January Highlights
On January 24 the LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources hosted a symposium entitled, “Navigating Legal Waters: The Future of Water Resources Law.” More information is available on their website.
Keith Hall becomes Director of Energy Law Center
Professor Keith B. Hall was appointed Director of LSU’s John P. Laborde Energy Law Center. He had been serving as Interim Director of the Center for approximately a year. Professor Hall teaches Mineral Rights, Energy Law & Regulation, International Petroleum Transactions, and Civil Law Property at the LSU Law Center. Since 2012, he has served as Director of the Mineral Law Institute. He will continue to serve as Director of the Mineral Law Institute, in addition to serving as Director of the Energy Law Center.
Seven Distinguished Individuals Join the Energy Law Center Advisory Council
Professor Keith B. Hall, Director of LSU’s John P. Laborde Energy Law Center, announced that seven people have joined the Center’s Advisory Council. Professor Hall stated, “Each of these seven people is very accomplished and will bring substantial expertise to the Advisory Council. I look forward to working with all of them.” The seven new Advisory Council members are:
Jon-Al Duplantier. Mr. Duplantier is President of the Rental Tools and Well Services division of Parker Drilling. Before joining Parker, he worked in various legal and management roles at ConocoPhillips, including as general counsel of a subsidiary in Dubai. He is based in Houston and is a graduate of LSU Law School.
Tyler Gray. Mr. Gray is President and General Counsel of Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association. He previously served as an attorney at the Louisiana Office of Conservation. He earned an economics degree from James Madison University, an MBA from LSU, and a law degree from the University of Loyola Law School in New Orleans.
Steven Hatcher. Mr. Hatcher is Vice President of Land and Legal for Sklar Exploration. He is based in Boulder, Colorado and is a graduate of LSU Law School. Before joining Sklar, Mr. Hatcher practiced oil and gas law in Louisiana. He is admitted to practice law in Colorado and Louisiana. He is a member of the Colorado Oil & Gas Association.
Andrew Melsheimer. Mr. Melsheimer is a Dallas-based partner in Thompson & Knight’s International Energy Practice Group. His practice focuses on international oil and gas transactions. He is a graduate of LSU Law School and is a Board Member of the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators.
Margaret Patton. Ms. Patton is a founding partner of the Patton Law firm in Baton Rouge. Before founding Patton Law Firm, she worked at a major firm in Baton Rouge. Much of her work involves the representation of oil and gas clients in mineral title examination and other transactional work. She is a graduate of LSU Law School
Harry W. Sullivan, Jr. Mr. Sullivan is an international oil and gas lawyer who works for Kosmos Energy on matters relating to their West Africa exploration activities. He serves as an adjunct professor at SMU and Texas A&M Law Schools and is a frequent lecturer at oil and gas conferences around the world. He is a graduate of LSU Law School.
Laranda Walker. Ms. Walker is a litigation associate at Susman Godfrey in Houston. Much of her work involves the representation of clients in energy industry matters. She is a native of Mississippi and a graduate of LSU Law School. Before attending law school, she worked as a news reporter and news anchor.
February Highlights
Pictured are LSU Law students (left to right) Taylor Ashworth, Destiny Manning, and Shawn Waldron, along with Professor Keith Hall. They each attended the Institute for Energy Law’s Annual Oil & Gas Conference in Houston in February, as did LSU Professor Emeritus Patrick H. Martin.
Professor Keith Hall served on a panel that examines issues relating to Offshore Drilling at a symposium on Legal, Ethical, and Policy Implications of a Changing Climate on February 7, 2020, in Charleston, South Carolina. The symposium was sponsored by the Charleston Law Review and the Richard W. Riley Institute of Government, Politics and Public Leadership at Furman University.
Professors Ed Richards and Nick Bryner served as panelists at a workshop on The Law of Carbon Capture and Storage: Technological Advancements & Operational Hurdles on February 14 at the LSU Digital Media Center.
Professor Keith Hall agreed to serve on the program committee for the “Special Institute on International Mining and Oil and Gas, Development, and Investment,” a conference organized by the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation that will be held in Mexico City, Mexico, April 21-23, 2021.
March Highlights
Professor Keith Hall spoke on the subject Communicating with Opposing Counsel and Landowners at the University of Texas CLE’s “2020 Fundamentals of Oil, Gas and Mineral Law Conference” (done as a webinar) on March 26, 2020.
