X A S JOUR Texas Journal of Oil, Gas N L T H O F & Energy Law...

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What’s New? TJOGEL is off to a successful start to the Spring 2014 semester. In February, the Journal hosted its 9 th annual Symposium at the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center in Austin. Over 200 attorneys and students attended the Symposium, which made it our most highly attended Symposium yet. In conjunction with the Symposium, the Journal held its annual Banquet on February 13 th , where it awarded the Ernest E. Smith Lifetime Achievement Award to Houston attorney Dick Watt of WattBeckworth. Mr. Watt graciously accepted the award in a room filled with attorneys, students, and close friends and family. In addition, the Journal awarded its annual Staff Editor of the Year Award to second-year law student Benjamin Goodman. Benjamin’s meticulous and thorough editing made him a very deserving candidate for the award. Congratulations again to Mr. Watt and Benjamin! On April 3 rd , the Journal is hosting its annual Spring Happy Hour at The Market/Tap Room in downtown Austin; for more information on the happy hour please see page 3. Additionally, the Journal recently selected the 2014-15 Executive Board, which is listed on page 4. Other events for the Spring 2014 semester include the publication of 9:2, the selection of the Editorial Board, and several roundtable luncheons. The Journal would like to thank its partner student organizations, the Energy Center, its Board of Advisors, and its sponsors for helping to make all of this possible. Read on to learn more about these exciting updates! The Drill March/April 2014 Sponsors Platinum Sponsors Andrews Kurth Baker Botts Bracewell & Giuliani Jones Day Latham & Watkins Locke Lord Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Sidley Austin Vinson & Elkins Gold Sponsors Gray Reed & McGraw Porter Hedges Scott, Douglass & McConnico Silver Sponsors Jackson, Sjoberg, McCarthy & Townsend Thompson & Knight Watts Guerra Bronze Sponsors Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Beirne, Maynard & Parsons Harrison, Bettis, Staff, McFarland & Weems Hays & Owens Jackson Walker Kelly Hart & Hallman King & Spalding Wagner & Brown Zaragoza Resources Texas Journal of Oil, Gas & Energy Law Content Recent Events, pg. 2 Upcoming Events, pg. 3 Meet the Board, pg. 3 Recent Developments, pg. 4 Forthcoming Articles, pg. 4 T H E T E X A S J O U R N A L O F O I L , G A S , A N D E N E R G Y L A W

Transcript of X A S JOUR Texas Journal of Oil, Gas N L T H O F & Energy Law...

Page 1: X A S JOUR Texas Journal of Oil, Gas N L T H O F & Energy Law …tjogel.org/drillarchive/Drill-MarApr2014.pdf · 2017-11-08 · portfolio manager for the MBA Investment Fund, LLC.

What’s New?

TJOGEL is off to a successful start to the Spring 2014 semester. In February, the Journal hosted its 9th annual Symposium at the Etter-Harbin Alumni Center in Austin. Over 200 attorneys and students attended the Symposium, which made it our most highly attended Symposium yet. In conjunction with the Symposium, the Journal held its annual Banquet on February 13th, where it awarded the Ernest E. Smith Lifetime Achievement Award to Houston attorney Dick Watt of WattBeckworth. Mr. Watt graciously accepted the award in a room filled with attorneys, students, and close friends and family. In addition, the Journal awarded its annual Staff Editor of the Year Award to second-year law student Benjamin Goodman. Benjamin’s meticulous and thorough editing made him a very deserving candidate for the award. Congratulations again to Mr. Watt and Benjamin! On April 3rd, the Journal is hosting its annual Spring Happy Hour at The Market/Tap Room in downtown Austin; for more information on the happy hour please see page 3. Additionally, the Journal recently selected the 2014-15 Executive Board, which is listed on page 4. Other events for the Spring 2014 semester include the publication of 9:2, the selection of the Editorial Board, and several roundtable luncheons. The Journal would like to thank its partner student organizations, the Energy Center, its Board of Advisors, and its sponsors for helping to make all of this possible. Read on to learn more about these exciting updates!

