Chart of Assignments

Oil & Gas Law, Spring 2018

Prof. Eric E. Johnson

updated as of April 16, 2018

Abbreviations:

CAM: Cases and Materials on Oil and Gas Law, 7th Edition, special draft manuscript for UND Law Students by Lowe, Anderson, Smith, Pierce, Kulander & Ehrman

CP: College Physics, by Paul Peter Urone & Roger Hinrichs

LMIG: Laboratory Manual for Introductory Geology, by Bradley Deline, Randa Harris & Karen Tefend (LMIG)

PG: Physical Geology, by Steven Earle

POE: Principles of Economics, by Steven A. Greenlaw & Timothy Taylor

PV1: Property, Volume One, by Christian Turner

About the materials and where to get them:

For materials other than CAM (e.g., CP, LMIG, PG, etc.), look for links above or with readings below. Links are also on the libraries page.

With regard to CAM, which will be the main text for the course: Special arrangements have been made for the distribution of this text. This was discussed in class. The first chapter was e-mailed to all enrolled students. A print version of Chapters 1-5 has been made available for students.

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: West is generously making CAM available to UND Law students on a special basis. It is copyrighted and proprietary and must not be reproduced or redistributed! So please don’t embarrass UND Law by passing it along to others or uploading it!

Important Note About Class Participation

Oil & Gas Law in Spring 2018 will be heavily discussion-oriented. This means a considerably greater burden will fall on students’ shoulders than in other courses. Each student will be responsible for doing the reading each day and will have to play an active part in class discussion — including, for instance, responding to cold-call questions. In other words, the entire class will be “on panel” every day and will be held to that in terms of grading.

Tuesday, January 9, 2018 – Class No. 1

Note: Be ready to share answers to assigned questions and problems when called on in class and to discuss all the reading.

Topic S1: Physics of Energy

Watch video: All of the energy in the universe is... by George Zaidan and Charles Morton (3:52)

Read: CP Chapter 7, “Work, Energy, and Energy Resources,” pp. 239-276.

· Notes about this reading:

o You can skim over the trigonometry-based aspects.

o I encourage you to look below at the questions and problems that are assigned below — that will help guide you in terms of a minimum of what you should get out of the reading, but …

o Don’t limit your reading only to being able to answer the questions and problems assigned for this day. They are on the easy side. We’ll be spiraling back to this chapter later and attacking the material with more mathematical finesse.

Do conceptual questions 13, 15, 16, 17, 21, 25, 26 on CP pp. 277-278.

Do these problems, using §7.3 of CP:

S1-1. It is not atypical in the North Dakota Bakken Formation for an oil well to produce about 100 barrels per day from a depth of 1,500 meters. What is the change in potential gravitational energy in joules for a change in height of 100 barrels oil from 1,500 m below ground to the surface? Assume that a barrel of oil has a mass of 139 kg.

S1-2. (a) A pumpjack is a type of pump used to lift oil from an oil well to the surface. Assuming a pumpjack were 100% efficient in turning inputted energy into useful work (which it couldn’t be, of course), how much energy would it take to lift 100 barrels from 1,500 m below ground to the surface?

(b) Is potential gravitational energy gained or lost in this pumping?

Do these problems, using the chart on p. 263 of CP:

S1-3. What has more energy, one barrel of oil or one ton of TNT?

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Class canceled because of weather

Tuesday, January 16, 2018 – Class No. 2

Note: Be ready to share answers to assigned questions and problems when called on in class and to discuss all the reading.

Topic S1: Physics of Energy (continued; brought over from last time)

[using the chart on p. 263 of CP:]

S1-4. Typically a barrel of oil might produce 19 gallons of gasoline. What has more energy, 19 gallons of gasoline or one barrel of oil? By about how much is one quantity bigger than the other?

Do these problems, using the chart on p. 272 of CP:

S1-5. What is the United States’ share, in percent, of world energy consumption?

S1-6. Oil and natural gas combined account for what percentage of U.S. energy consumption?

S1-7. By what factor is U.S. per capita energy consumption larger than world per capita energy consumption?

Do these problems, using the chart on p. 273 of CP:

S1-8. What is a country that seems to buck the correlation by having a relatively high standard of living, as judged by per capita GDP, compared to per capita energy consumption?

