Monthly Archives: January 2014

Where the Use of Forms Goes Wrong

Posted by: Austin Brister in Primers and Insights, The Deal Corner

The Proliferation of Forms:

The wide-spread use of forms in the oil and gas industry has created nothing short of a revolution in allowing land professionals to expedite the process of putting complex agreements in place. Additionally, this “forms culture” has dramatically helped to ensure excellent quality legal drafting and coverage of legal concepts in a continuously developing and complex legal regime — oil and gas law.

One example of such a widely used form is the Model Form Joint Operating Agreement published by the AAPL. Additionally, several publishers have created their own version of the ubiquitous “Producer’s 88” oil and gas lease form (which, on an unrelated note, has caused great confusion due to the same name being used for a wide variety of lease forms). The Association of International Petroleum Negotiators have also developed several forms for use in the oilpatch. As one last example, Kanes Forms has published a wide variety of forms, such as affidavits, mineral and surface deeds, assignments, and various agreements for use in the oil and gas industry.

But is this widespread reliance on forms purely positive? If not, then what are some of the major landmines to be aware of?

Where Are Forms Inadequate?

One of the first lessons I learned back when I was drafting and negotiating agreements in the construction industry was this: forms are a great starting place, but they shouldn’t be used blindly. The exact same principal applies in Oil and Gas. Some of the reasons for this include: Read More »

6Jan

Mineral Liens: Collecting Unpaid Debt for Oilfield Service Companies

Posted by: Austin Brister in Primers and Insights

Purpose and Application of Mineral Liens

Everyone in the construction industry is intimately familiar with the “Mechanic’s Lien,” which gives a security interest in the title to real property (and sometimes personal property) to those who have supplied materials or labor to improve the property. In some jurisdictions, the liens are broken down further into sub-groups, such as the the “Materialman’s Lien,” “Construction Lien,” “Supplier’s Lien,” or “Laborer’s Lien.” But one lesser known type of lien can be crucial to oilfield service companies in collecting on debts owed to them: the Mineral Lien.

Liens are similar to a sort of mortgage or deed of trust on the property, acting like a cloud on title, and having the effect of hooking the owner into paying you for your services or labor before selling, financing, or refinancing the property. Mineral Liens were designed specifically for companies like oilfield service companies, to give them an easier route to collecting their debts, and receiving money rightfully owed to them. Read More »

1Jan

Dirty Tricks & Cheap Moves in the Oilpatch

Posted by: Austin Brister in The Deal Corner

High risk, high reward. We in the oil and gas industry have been toughened; have been forced to learn to traverse the risk, and to reap the rewards. Heck, oil and gas exploration and production is practically as synonymous with the “American Dream” as we can get. The plentiful rewards that lie at the end of a successful oil and gas venture lead many into an epic journey fueled by palpable ambition and great effort. We’ve all heard amazing tales tracing the paths of the oil and gas trailblazers, the ones who got lucky, and those who were willing to sacrifice to get there (if not, see “The Prize“). But every possible path to high reward is guarded by a common vault-door: acceptance of high risk.

Unfortunately, as these stories show us, this risk to reward balance can and has lead many to lying, cheating, dishonesty, half-truths and otherwise misleading conversations, deals and agreements (again, see “The Prize”). However, this is all directly in conflict with the prevailing “unspoken rule” in the oil and gas business: honesty and fair dealing. Call it what you will, “old boys club,” “gentlemen’s business,” “good ol’ boys,” etc. The oil and gas industry is undeniably all about the relationships you have built, and the trust and rapport you have developed.

Nevertheless, in helping my clients negotiate and close all sorts of deals and resolve various disputes, I have inevitably ran across several “dirty tricks” and “cheap moves.” The following is an explanation of some of these dirty or cheap oil and gas negotiation tactics, how to avoid them, and suggestions for responding when the tactics are spotted.
Read More »