The Drill March/April 2014

Sponsors Platinum Sponsors

Andrews Kurth Baker Botts

Bracewell & Giuliani Jones Day

Latham & Watkins Locke Lord

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius Sidley Austin

Vinson & Elkins

Gold Sponsors Gray Reed & McGraw

Porter Hedges Scott, Douglass &

McConnico

Silver Sponsors Jackson, Sjoberg, McCarthy

& Townsend Thompson & Knight

Watts Guerra

Bronze Sponsors Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Beirne, Maynard & Parsons

Harrison, Bettis, Staff, McFarland & Weems

Hays & Owens Jackson Walker

Kelly Hart & Hallman King & Spalding Wagner & Brown

Zaragoza Resources

Texas Journal of Oil, Gas & Energy Law Content

Recent Events, pg. 2 Upcoming Events, pg. 3

Meet the Board, pg. 3 Recent Developments, pg. 4 Forthcoming Articles, pg. 4

TH

E TEXAS JOURNAL O

F

OIL, G

AS, AND ENERGY LAW

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Recent Events

9th Annual Symposium On February 13-14, the Journal hosted its 9th annual Symposium in Austin. Symposium presentations included M&A Financing, Trespass to Try Title Disputes, Due Diligence & the Upstream PSA, Production Sharing for Horizontal Wells, Midstream Financing, The Future of Fracing & Carbon Emissions in the EU, Boom to Bust, Blue Paydirt: The Importance of Water to Texas’ Energy Development, and Offset Clauses in a World Without Drainage. Speakers included law firm and in-house practitioners, government officials, and law and business professors.

TJOGEL Board Members at the Symposium, February 2014

Staff Editor of the Year Award The Journal awarded second-year law student Benjamin Goodman the Staff Editor of the Year Award at the Banquet. Benjamin went above and beyond in his editing duties this year and could not be a more deserving recipient. This summer, Benjamin will be clerking at Haynes & Boone and Jones Day in Dallas.

Dick Watt accepting the Ernest E. Smith Lifetime Achievement Award

Benjamin Goodman (right) accepting the Staff Editor of the Year Award

UT Law Professor John Dzienkowski at the Symposium

Ernest Smith Lifetime Achievement Award On February 13, 2014, the Journal awarded the 2014 Ernest E. Smith Lifetime Achievement Award to Dick Watt, ’72, founding partner of Houston firm WattBeckworth. This prestigious award is given to a distinguished attorney who has made significant contributions to the oil, gas, and energy law field.

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Shawn Schmidt is a third-year JD/MBA dual-degree student and serves as the Director of Submissions for TJOGEL. He holds a bachelor’s degree in government and philosophy from the University of Texas at Austin, where he was also a decathlete on the Men’s Track & Field Team. Prior to attending graduate school, he worked for Fabworx, an engineering firm focused on wafer handling aspects of semiconductor production equipment. In addition to his role on TJOGEL, Shawn serves as co-chair of the sponsorship committee for the UT Energy Forum and is a portfolio manager for the MBA Investment Fund, LLC. This summer, Shawn will be a summer associate at Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s energy investment banking group in Houston. In his spare time, Shawn enjoys backpacking, hunting, eating BBQ, and drinking craft beer.!

Christine Mainguy is a second-year student at UT Law and serves as a Director of Development for TJOGEL. Her responsibilities include raising funds for the Journal, establishing and maintaining relationships with industry practitioners, and helping to expand the Journal’s presence throughout the energy industry. Christine grew up in Houston and graduated summa cum laude from Loyola University of New Orleans with degrees in finance and management. During her time at Loyola, Christine was a member and captain of the Loyola Women’s Basketball team. Prior to law school, Christine traveled throughout Europe, China, and Southeast Asia and worked as a CPA in New Orleans, LA for Hienz & Macaluso LLC. This summer, Christine will be re-joining the Houston offices of Vinson & Elkins and Andrews Kurth, where she will increase her practical energy law experience by working with the M&A, Corporate Securities, and Tax practice groups. !

Meet the Board

Upcoming Events

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Jay Kelley Roundtable March 18, 2014 TJOGEL Board of Advisor Jay Kelley will join Journal members at a roundtable luncheon where he will discuss how hiring decisions are made and what firms actually expect of their summer associates.

