Oil & Gas Cases
OIL & GAS
We’re headquartered in Houston, Texas, the energy capital of the world. That means we are surrounded by all aspects of the oil & gas industry which gives us a unique understanding and respect for the energy sector. The oil & gas sector has a myriad of laws, regulations, and contracts that are very complex and can vary for each company, state, and country. Industrial accidents are common, and we know how to navigate the rules and regulations set forth by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OHSA). Title errors, contract disputes, and broken lease agreements are also surprisingly common in the oil & gas industry and we know how to navigate the complicated provisions found in most oil & gas documents. It’s an industry that requires the expertise and knowledge that our law firm has been perfecting since 1979.
Fighting for You
Whether you were injured in an accident or cheated out of your share of a deal, we’ll fight the big companies for the maximum compensation that you deserve. We handle workplace injury cases as well as commercial cases including contract disputes, subsurface trespass, tortious interference, usurpation of corporate interest, partnership disputes, breach of fiduciary duty, breach of oil and gas leases, and many more. We’ll fight and recover for you and the ones you love.
We help clients in many different types of oil & gas disputes, including:
- Protecting rights to royalty payments;
- Recovering royalty payments owed;
- Reviewing and negotiating leases;
- Protecting the rights of landowners;
- Protecting the rights of mineral owners;
- Protecting the rights of geologists and landmen;
- Representing injured oilfield workers; and
- Representing individuals and companies in any other type of dispute relating to oil & gas exploration or production.
Oil & Gas Case Successes
In 2016, a coil tubing workover company showed up to perform work on a well in central Louisiana. The company was using broken equipment and negligently over-pressurized the well, causing it to blowout. The production company and the large group of well owners hired The Chaffin Law Firm to represent them regarding the loss of their multi-million dollar well. We fought for our clients for over 2 years and battled multiple insurance companies and we eventually put $1,807,262 in our clients’ pockets.
In 2017, The Chaffin Law Firm represented two brothers who had inherited several mineral interests from their late mother. A convoluted series of documents gave rise to a conflicting claim of ownership. As a result, the oil and gas operator refused to recognize the brothers’ mineral interests and never paid them any royalty on the oil and gas production. Our firm filed suit on behalf of the brother under Texas Natural Resources Code § 91.404, which allows royalty owners to sue for unpaid or underpaid royalties. We eventually forced the operator to pay 100% of the unpaid royalties to our clients dating back to the date of first production. Plus, the operator agreed to begin sending our clients monthly royalty checks which have been coming in regularly since the settlement.
In 2017, The Chaffin Law Firm represented a client who purchased a broad array of mineral interests in West Texas and New Mexico back in the 1970s. Unknown to our client, the lands where he acquired mineral interests were leased and developed with multiple successful wells more than 30 years after he acquired his interests. Our firm diligently researched the mineral interests and found that our client’s royalties had been es-cheated to Texas and New Mexico government funds. Our client’s mineral ownership was contested by the original seller’s heirs and the dispute had to be litigated in state court. We fought hard for our client and the opposing parties eventually signed a settlement recognizing our client’s ownership of the contested mineral interests plus the funds being held by the State of Texas and the State of New Mexico. As part of the settlement, our client received a cash payment plus the future royalty payments owed to him.