S1-9. What is a country that seems to buck the correlation the other way, having a relatively low per capita GDP compared to per capita energy consumption?

Topic L1: Ad Coelum Doctrine (brought over from last time)

Read: CAM Chapter 1E1, “Ad Coelum Doctrine,” pp. 55-57.

Topic S2: Oil & Gas History, Basics

Read: CAM Chapter 1A, “Historical Background,” pp. 2-5.

Topic S3: Geology Fundamentals

Read: LMIG part of Chapter 1, “Introduction to Physical Geology,” pp. 1-12.

Do: LMIG questions 1-9 on pp. 9-12.

Topic S4: Petroleum Geology

Read: PG §20.3, “Fossil Fuels,” pp. 561-566.

Read: CAM Chapter 1B, “Physical Background,” pp. 5-28.

Topic L2: Petroleum Ownership Theories

Read: CAM Chapter 1E2, “Petroleum Ownership Theories,” pp. 57-58.

Thursday, January 18, 2018 – Class No. 3

Topic S5: Exploration and Extraction Technology Basics

Read: CAM Chapter 1C1, “Technical Background,” pp. 28-34.

Topic L3: Rule of Capture and Correlative Rights

Read: Chapter 1E3, “Rule of Capture and Doctrine of Correlative Rights,” pp. 58-66.

Tuesday, January 23, 2018 – Class No. 4

Note: Always be ready to answer questions like “What impressed you or stood out to you in this reading [or video, etc.?]” “What was there to learn from this?”

Topic S5: Exploration and Extraction Technology Basics (continued)

Read: CAM Chapter 1C2 & 3 (part), pp. 34-44.

Watch video: The worlds fastest roughnecks (2:56)

Watch video: Roughnecks at Work in HD - Drilling Rig Pipe Connection (4:46)

Topic S6: Hydraulic Fracturing Technology and Enhanced Recovery

Read: CAM Chapter 1C3 (remainder) & 4, pp. 44-51.

Watch video: Animation of Hydraulic Fracturing by Marathon Oil Corp (6:36)

Watch video: How does fracking work? by Mia Nacamulli (6:04)

[Note, in class we also watched much of: Hydraulic Fracturing 3D Animation by Trial Exhibits, Inc. (7:17)]

Topic S7: Supply and Demand Basics

Watch video: Supply and Demand by Crash Course Economics (10:21)

Topic S8: Economic Externalities and the Coase Theorem

Watch video: An Introduction to Externalities by Alex Tabarrok (12:14)

Watch video: Negative Externalities and the Coase Theorem by Learn Liberty (4:31)

Read: The World According to Coase by David D. Friedman (4,500 words)

Prepare an answer to this question:

S7-1. What are two applications of Coasean theory to oil and gas (at least one of which is based on what we’ve been exposed to so far in the cases and other readings in this class)?

Thursday, January 25, 2018 – Class No. 5

Note: Always be ready to answer questions like “What impressed you or stood out to you in this reading [or video, etc.?]” “What was there to learn from this?”

Topic S7A: Land Descriptions

[NOTE: This topic was originally denominated “S7,” which is the same number as the topic “Supply and Demand Basics.” Thus I have renumbered this topic as S7A. I regret the inconvenience.]

Read: CAM Chapter 1D, “Introductory Note on Land Descriptions,” pp. 51-55.

Topic L3: Rule of Capture and Correlative Rights (continued)

Read: Chapter 1E3, “Rule of Capture and Doctrine of Correlative Rights,” pp. 66-91.

Tuesday, January 30, 2018 – Class No. 6

Note: Always be ready to answer questions like “What impressed you or stood out to you in this reading [or video, etc.?]” “What was there to learn from this?”
More specifically, consider the role of your answer as advancing discussion about the case. I can facilitate the discussion, but I want the students to lead it, steer it, drive it. Show off your analytical ability and the fact that you’ve thought deeply about the reading by cutting to the heart of what’s going on – key tensions that need to be identified and grappled with. For instance, you could try this format: “Let’s take a look at [a certain passage]. I found this [admirable / noteworthy / disturbing / compelling / clever / spurious / insightful] because [reasons].”