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Thompson & Knight Roundtable March 25, 2014 Thompson & Knight attorneys Richard Hemingway, Jr. and Gaye White will speak to TJOGEL students at a roundtable luncheon at UT Law on March 25th. Mr. Hemingway and Ms. White will be discussing oil and gas practices in a large firm environment.

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TJOGEL Spring Happy Hour April 3, 2014 Location: The Market/Tap Room The Journal is excited to hold its annual Spring Happy Hour at The Market/Tap Room in Austin on April 3. We look forward to seeing both students and attorneys at the happy hour!

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!Volume 9: 2013-14 Board

Executive Board Editor-in-Chief: Mike Marek

Executive Editor: Cooke Kelsey Managing Editor: Tom Hillebrand

Chief Articles Editor: Greg Sorensen Recent Developments Editor: Dave Player Chief Financial Officer: Sean McKinley Symposium Director: Anna Lee Alford

Director of Submissions: Shawn Schmidt

Editorial Board Assistant Managaing Ed.: Alex Robertson Director of Public Relations: Jaclyn Joseph Online Content Editor: Callie Clemons

Director of Media: Rob Goodin Director of External Affairs: Chris Fox

Symposium Associates: Andrew Klein & Bart Nebergall

Directors of Development: Christine Mainguy & Minator Azemi

Assistant Submissions Editors: Jordan Hahn & George Liu

Associate Recent Development Editors: Aashish Kapadia & Gen Li

Associate Editors: Michelle Hood, Danny Williams, Lander Brandt, Sarah

Lancaster, Carlos Mejias, Kara Ramsay

Recent Developments

Please Give Us One More Oil Boom – I Promise Not to Screw it Up This Time: The Broken Promise of Casinghead Gas Flaring in the Eagle Ford Shale By Bret Wells Bret Wells argues that developers need to stop flaring natural gas in the Eagle Ford shale. According to Professor Wells, one means of accomplishing this is making regulatory amendments to the Railroad Commission's Rule 32. As another option, landowners, adjacent landowners, operators of adjacent tracts, and surface owners could all bring private causes of action against developers who waste gas by flaring it. Professor Wells also discusses the legal implications for operators who shut in wells to conserve gas and various saving clauses available to prevent a lease from terminating if a well is shut in. In conclusion, Professor Wells argues that putting an end to this wasteful flaring is "sound public policy" that will "minimize the physical waste of the state’s finite natural resources." Stewarding Public Oil, Gas, and Hard Minerals: The Express and Implied Development Rights That Protect Public Resources By John Burritt McArthur John Burritt McArthur’s Article addresses a topic that receives limited treatment in secondary source materials – the fundamental right of public landowners to ensure that their oil company lessees develop lands diligently. The Article summarizes express development rights in the leases of the federal government and the major oil and gas producing states, describes the implied duty to develop that courts impose on oil-and-gas lessees, reviews the handful of public-land development cases, and discusses common and distinctive features of public and private development disputes.

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2014-15 Executive Board Selection The Journal is pleased to announce the 2014-15 Executive Board, which the outgoing board selected in early March. We are excited to have such a talented group leading the Journal next year. Editor-in-Chief: Alex Robertson Managing Editor: Jaclyn Joseph Executive Editor: Nils Swanson Chief Articles Editor: Michelle Hood Symposium Director: Will White Director of Submissions: Andrew Klein Recent Developments Editor: Aashish Kapadia Chief Financial Officer: Jennifer Gasser

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Proceeds from the Ernest Smith Event The Journal is excited to announce that the fall 2013 Ernest Smith Event, which the Journal hosted in conjunction with UT Law’s Energy Center, raised approximately $194,000 for scholarships for students pursuing careers in energy law. The proceeds will be split evenly between the Texas Energy Law Association endowment and a new Ernest E. Smith Scholarship endowment. Both accounts will be held by the law school and both will generate income to be used for scholarships for students with a demonstrated interest in energy law.

Forthcoming Articles – Issue 9:2