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Resources on Oil & Gas Law

By Joseph E. Quandt and Julie A. Harrison

For the Libraries, Legal Research and Publications Committee

Oil and gas law issues have gained significant prominence in the last several years. Specifically, issues regarding oil and gas leasing contracts and mineral leasing on state lands have been the subject of numerous legislative reforms. In connection with the environmental issue, the Libraries, Legal Research and Publications Committee have collected the following lists which are not considered exhaustive of major primary and secondary authorities and online resources to assist the practitioner faced with legal issues affecting oil and gas interests.

Michigan Specific and Internet Sources

    Oil and Gas Internet Sources

    There are literally tens of thousands of oil and gas web sites. Using a search engine and key words such as "oil," "gas," or "minerals," will result in an exhaustive list of links to attorneys, oil and gas companies, laboratories, accountants, associations, and others. A good starting point for a broad search of the Internet should include http://www.oillink.com, which contains over a thousand links, including links to Michigan sites.

    Another good starting point is: http://www.slb.com/petr.dir/index.html, which contains over a hundred links to sites ranging from geological surveys to stocks and mutual funds.

    Sites that might be useful to the Michigan oil and gas practitioner, include:

    Both WESTLAW and LEXIS maintain ENERGY databases or libraries containing case law, statutory law, administrative law, and other related resources.

    The Michigan DEQ, Geological Survey Division is an excellent source for information. The site http://www.deq.state.mi/us/gsd/webmap.html contains the web site map for the GSD, from which one can access information about proposed and established administrative rules and statutes relating to oil and gas production in Michigan. Oil and gas rules and regulations, along with related forms, can be accessed from this site and downloaded. The site also contains general interest information about oil and gas, as well as information on how to contact GSD staff.

    To retrieve recent appellate decisions related to oil and gas production in Michigan, visit the web site for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education, at http://www.icle.org or the State Bar of Michigan at http://www.michbar.org.

    The United States Geological Survey Division, http://www.usgs.gov/body.html, is a starting point for reviewing federal material pertaining to oil and gas. The U.S. Code is accessible via Cornell Law School at http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/index.html or the U.S. House of Representatives at http://www.law.house.gov:80/usc.htm.

    The U.S. Department of Energy maintains an Energy Information Administration page, http://www.eia.doe.gov/, that provides extensive information about energy consumption in the United States.

    The National Association of Royalty Owners (NARO), http://www.naro-us.org, is an excellent source of information for royalty owners and their counsel. Touting itself as the "only national association exclusively representing mineral and royalty owners," the NARO site contains information and articles on current events impacting royalty owners, press releases, and membership information. The site also contains links to oil and gas associations, government agencies, research and resources, services, and other general information.

    The Michigan Oil and Gas Association, which represents over 1,000 oil and gas companies in Michigan, maintains a site at http://www. moga.com. The site provides information about membership in MOGA, press releases, links to industry sites, and other oil and gas information of interest to the industry.

    Periodically, the Michigan Land Use Institute web site, http://www.mlui.org/html/index.html, contains information pertinent to oil and gas activities in Michigan.

    The Rocky Mountain Mineral law Foundation, http://www.rmmlf.org,contains lists of publications, general information, and an extensive list of oil and gas related links.

    Lease Marketing, Inc. maintains a site at http://www.leasemarketing.com/ that provides an array of information concerning purchasing and selling of mineral interests or leases.

Looseleaf and Treatise Resources
  • The Law of Oil and Gas by Richard W. Hemingway, West Pub Co, 1991;

  • Handbook on Drafting Oil and Gas Exploration Agreements by Carols J. Salazar, National Energy Law & Policy Institute, University of Tulsa College of Law, © 1991;

  • The Law of Oil and Gas Leases by Earl A. Brown, M. Bender, © 1973;

  • Cases and Materials on Oil and Gas by William O. Huie, Marion Kenneth Woodward and Ernest E. Smith, III, West, 1972;

  • Legal Aspects of the Purchase and Sale of Oil and Gas Properties by Cullen M. Godfrey, National Energy Law & Policy Institute, University of Tulsa College of Law, © 1992;

  • Manual of Oil and Gas Terms by Howard R. Williams, M. Bender, 1991;

  • Oil and Gas Law by Eugene O. Kuntz, West Pub Co, 1986;

  • Oil and Gas Transactions by Elton C. Lasseigne, Tax Management, 1990.

Periodicals and Journals
  • The Landman;
  • Oil & Gas Law and Taxation Review;
  • Oil & Gas Tax Quarterly;
  • Michigan Oil and Gas News.

Law Review Articles

  • "Effect of the North American Free Trade Agreement on Trade between the United States and Mexico in the Energy and Petrochemical Industries," by Michael E. Aruda, 1 Tulsa J Comp & Int’l L 191 (1994);

  • "Oil, Gas, and Mineral Law" by Richard F. Brown, 49 SMU L Rev 1177 (1996):

  • "Creating a Legal Framework for Investment in the Commonwealth of Independent States Energy Section: Lessons from the energy Charter Experiment," by Peter Cameron, 1 Tulsa J Comp L 233 (1994);

  • "Environmental Regulation of Russia’s Offshore Oil & Gas Industry and its Implications for the International Petroleum Market," by Deborah K. Espinosa, 6 Pac Rim L & Pol’y J 647 (1997);

  • "Natural Gas Regulation and Vested Property Interests: Ratable Taking, Proration Standards, and Fieldwide Civil Liability," by W. Sydney Falk, Jr.;

  • "The Helms-Burton Act: Force or Folly of the World’s Leader?" 7 Minn J Global Trade 157 (1998);

  • Economic Approaches to Nonrenewable Resource Taxation," by Stephen E. Hamilton and Richard A. Westin, 11 J Nat Resources & Envtl L 175 (1995/1996);

  • "Defining the Royalty Obligation," by John S. Lowe, 49 SMU L Rev 223 (1996);

  • "Phase Severance of Gas Rights from Oil Rights," by Ralph A. Midkiff, 63 Tex L Rev 133 (1984);

  • "Stabilizing International Investment Commitments: International Law Versus Contract Interpretation," by George Ndi, 31 Tex Int’l LJ 215 (1996);

  • "State Regulation of Natural Gas in a Federally Deregulated Market: the Tragedy of the Commons Revisited" by Richard J. Pierce, Jr., 73 Cornell L Rev 15 (1987);

  • A Fifty-Year Perspective on World Petroleum Arrangements," by Ernest E. Smith and John S. Dzienkowski, 24 Tex Int’l LJ 13 (1989);

  • Symposium: "The Russian Petroleum Legislation Project at the University of Houston Law Center," 15 Hous J Intl’L 263 (1993); and

  • "International Energy Investment," by Thomas W. Waelde, 17 Energy LJ 191 (1996).

Joseph E. Quandt is a partner with the Traverse City law offices of Menmuir, Zimmerman, Kuhn, Taylor and Quandt. His practice focuses on environmental and business matters. He is also a professor of environmental law at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School. Before private practice, he was an enforcement specialist with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Julie A. Harrison is an associate attorney with the Traverse City law offices of Menmuir, Zimmerman, Kuhn, Taylor and Quandt. Her practice focuses on business and environmental matters.