Recent News
September 2023
Mineral Law Institute Advisory Council meets and plans next annual Institute
The Mineral Law Institute Advisory Council met on September 29, 2023 to plan the 71st Annual Mineral Law Institute, which will be held March 21-22, 2024 in Baton Rouge. Topics selected for the next Annual Institute include:
- Lithium Extraction from Brine and Produced Water
- What is a “mineral”?
- Louisiana and Texas Mineral Law Recent Developments
- Update on Issues at the Office of Conservation and Dept. of Natural Resources
- The Acquisition of Pore Space Rights for Carbon Capture and Storage
- The Science of Carbon Capture and Storage
- Usufruct Issues in Mineral Law
- Offshore Oil & Gas Update
- An Operator’s Rights and Obligations With Respect to Unleased Owners
- Louisiana Stressed Water Rights
- Ethics
- Professionalism
Energy Center hosts panel discussion on Careers in Environmental Compliance
LSU’s John P. Laborde Energy Law Center hosted a panel discussion on “Careers in Environmental Compliance” on September 27, 2023.
Panelists included:
- Maureen Harbourt, who is Of Counsel in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. She has over 25 years of experience in Louisiana and federal environmental law.
- Tokesha Collins-Wright, who is Vice President of Environmental Affairs and General Counsel for the Louisiana Chemical Association (LCA).
- Douglas Melancon, who works for ExxonMobil as the State Environmental and Regulatory Advisor in the Americas Global Operations & Sustainability organization.
- Danny Bosch, who is an associate in the Baton Rouge office of Kean Miller. He joined the firm in 2023 and practices with the environmental regulatory group.
Professor Keith Hall moderated the discussion. Approximately 23 students attended.
From left to right: Douglas Melancon, Danny Bosch, Tokesha Collins-Wright, and Maureen Harbourt.
Professor discusses International Commission and environmental cooperation
Professor Nick Bryner visited the Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC) in Montreal, Canada, on September 19, 2023, where he discussed the general work and submission process of the commission. The CEC is a trilateral organization set up by Canada, Mexico, and the United States under the NAFTA/USMCA treaties, and it serves as a vehicle for cooperation among the three countries on environmental issues, from biodiversity and species conservation to wildfire monitoring to pollution control.
Professor quoted in news story on Carbon Capture and Storage
Professor Keith Hall was quoted in an EnergyWire article on September 25, 2023, on the recently announced plans of Carbonvert Inc. and Castex Carbon Solutions LLC to develop a carbon capture and storage hub using a 24,000-acre area leased from the State of Louisiana offshore of Cameron Parish in southwestern Louisiana.
Professor speaks at webinar on Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
Professor Keith Hall co-moderated and served as a panelist for the webinar “Pore Space Acquisition for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage,” organized by the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, on September 25, 2023. Professor Hall has published two law review articles on CCS, as well as a paper for the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, and he co-authored a research report on CCS for the U.S. Department of Energy.
August 2023
LSU receives grant for student travel to energy law conferences
LSU’s John P. Laborde Energy Law Center has received a grant of $8,000 from the Highland Foundation to support travel of LSU Law students to energy law conferences. Professor Keith Hall stated, “Our students benefit tremendously from attending energy law conferences—both by learning substantive legal information and by meeting and networking with practicing lawyers who work in the energy law field. But the expense of attending such conferences is a burden on the budget of law students. This generous grant from the Highland Foundation will help us subsidize the travel expenses of students so that they can attend conferences and obtain all the benefits that come with doing that.”
LSU Energy Center holds information session regarding certificate program
LSU’s John P. Laborde Energy Law Center held an information session regarding the Energy Law & Policy Certificate program on August 21, 2023 for LSU Law students interested in energy law. Thirty-five students attended.
LSU professor and alums speak at energy conference in Dallas
LSU Law Professor Keith Hall spoke on “Gathering Agreements 101 at the Dallas Bar Association’s 38th Annual Review of Energy Law conference on August 17, 2023. In addition, LSU Law alumni John Grand (2006) of Vinson & Elkins LLP and Charles Sartain (1976) of Gray Reed spoke at the conference. Grand spoke on Merger & Acquisition Trends and Sartain provided Case Law updates.
July 2023
Professor speaks on carbon capture and storage at conference in Salt Lake City
Professor Keith Hall spoke on the topic “Drafting and Negotiating Instruments to Acquire Pore Space Rights for CCS” at the 69th Annual Natural Resources and Energy Law Institute on July 20, 2023, in Salt Lake City. The Annual Institute and 730 registrants.
LSU Law professor, student, and alums participate in energy law conference
Professor Keith Hall spoke on “Recent Developments in Louisiana Oil and Gas Law” at an Oil & Gas Practitioners Lunch sponsored by the Independent Petroleum Association of America and the American petroleum Institute on July 20, 2023. The lunch was held in conjunction with the 69th Annual Natural Resources and Energy Law Institute in Salt Lake City. In addition, Professor Hall represented LSU at the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law’s Annual Board of Trustees meeting on July 19, 2023, and he participated in an academic workshop held on the afternoon of July 22, 22023 at the University of Utah School of Law. Both the Trustees meeting and the academic workshop were held as part of the 69th Annual Institute. An LSU Law Center student also attended the Annual Institute. In addition, Michael Brassett, a 2008 graduate of LSU Law Center and a member of the firm Bradley Murchison, also spoke at the conference, providing a case law update, and other LSU alums participated.
