Onshore Oil & Gas E&P/Hydraulic Fracturing
Onshore Oil & Gas Hydraulic Fracturing Litigation practice requires that we address issues on behalf of our clients that include:
- Defense of claims of drinking water contamination from the introduction of hydraulic fracturing fluids or natural gas into drinking water aquifers from the hydraulic fracturing process itself
- Defense of claims of drinking water contamination from the introduction of hydraulic fracturing fluids or natural gas into drinking water aquifers from defective hydraulic fracturing well construction
- Defense of claims of personal injury, fear of cancer and future medical claims from alleged drinking water contamination from the introduction of hydraulic fracturing fluids or natural gas into drinking water aquifers
- Defense of claims of surface water body contamination from storm water runoff at hydraulic fracturing operations, blowouts at hydraulic fracturing operations and transportation incidents related to hydraulic fracturing operations.
- Defense of claims of property damage allegedly related to hydraulic fracturing operations or injection well operations managing the flowback fluids from hydraulic fracturing operations
- Defense of injunctions and Safe Drinking Water Act or Clean Water Act citizen suits related to hydraulic fracturing operations
- Defense of claims related to trespass, nuisance, diminution of property value and inconvenience related to hydraulic fracturing operations
Onshore Oil & Gas matters in which the firm has or attorneys with the firm have been involved that are analogous to Hydraulic Fracturing Litigation cases include the following:
- Attorney representing the owner of a salt dome storage cavern for natural gas where the following issues were intensely studied and vigorously litigated:
- Routes of and aerial extent of the migration natural gas into drinking water aquifers
- Isotopic analysis and other fingerprinting of natural gas found in the groundwater
- Finite element analysis and other modeling of the failed casing
- Fracture mechanics studies of the five casing failures
- Geomechanical modeling of the salt and the geology above the salt dome
- Studies of the compressor station operations and issues related to factors that could have contributed to the casing failure
- Attorney representing of a former owner and operator of a refinery in a state administrative law regulatory enforcement action under the hazardous waste regulations for remediation of groundwater
- Attorney in a class action involving 3,000 properties that had been impacted by a five mile long plume of contaminated groundwater
- Represented clients in a civil action involving a real estate agent who sold property that allegedly contained soil contamination due to the activities of a prior owner
- Represented clients in two toxic tort suits, one a class action, involving a chemical manufacturer for groundwater releases of chlorinated organic compounds that caused personal injuries to nearby residents
- Represented clients in a toxic tort suit on behalf of a commercial hazardous waste facility for air and groundwater releases from hazardous waste treatment and disposal operations.
- Represented clients in a toxic tort suit on behalf of a Solid Waste Disposal Facility for alleged groundwater contamination that caused personal injuries and property damage to nearby residents.
- Represented clients in cases involving the remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater oilfield waste activities
- Facilitated the onsite delineation of soil and groundwater contamination caused by disposal pits, abandoned wells, injection wells and abandoned flowlines on client properties
- Interpretation of surface leases and mineral leases for clients with properties upon which historical oil and gas exploration and production activities occurred
Hydraulic Fracturing Litigation is on the rise. There has been an increase in hydraulic fracturing litigation in the oil & gas industry because of (1) recent and continuing discovery of shale gas plays, (2) technological advancements in horizontal drilling, (3) technological advancements in hydraulic fracturing, (4) higher demand for natural gas over coal as a cleaner-burning power generating fuel and (5) the number of hydraulic fracturing operations IS GROWING at a near exponential rate. Because shale gas plays are still being discovered (e.g., Eagle Ford formation in Texas), the reality is that the number of incidents related to hydraulic fracturing and the number of hydraulic fracturing litigation cases are going to increase at basically the same rate.
Most of the types of incidents and claims found in hydraulic fracturing litigation involve natural gas migration and/or hydraulic fracture fluid migration into freshwater water aquifers. Other types of incidents and claims found in hydraulic fracturing litigation involve unpermitted disharges of backflow fluids to streams and rivers (e.g., intentional discharges, pit overflows, pipeline leaks, transport incidents). Finally, the other types of incidents and claims found in hydraulic fracturing litigation involve wellhead blowouts and earthquakes.