Postponements and Cancellations
As part of its response to concerns about the COVID-19 coronavirus, LSU’s administration has ordered the cancellation of all upcoming events that were scheduled to occur on campus. The administration has also ordered the cancellation of all off-campus events sponsored by LSU that were expected to have an attendance of more than thirty people. This order is effective immediately and applies to all events scheduled through May 30, 2020. As a result, the following events are cancelled or postponed: (1) the video workshop on “The Future of Fossil Fuels in the U.S. Economy,” which was scheduled for March 31, 2020 (cancelled); (2) the Annual Liskow & Lewis Visiting Professor Lecture by Professor James Van Nostrand of West Virginia Law School on “The Impact of the Clean Energy Revolution on the Prospects for the Fossil Fuel Industry,” which was scheduled for April 1 (cancelled); and (3) the 67th Annual Mineral Law Institute, the second oldest annual oil and gas law program in the nation, which was scheduled for April 2 and 3 (postponed).
Rachel Moody, Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Energy Law and Resources, and Mr. John T. Nesser, III
Mr. John T. Nesser, III
The LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources held its annual banquet on the evening of March 12, 2020. Mr. John T. Nesser, III was the featured speaker. Mr. Nesser has a distinguished career in energy law. He has represented clients in energy law litigation and transactions both as an attorney in private practice and as in-house. He also is co-founder, manager, and Co-CEO of All Coast LLC, which provides liftboat services to the offshore oil and gas industry, as well as for offshore wind. He is an active supporter of the John P. Laborde Energy Law Center and serves on the Center’s Advisory Council.
Professor Keith Hall will speak about “Communication with Opposing Counsel and Landowners” on March 26, 2020, in Houston at the annual Fundamentals of Oil, Gas, and Mineral Law conference hosted by the University of Texas.
Three LSU Law School students—Destiny Manning, Eric Morvant, and Jennifer Wright—attended the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation’s “Young Natural resources Lawyers and Landmen Institute” in Denver on March 2 and 3, 2020.
Professor Keith Hall was named the 2020 Professor-in-Residence by the Association of International Petroleum Negotiators. The AIPN covers the travel expenses of the Professor-in-Residence to attend AIPN events during the year.
April 2020
Professor Keith Hall was nominated to serve a second term on the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation’s Executive Committee.
June 2020
Professor Keith Hall spoke on issues relating to the development of unconventional oil and gas resources in North America as a panelist for a webinar entitled “Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources: Current trends, legal challenges and opportunities,” which was held by the University of São Paulo (Brazil) on June 1, 2020.
July 2020
Professor Keith Hall served as a panelist for an Association of International Petroleum Negotiators webinar entitled UK MER in its International Context. The panel discussion compared the United Kingdom’s concept of “maximum economic recovery” of oil and gas with analogous concepts in other nations, including implied covenants in U.S. oil and gas leases. The webinar was held on July 30, 2020
Professor Keith Hall spoke on legal issues relating to the development of unconventional oil and gas resources in the United States for a panel discussion at a webinar entitled “The exploitation of unconventionals in Brazil: opportunities and challenges.” The webinar was held by FGV Energia on July 14, 2020.
September 2020
Professor Keith Hall was elected to serve on the Board of Directors of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation.
The John P. Laborde Energy Law Center held an orientation for LSU law students interested in earning the Graduate Certificate in Energy Law and Policy.
LSU held its 67th Annual Mineral Law Institute on September 11, 2020. The Annual Institute is typically held as a two-day, in-person event in Baton Rouge, but this year the Annual Institute was done as a webinar. More than 100 individuals registered and the feedback regarding the program was excellent.
October 2020
Professor Keith Hall served as one of the editors (and also as a chapter author) of the book “The Regulation of Decommissioning, Abandonment and Reuse Initiatives in the Oil and Gas Industry,” which was recently published by Wolters Kluwer.
Professor Keith Hall spoke on Recent Developments in Mineral Rights at an LSU Continuing Legal Education Seminar.
November 2020
Professor Keith Hall served as a co-author of the book International Petroleum Law and Transactions, which was recently published for Fall 2020 classes in an e-book format. The book is scheduled for publication in a print edition this calendar year so that the printed edition can be used for Spring 2021 classes concerning international petroleum transactions.
December 2020
Professor Nicholas Bryner has been asked to serve on the Legal Advisory Group for Gov. Edwards’ Climate Initiatives Task Force. The group’s first meeting was held on Monday, December 7.
Professor Keith Hall participated in a panel discussion entitled “The Courts During an Energy Dominance Era: A Panel Discussion with Legal Experts” in a podcast for Wyoming Public Radio on December 17, 2020.
Professor Keith Hall began serving on an ad hoc committee created by the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources to consider public policy and rules for carbon capture, utilization, and storage in Louisiana.
Professor Keith Hall and Emeritus Professor Patrick H. Martin spoke about conservation law and how shale development has affected pooling and unitization practice at the “Oil and Gas Unitization Law and Policy Symposium” sponsored by Cleveland-Marshall Law School on December 14, 2020.