Topic L3: Rule of Capture and Correlative Rights (continued)

Re-review: Chapter 1E3, “Rule of Capture and Doctrine of Correlative Rights,” pp. 66-91.

Read: Chapter 1E3, “Rule of Capture and Doctrine of Correlative Rights,” pp. 91-99.

Prepare answers to these questions:

L3-1. What are reasons supporting the rule of capture as a modification to ad coelum doctrine?

L3-2. What are reasons supporting the doctrine of correlative rights as a modification to the rule of capture?

L3-3. What are some good arguments against soundness of the rule of capture as a modification to ad coelum doctrine?

L3-4. What are some good arguments against soundness of the rule of capture as modified by correlative rights?

Thursday, February 1, 2018 – Class No. 7

Note: Recall what I’ve said before and written before about how to be ready for discussion.

Topic L4: Ownership After Extraction

Read: Chapter 1E4, “Ownership After Extraction,” pp. 99-111.

Topic L5: Common Patterns of Oil & Gas Ownership

Read: Chapter 1F, “Common Patterns of Oil and Gas Ownership,” pp. 111-115.

Topic L6: Trespass and Trespass-Related Claims

Read: Chapter 1G, “A Further Look at Trespass and Trespass-Related Claims,” pp. 115-123.

Tuesday, February 6, 2018 – Class No. 8

Note: Keep in mind prior advice about how to be ready for class discussion, and in particular, be ready to “teach” the class something about each reading.

Topic L6: Trespass and Trespass-Related Claims (continued)

Read: "North Dakota Court Addresses Rights of Surface Owners In Subsurface Disposal of Produced Water," John W. Morrison, in Oil & Gas E-Report, Jan. 2018, pp. 21-23. [ß This reading is being directly distributed to students.]

Read: "[Texas] Supreme Court Holds Drilling Across Tracts Not Trespass," William D. Wood, Barclay Richard Nicholson, Christian Menefee, and Robby Marcum in Oil & Gas E-Report, Jan. 2018, pp. 24-25. [ß This reading is being directly distributed to students.]

Topic S9: Economics and Politics of Regulation

Read: Parts I & II of Adam Thierer & Brent Skorup, A History of Cronyism and Capture in the Information Technology Sector, 18 J. Tech. L. & Policy 131, 132-143 (2013) [ß NOTE: Only Part I & II are assigned.]

Thursday, February 8, 2018 – Class No. 9

Note: Keep in mind prior advice about how to be ready for class discussion, and in particular, be ready to “teach” the class something about each reading.

Topic S9: Economics and Politics of Regulation (continued)

Read: “Curbing Local Control, Abbott Signs Denton Fracking Bill,” by Jim Malewitz in Texas Tribune, May 18, 2015.

Read: “Gov. Fallin Signs Bill to Prevent Towns Cities and Counties from Banning Fracking,” by Joe Wertz in StateImpact, June 1, 2015.

Read: “Gov. Fallin Signs Legislation Reaffirming Corporation Commission as Regulator of Oil, Gas Industry,” Office of Governor Mary Fallin, May 30, 2015.

Topic L6: Trespass and Trespass-Related Claims (continued)

Read: Chapter 1G, “A Further Look at Trespass and Trespass-Related Claims,” pp. 127-141. [Note that we are skipping the Kennedy case.]

Tuesday, February 13 – Class No. 10

Note: Keep in mind prior advice about how to be ready for class discussion, and in particular, be ready to “teach” the class something about each reading.

Topic L6: Trespass and Trespass-Related Claims (continued)

Read: Chapter 1G, “A Further Look at Trespass and Trespass-Related Claims,” pp. 141-162.

Topic L7: Loss of Mineral Ownership

Read: Chapter 1H, “Loss of Mineral Ownership,” pp. 162-169.

Thursday, February 15 – Class No. 11

Note: Keep in mind prior advice about how to be ready for class discussion, and in particular, be ready to “teach” the class something about each reading.

Topic L7: Loss of Mineral Ownership (continued)

Read: Chapter 1H, “Loss of Mineral Ownership,” pp. 169-184.

