Judgment

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans has ruled against Chesapeake Energy Corp. in its bid to reverse a $19.7 million judgment over a canceled oil and gas lease offer in Texas, a decision that may hold implications on canceled lease claims by mineral rights owners in several other states.

Not all the facts are in on the risks of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) well stimulation, so curtailing the practice would be a rush to judgment, according to a new report from the National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI).

Two conservation groups are suing the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) for allowing natural gas development in the watershed prior to a moratorium instituted last year. The plaintiffs have asked the court to have the drilled wells removed, “and the sites cleaned up and restored to natural conditions.”

Homeland Security Secretary Janet A. Napolitano Monday told a Senate committee that she wanted to “reserve judgment on the adequacy” of BP plc’s response efforts to the massive crude oil response in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM).

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained a $475,000 judgment against former natural gas trader Matthew Reed for false reporting of prices to industry price index publishers.

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) obtained a $475,000 judgment against former natural gas trader Matthew Reed for false reporting of prices to industry price index publishers.

Kerr-McGee Oil and Gas Corp. has asked a federal court for a declaratory judgment and an injunction against the Interior Department and Johnnie Burton, Interior’s acting assistant secretary for Land and Minerals Management, saying the government is illegally attempting to force Kerr-McGee to pay royalties on deepwater Gulf of Mexico production exempted by law from royalties.

A judge has overturned a $3.2 million judgment against Dynegy Midstream Services LP and affiliate Versado Gas Processors LLC in a case brought by Apache Corp., ruling that the jury had reached its verdict without sufficient evidence against the companies.

FERC Chairman Pat Wood said he plans to reserve judgment on whether confidence has been restored in published price indexes until industry surveys are returned and an agency staff report based on the survey responses is completed.