June 2023
Professor appointed to Carbon Capture and Sequestration Task Force
Professor Keith Hall, Director of the Energy Law Center, was appointed to the Task Force on Local Impacts of Carbon Capture and Sequestration, which was created by Senate Resolution No. 179 of the 2023 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature. Senate Resolution No. 179 was authored by Senator Heather Cloud.
Professor testifies on carbon capture and storage
Professor Keith Hall testified on June 22, 2023 at the U.S. EPA’s public hearing on the State of Louisiana’s application for primacy to regulate Class VI underground injection control wells that will be used for carbon capture and storage.
Professor and six LSU Law students attend energy conference
Professor Keith Hall and six LSU Law students attended the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation’s Annual Institute on June 18-20, 2023, in Charleston, South Carolina. The students were Chancellor Crawford, Val Dykes, Amanda Johnson, Dean Jolly, Portia Oduro, and Oluwafoyinsola Owolabi. While at the conference, Professor Hall also attended the annual meeting of the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation’s Board of Trustees.
Professor Keith Hall and four of the six LSU Law students who attended the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation’s 44th Annual Institute. From left to right: Dean Jolly, Keith Hall, Portia Oduro, Val Dykes, and Oluwafoyinsola Owolabi.
Professional Landmen Association of New Orleans grants scholarship to LSU Law student
The Professional Landmen Association of New Orleans (PLANO) recently awarded a scholarship to LSU Law student Harlee Connell for the 2023-24 academic year. The scholarship was announced at PLANO’s annual Awards Lunch on Monday, June 12, 2023, at Ralph’s on the Park restaurant in New Orleans. Professor Keith Hall attended and was asked to say a few words after the scholarship award was announced. Professor Hall stated, “You all picked a great student to receive this scholarship. Harlee would liked to have been here, but she is working this summer in Midland. She is there as an intern in Chevron’s land management department, so you can be sure not only that she is interested in the energy field, but also in land management. On behalf of Harlee and the LSU Energy Law Center, I want to thank PLANO for making this scholarship program available to LSU Law school students.”
PLANO is a non-profit organization founded in 1953 to provide continuing education and networking opportunities to professionals involved in the oil and gas and other energy industries, particularly individuals “engaged in the negotiation, acquisition, processing, maintenance and administration of any contractual agreement involving land title.” PLANO has sponsored a scholarship program for the past several years. Prior to this year, the scholarship program was primarily for students majoring in petroleum land management, and law students were not eligible. PLANO opened its scholarship program to law students for the first time this year.
Professor publishes article on carbon capture and storage
Professor Keith Hall’s article, Reconciling Property Rights with Carbon Capture and Storage, was published recently in the Belmont Law Review, Volume 10, pp. 382-420. A PDF of the article is available here. This is one of two articles that Professor Hall has published this year on carbon capture and storage, or CCS, which is sometimes also referred to as “carbon capture, utilization, and storage,” or CCUS.
May 2023
Seventeen LSU students earn the Graduate Certificate in Energy Law and Policy in 2023
The following seventeen students were awarded the Graduate Certificate in Energy Law and Policy at LSU Law Center’s commencement exercise on May 20, 2023. To earn the Certificate, the students took at least sixteen credit hours of courses related to energy law, wrote a research paper on a legal issue relating to energy law, and participated in at least fourteen hours of applied learning activities related to energy law.
| James Anderson | William Eunice | Catherine Hunt | Ryan Morrison | David Storment |
| Lea Daigle | Olivia Graham | Amanda Johnson | John Newman | |
| Adriana Deras | Manning Greene | Brett Landry | Damian Olvera | |
| Austin Dooyema | Marin Hansen | Olivia Maynard | Seth Pohlmann |
Professor Keith Hall poses after graduation with Portia Oduro, an LLM student from Ghana who participated in Energy Center activities.
Professor testifies regarding carbon capture and storage
Professor Keith Hall provided testimony to the Louisiana Legislature’s House Natural Resources and Environmental Committee on May 2, 2023, regarding two bills relating to carbon capture and storage.
April 2023
LSU Law Center hosts panel discussion on methane mitigation
The John P. Laborde Energy Law Center and the Environmental Defense Fund co-hosted a panel discussion on “Methane Mitigation” at LSU Law Center on April 5, 2023. Speakers and panelists included Charles Sutcliffe, Chief Resilience Officer in the Governor’s Office of Coastal Activities; Isaac Brown, Director of the Center for Methane Emissions Solutions; Audrey Mascarenhas, CEO of Questor, a clean combustion technology company; Elizabeth Lieberknecht, Regulatory and Legislative Manager, Midcontinent for the Environmental Defense Fund; and Professor Keith Hall of the LSU Law Center. Representatives from state government, industry, and non-governmental organizations attended, as did several LSU Law students.