Topic S10: Property Theory

Watch video: Property Rights as a Response to a Problem by Learn Liberty (5:01)

Read: PV1 Armory v. Delamirie, 1 Strange 505; 93 E.R. 664 (Court of King’s Bench 1722), book p. 1 (pdf p. 16)

Read: PV1 Pierson v. Post, 3 Cai. R. 175 (NY 1805), book pp. 173-181 (pdf pp. 188-196)

Prepare answers to these questions:

S10-1a. What does Armory v. Delamirie teach us about the law of oil and gas ownership, and vice versa?

S10-1b. Draw a compelling connection between Armory v. Delamirie and a specific reading assigned under a heading other than Topic S10.

S10-2a. What does Pierson v. Post teach us about the law of oil and gas ownership, and vice versa?

S10-2b. Draw a compelling connection between Pierson v. Post and a specific reading assigned under a heading other than Topic S10.

Friday, February 16 – Class No. 12 -- MAKE-UP SESSION at 1 p.m.

This is a special make-up session on Friday, February 16, 2018 from 1:00-2:50 p.m. in Room 8.

Note: This is a scheduled 2L/3L make-up slot and will operate as a normal class. Accordingly, attendance will be taken and a video recording will not be made.

REVIEW:

Review Topics L1 through L7

Topic S10: Property Theory

[TIP: for four of the five following readings, you are just reading PV1 straight through book pp. 181-202 (pdf pp. 196-217)]

Read: PV1 Ghen v. Rich, 8 F. 159 (D. Mass. 1881), book pp. 181-186 (pdf pp. 196-201)

Read: PV1 Herman Melville, Moby Dick (excerpt), 8 F. 159 (D. Mass. 1881), book pp. 186-190 (pdf pp. 201-205)

Read: PV1 John Locke, The Second Treatise of Civil Government (1690) CHAP. V. Of Property., (excerpt), book pp. 190-194 (pdf pp. 205-209)

Read: PV1 Jeremy Bentham, Principles of the Civil Code (excerpt), book pp. 195-202 (pdf pp. 210-217)

Read: Harold Demsetz, Toward a Theory of Property Rights, 57 American Economic Review 347 (1967)

Prepare answers to these questions:

S10-3a. What does Ghen v. Rich teach us about the law of oil and gas ownership, and vice versa?

S10-3b. Draw a compelling connection between Ghen v. Rich and a specific reading assigned under a heading other than Topic S10.

S10-4a. What does the Herman Melville reading teach us about the law of oil and gas ownership, and vice versa?

S10-4b. Draw a compelling connection between the Herman Melville reading and a specific reading assigned under a heading other than Topic S10.

S10-5a. What does the John Locke reading teach us about the law of oil and gas ownership, and vice versa?

S10-5b. Draw a compelling connection between the John Locke reading and a specific reading assigned under a heading other than Topic S10.

S10-6a. What does the Jeremy Bentham reading teach us about the law of oil and gas ownership, and vice versa?

S10-6b. Draw a compelling connection between the Jeremy Bentham reading and a specific reading assigned under a heading other than Topic S10.

S10-7a. What does the Harold Demsetz reading teach us about the law of oil and gas ownership, and vice versa?

S10-7b. Draw a compelling connection between the Harold Demsetz reading and a specific reading assigned under a heading other than Topic S10.

Tuesday, February 20 – Class No. 13

Topic S10: Property Theory (continued)

We will pick up where we left off on Friday. We finished Locke, so next is Bentham. (See above for reading and questions.)

Topic S11: Supply, Demand, Surplus and Efficiency

Read: POE Chapter 3, Demand and Supply, book pp. 45-76 (pdf pp. 55-86)

Prepare answers to these questions/problems, found in POE over book pp. 76-78 (pdf pp. 86-88):

Self-Check Questions 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Review Questions 23, 24, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35

Critical Thinking Questions 36, 37, 38, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51

Problem 52

Thursday, February 22 – Class No. 14

Topic S11: Supply, Demand, Surplus and Efficiency (continued)

NOTE: We will pick up with Self-Check question no. 4e from the Tuesday 2/20 assignment.

Watch: Deadweight Loss, Consumer & Producer Surplus- Microeconomics 2.7 (Holiday Edition) ß NOTE this is a late-added video

Topic L8: Oil & Gas Leases – Purpose and Nature of Rights

Read: Chapter 2A, pp. 3-10.

