At Beatty & Wozniak, P.C., we know maximizing the rate of return on a project requires comprehensive consideration and innovative use of state regulations. The Onshore Development and Regulatory Practice Group has a proven record of success in strategic planning and representation before increasingly complex commissions.
Contact Us
Call our offices at 303-407-4499 or contact us by email to arrange an opportunity to discuss your legal matter.