Duties Owed by Oil and Gas Operators

Oil and Gas Operators and Exploration Companies owe a duty to those who live near oil and natural gas activities and operations, some of which may include the following:

·      Duty to operate under the Reasonably Prudent Operator Standard;

·      Duty to prevent injury to others when it reasonably appears or should appear that in the exercise of their lawful rights others may be injured              by a dangerous condition that was created by the individual;

·      Duty to  exercise  reasonable care  to  avoid  a foreseeable  risk  of injury  to others;

·      Duty to take affirmative action to control or avoid increasing the danger from a condition that has been at    least partially created by the individual’s conduct;

·      Duty to use ordinary care in protecting others from peril when the peril is under the individual’s control;

·      Duty to promptly repair any leaks in tanks, pits, pipelines, and engines;

·      Duty to use reasonable care at all times in all of Defendants’ operations on the leased premises to prevent injury or damage to livestock, buildings, or other property of the Lessor;

·      Duty to be responsible for all acts occurring as part of its operations on the leased premises whether they are reasonably foreseen or unforeseen;

·      Duty to ensure that Defendants’ operations and equipment do not cause or contribute to a nuisance or contamination, including, but not limited to, noise levels, emissions into the air, or discharges into soil or water;

·      Duty to not depreciate the lessor’s and neighboring properties interest;

·      Duty to operate lease with reasonable care;

·      Duty to use successful modern methods of production and development;

·      Duty to neighbors to minimize the impact of Defendants’ Natural Gas Activities on surface estate neighbors;

·      Duty to use ordinary care in maintaining the premises in a safe condition by inspecting the property for any dangerous conditions and by making safe any latent defect or giving warning of any defect;

·      Duty to use reasonable care in maintaining the portion of the leased premises that the lessor is in possession or control of;

·      Duty to install and use VRUs at clustered well sites;

·      Duty to install and use Vapor Combustors/Flares at clustered pad sites and single well sites;

·      Duty to use green completions during flowback;

·      Duty to not test a well by open flaring;

·      Duty to use infrared cameras to perform frequent and routine leak detection and leak remediation at well sites;

·      Duty to use modern equipment and machinery – including electric rig as opposed to diesel rigs;

·      Duty to conduct frequent and routine emissions monitoring;

·      Duty to perform a community impact study before conducting natural gas activities;

·      Duty to create a traffic control plan when operating near residences;

·      Duty to not conduct hydraulic fracturing at night;

·      Duty  to  hire/train/manage/supervise  intelligent,  respectful,  and  skilled employees/contractors;

·      Duty to monitor the use of Vapor Combustors/Flares for efficiency;

·      Duty to follow statutory law – Texas Administrative Code, TITLE 30 – ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) – Chapter 101. § 101.4 NUISANCE, Tex. Health & Safety Code Ch. 382 §§ 382.003(12), 382.0518, 382.085(a), (b); Tex. Water Code § 7.051-­‐53, Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.01 – ASSAULT, Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code (“CPRC”) § 75.002  (h),  Tex.  Penal  Code  Ann.  §  28.04  –  RECKLESS  DAMAGE  OR DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY, et seq.; and

·      Duty to keep the leased property in a safe condition.

If you feel an oil and gas company has breached or violated a duty that may be owed to you in their operations, contact a Faulk Barchus attorney today.

Contact: 713-239-4000