Read: State of North Dakota Board of University and School Lands Oil and Gas Lease [pdf]

Topic L9: Oil & Gas Leases – The Granting Clause

Read: Chapter 2B, pp. 10-31.

Tuesday, February 27 – Class No. 15

Topic L9: Oil & Gas Leases – The Granting Clause (continued)

Review (or re-review) Oil & Gas Lease for Umberacre (draft) Lindstrom -w- Hexetron [pdf] [docx] and prepare revisions, to share with the class, that you would make in favor of Hexetron.

Thursday, March 1 – Class No. 16

Topic L9: Oil & Gas Leases – The Granting Clause (continued)

Read: Chapter 2B, pp. 31-36.

Topic L10: Oil & Gas Leases – The Habendum Clause

Read: Chapter 2C, pp. 42-44 & 50-61.

Tuesday, March 6 – Class No. 17

Topic L10: Oil & Gas Leases – The Habendum Clause (continued)

Read: Chapter 2C, pp. 67-90.

Topic S12: Hydrocarbon Chemistry

This was covered in class; there was no assigned reading for this topic.

Thursday, March 8 – Class No. 18

Topic S12: Hydrocarbon Chemistry (continued)

This was covered in class; there was no assigned reading for this topic.

Topic L10: Oil & Gas Leases – The Habendum Clause (continued)

Read: Chapter 2C, pp. 90-114.

Tuesday, March 13

Spring Break – no class

Thursday, March 15

Spring Break – no class

Tuesday, March 20 – Class No. 19

Topic L11: Oil & Gas Leases – Other Issues and Concerns

Read: Abrahm Lustgarten, Unfair Share: How Oil and Gas Drillers Avoid Paying Royalties, ProPublica (Aug. 13, 2013)

Review Oil & Gas Lease for Ecruacre (draft) Letisha Lesterson -w- Conoxoco Petroleum Energy Co [pdf] [docx]. Prepare revisions to share with the class. Prepare the revisions as follows:

o Eight distinct revisions in favor of Conoxoco.

o Eight distinct revisions in favor of Letisha Lesterson.

o Eight distinct revisions that might be suggested by the American Foundation for Transactional Efficiency and Clarity (AFTEC).* AFTEC, established by an anonymous bequest, is a non-profit foundation that seeks to further economic efficiency and economic growth by reducing ambiguity in, and increasing clear understanding of, common contracts that underpin our economy.

You should have, in all, 24 distinct revisions to share with the class. For each, make sure you be are prepared to identify exactly what portion of the lease you are talking about so we can look at it on the overhead projector, and be prepared to share your rationale for why the revision is in favor of the given entity. Each revision you offer must be lawyer’s work, germane to our learning endeavor. That is to say, it must not merely a be proposal to alter the business terms of the deal. So, for instance, suggesting on behalf of Lesterson that a royalty should be 1/4 instead of 1/8, because that would get her more money, is not the kind of revision we are looking for. In preparing your proposed revisions, review what we have learned so far about oil-and-gas leasing and attempt to apply it; aim for having several of your revisions be an application of what we have learned previously.

Thursday, March 22 – Class No. 20

Topic L12: Titles and Conveyances in Oil & Gas Interests

Read the following:

· Veteran’s Land Board v. Lesley (Tex. 2011) in Chapter 3, pp. 86-94

· Moser v. U.S. Steel Corp (Tex. 1984) in Chapter 3, pp. 101-106

Tuesday, March 27 – Class No. 21

Topic L11A: Oil & Gas Leases – Pugh Clauses and Retained Acreage Provisions

No reading for this topic

Topic S13: Dakota Access Pipeline

Read: Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Standing Rock's Summary Judgment Brief

Prepare answers to the following questions, having no overlapping answers. (As one example, none of the aspects you identify for Question 6 should be the same as any of the weakenesses you identify for Question 5.) In other words, when all is said and done, you should have 24 separate things to share with the class. For each, be prepared to identify the relevant portion of the brief so we can look at it on the overhead projector.

1. Suppose you were an attorney for Standing Rock, and you have just been invited to go on national television to talk about the filing of this motion and the litigation, what four things from the brief would you identify as the most compelling to share with a national lay audience about the litigation in general?