From left to right, panelists Elizabeth Lieberknecht, Isaac Brown, Audrey Mascarenhas, Danny Johns, and Professor Keith Hall speak on the topic of methane mitigation.
Students, government officials, non-governmental organization members, and industry professionals lunch and listen to the panelists.
Professor presents journal article in New York
On April 4, 2023, Professor Nick Bryner gave a presentation at the Columbia Journal of Environmental Law Symposium in New York. The presentation was based on an article he co-wrote with Victor Flatt of the University of Houston, titled “Rotting Under the Bridge—How False Data is Polluting Administrative Rulemaking.” The article has just been published by the journal and is available here.
Prof. Bryner with Prof. Sonya Ziaja, University of Baltimore School of Law, who provided commentary on the article at the symposium.
Professor speaks at oil & gas conference in Houston
Professor Keith Hall spoke on “Oil & Gas Lease Implied Covenants” at the Fundamentals of Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Conference, which was hosted by the University of Texas Law School on April 13, 2023 in Houston, Texas.
Professor testifies regarding renewable energy leases
Professor Keith Hall testified before the Louisiana Senate Natural Resources Committee on April 27, 2023, regarding a bill that proposes to codify rules for renewable energy leases.
March 2023
Professor participates in environmental justice workshop
Professor Keith Hall participated in a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)/LSU Environmental Justice Workshop on March 29, 2023. Most of the participants were BOEM social scientists and LSU professors from various departments, though the participants also included a few individuals from outside BOEM and LSU.
Task Force provides input to Legislature regarding renewable energy
LSU Law Professor Keith Hall chaired the Emerging Energy Codification Task Force, a group established by a resolution of the Louisiana State Senate to provide recommendations to the Louisiana Legislature regarding possible legislation on emerging new energy industries. The Task Force held its most recent meeting on March 21, 2023, when it gave input to the Senate on potential legislation.
LSU’s 70th Annual Mineral Law Institute held in Baton Rouge
LSU held its 70th Annual Mineral Law Institute on March 23 and 24, 2023 in Baton Rouge. The program included presentations on recent developments in oil and gas law, acquisition of royalty damages, pipeline issues, implied obligations in oil and gas leases, potential conflicts between mineral development and carbon capture and storage projects, the accommodation doctrine, amendments to Louisiana’s risk-charge statute, recent developments in offshore oil and gas activity in the Gulf of Mexico, an update on legacy oilfield contamination litigation, property mineral rights in riparian lands, and recent developments relating to carbon capture and storage projects in Louisiana.
LSU’s Annual Mineral Law Institute is the oldest annual mineral law conference in the United States and the second oldest annual conference relating to energy law issues. Professor Keith Hall, Director of the Mineral Law Institute, reported that attendance was back to pre-COVID levels, with more than 170 individuals registering for one or both days of the Annual Institute.
Chief Judge John Michael Guidry of the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal speaks on the topic of Professionalism at the 70th Annual Mineral Law Institute.
Attendees listen to a lecture at the 70th Annual Mineral Law Institute.
LSU Law students attend environmental law conference
Three LSU Law Center students attended the Foundation for Natural Resources & Energy Law’s two-day “National Environmental Policy Act” conference on March 16-17, 2023, at the historic Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.
February 2023
LSU Law professor and students attend conference in Houston
Professor Keith Hall and two LSU Law Center students attended the Institute for Energy Law’s 74th Annual Energy Law Conference. The Conference included presentations on carbon capture and storage, offshore wind agreements, LNG, energy security, oil and gas master service agreements, oil and gas lien statutes, trends in energy industry acquisitions and divestitures, greenwashing claims, hydrogen, nuclear power, carbon markets, and the role of private equity in the energy transition.
IEL’s event is the oldest annual energy law conference in the U.S. and one of the premier energy law events each year. It is a few years older than LSU’s own Annual Mineral Law Institute, which is the second oldest energy law conference in the country and the oldest energy conference to focus on oil and gas law; LSU’s Mineral Law Institute will host its 70th Annual Institute on March 23-24, 2023.
Foyin Owolabi, Professor Hall, and Portia Oduro at the IEL conference in Houston.
January 2023
LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources hosts symposium
The LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources held an online symposium entitled “Congressional Action in the Energy Transition” on January 27, 2023. The symposium’s speakers addressed recent developments relating to offshore oil and gas leasing, offshore wind development, carbon capture and storage, and environmental social governance (ESG) issues. Professor Keith Hall spoke on “The Intersection Between Property Rights and Carbon Capture and Storage.”
LSU Law school student attends oil and gas law transaction conference
An LSU Law school student attended the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law’s two day Oil & Gas Mergers and Acquisitions Conference in Houston, Texas on January 19-20, 2023, with travel support funds from the Laborde Energy Law Center.
