Oil & Gas Disputes: Looking Back to Prepare for What’s Ahead
May 12, 2026Oil and gas royalty disputes can involve multiple issues, such as how value is measured, how costs are allocated, and how specific lease language is applied to real‑world facts. Over time, decisions from the Supreme Court of Texas have reshaped how these disputes are evaluated, moving the focus from broad pricing concepts to contract‑driven, data‑intensive analyses.
In this session of the Forensics Institute, we’ll walk through how royalty disputes between owners and operators have evolved, from early netback and “market value at the well” debates to today’s disputes involving gross proceeds of leases, post‑production costs, affiliate transactions, and produced water. This discussion will draw on decades of dispute experience and Texas case law, and highlight where disagreements typically may arise across the energy value chain and how accounting and financial analysis are used to support or challenge legal positions.
This webinar will also explore emerging areas of risk, including produced water ownership, post‑sale economics, and the potential valuation of critical minerals under existing lease language. Gain a clearer understanding of how these disputes are analyzed in practice and where future litigation and negotiation pressure points are likely to develop.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this program, participants will be able to:
- Describe how Texas royalty disputes have changed over time, including the impact of key decisions from the Supreme Court of Texas on lease interpretation, pricing, and cost allocation.
- Recall a structured forensic approach to royalty disputes, including issue triage, data collection, and the analysis of volumes, pricing, deductions, and ownership interests from an accounting perspective.
- Recognize recent dispute battlegrounds in oil and gas, including produced water ownership, post‑production economics, and the treatment of potential mineral byproducts under existing leases.