2. Suppose you were an attorney for Standing Rock, and you have just been invited to go on national television to talk about the filing of this motion and the litigation, what three things from the brief would you identify as the most compelling to share with a national lay audience about this motion?

3. If you were advising Standing Rock on how to prepare for giving a talk to an audience of lawyers who are unfamiliar with the Dakota Access Pipeline controversy and litigation, what four things from the brief would you identify as the most compelling to share to share with this audience of lawyers?

4. If the brief were a draft version rather than the final, and if you were representing Standing Rock, what are three aspects would you identify as possibilities for improvement before filing? How would you suggest improving it?

5. If you were advising Dakota Access LLC, what are four weaknesses you would identify for use in opposing Standing Rock’s motion?

6. If you were representing Dakota Access LLC, what five aspects of the Standing Rock brief would you identify as most needing to be addressed in your opposition papers? Why? How would you address them? (Consider that strengths, as opposed to weaknesses, may be the most important things to address.)

7. What is one compelling insight you can provide into the Standing Rock brief, and/or the litigation or controversy it illuminates, based on something we’ve learned from prior classes and/or readings?

Thursday, March 29 – Class No. 22

Topic L12A/S13A: SPECIAL GUEST LECTURE by Ken G. Hedge of Crowley Fleck PLLP in Bismarck, N.D.

Review: Select Title Materials provided by Mr. Hedge

[NOTE: I originally numbered Ken’s guest lecture as topics “L13/S14,” for the subject matter coverage. Unfortunately, that was double-numbering. Those topic numbers were also used for distinct Tuesday, April 3 content. So, I have renumbered his guest lecture topics as L12A and S13A. I apologize for the inconvenience.]

Tuesday, April 3 (regular time, 3:00-4:25) – Class No. 23

Topic L13: Conservation Law and Regulation

Read the following:

· Julia Cauble Smith, East Texas Oilfield, Handbook of Texas Online, in Chapter 4, pp. 3-8.

· American Institute Of Mining And Metallurgical Engineers, Petroleum Conservation (1951), in Chapter 4, pp. 9-11.

· Larsen v. Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (Wyo. 1977), in Chapter 4, pp. 21-27

Topic S14: Energy, Economics, and Policy

Read the following:

o Does the Oil-and-Gas Industry Still Need Tax Breaks?, Wall Street Journal, Nov. 13, 2016. [Note: This reading is being e-mailed to students, so if you can’t access it through the link, look in your e-mail.]

o David Blackmon, The Final Trump Tax Bill: A Clear Net Positive For U.S. Oil And Gas, Forbes, Dec. 21, 2017

Based the Wall Street Journal reading:

o Prepare three distinct critiques of Mark J. Perry’s argument specifically using things we have covered up to know in this course.

o Prepare two more distinct critques of Mark J. Perry’s argument. (This can, but need not, specifically use things we’ve covered in the course.)

o Prepare three distinct critiques of Ryan Alexander’s argument specifically using things we have covered up to know in this course.

o Prepare two more distinct critques of Ryan Alexader’s argument. (This can, but need not, specifically use things we’ve covered in the course.)

Tuesday, April 3 (special time, 4:45-5:45) – SPECIAL OPTIONAL LIVE-TO-TAPE/MAKE-AHEAD SESSION

From 4:45 to 5:45, we will do a live-to-tape make-ahead of the April 5, 2018 class. The tape will be played back on April 5 at the regular class time. You can attend either the live-to-tape session or the playback session. Either will count as attendence for April 5.

There will be no cold calling at the April 3 live-to-tape session, but I can take questions if you have them.

See the entry for April 5, 2018 for the reading.

Thursday, April 5 – Class No. 24

Note: I will be out of town on this date, but class will be held at the regular time with pre-taped content. Attendance will be taken. If you attended the live-to-tape make-ahead session on April 3, you do not need to attend on April 5.

Topic L14: Trade Secrets in Oil & Gas

Read the following:

o Read pp. 85-106 & 122-143 of Sara Gosman, Reflecting Risk, 48 Georgia Law Review 83 (2013), available via [SSRN], [University of Arkansas], or [Georgia Law Review].

Topic S15: Thermodynamics

No reading.

Watch the following videos:

o What is entropy? by Jeff Phillips (5:19)

o A better description of entropy by Steve Mould (11:42)

Tuesday, April 10 – Class No. 25

Topic L14: Trade Secrets in Oil & Gas (continued)

No new reading. We will have a discussion based on the reading from the prior class, and I will answer questions.

Topic S16: Oil & Gas Policy and Legislation in North Dakota

Read both Part 1 and Part 2 of the following: Materials relating to 2013 North Dakota legislative action concerning setbacks for oil and gas wells [Part 1] [Part 2]

Prepare to discuss these materials in depth applying what you have learned in this course. Include in your preparations arguments for and against the legislation, as well as counterpoints to the witness’s arguments and novel ways of bolstering those arguments. Make sure that you have enough unique, compelling points such that you will have something novel to contribute to the discussion when you are called on. Be prepared to point us to exactly portions of the documents relevant to your comments. (You should, of course, have copies of these materials with you in class.)

Thursday, April 12

No class for us; this is a “Mursday,” treated as a Monday on the school calendar

Tuesday, April 17

No class for us; this is a “Fruesday,” treated as a Friday on the school calendar

Thursday, April 19 – Class No. 26

Discussion about the upcoming exam.

Read the Exam Prospectus before class. This document discloses, in considerable detail, how the exam will be structured and how to prepare for it.

Topic S17: The North Dakota Bakken Experience

Interview assignment:

What to do: Speak with a person who has had first-hand experience with the effects of the Bakken oil boom in North Dakota. You goal is to help illuminate this question: Has the Bakken oil boom made North Dakota better off?

Note that we are not trying to literally answer this question. Of course the boom has made some better off, others worse off. The point is to use the question help us begin to sketch a story about what the boom has meant to this state – who has won, who has lost, and what has changed.

In selecting who to talk to, I urge you to think about the following: (1) Consider choosing someone you would like to make a connection with -- perhaps for career reasons. This assignment may be a good excuse to cold-call someone with whom you have no connection, but with whom you would like to have a connection. (2) Consider talking to someone who will be able to satisfy your curiosity about some aspect of the oil boom. (3) Consider talking to someone with whom you already have some connection -- perhaps through family -- as doing so might help them open up to you, and with whom talking might be easy to arrange. (4) In particular, consider the following as people from the Williston/Bakken area to talk to: a landowner; a roustabout, roughneck, or other oil field worker; a landman; an executive with an oil-and-gas operator/producer; an investor in oil leases or lessees; a social worker, nurse, doctor, counselor, or other medical/social services provider; a prosecutor; a criminal defense attorney; a server in a restaurant; a librarian; a teacher; a clergymember; an executive with an oil-industry supply/services company (such as Halliburton or Schlumberger); a geologist; an oil-and-gas attorney; a wills-trusts-and-estates attorney; a tax attorney; an accountant; a banker; someone in state, local, or tribal government; someone in the agricultural industry; anyone who has lived in Williston or the Bakken country a long time and can talk about how things have changed.

Written deliverable: Preferably by the night of April 18, or at the very least before class on April 19, send to me by e-mail a minimum of 150 words describing whom you spoke with and what you found out. Your subject line must be Bakken Experience Assignment: [name of subject interviewed]. So, if you interviewed Theodore Roosevelt, your subject line would be Bakken Experience Assignment: Theodore Roosevelt.

Oral deliverable: Be prepared to give a 90-second synopsis to the class on April 19. You will speak from your seat. I want everyone to speak, so please practice ahead of time to hit that 90-second mark. You can read prepared text, speak from bullet-point notes, or whatever else, so long as you have some control over your timing.

Topic L15: Environmental Regulation and Liability

Reading:

· Sara Gosman, Reflecting Risk, 48 Ga. L. Rev. 83 (2013), available via [SSRN], [Univ. of Ark.], or [Ga. L. Rev.], this means:

o Re-review the reading for Topic L14, which was pp. 85-106 & 122-143

o Read the remaining portion of Gosman’s article, which is pp. 106-122

Friday, April 20 – OPTIONAL REVIEW SESSION

REVIEW SESSION

> > > Special time: 9:00 to 10:00 a.m., Room 8 < < <

This session is entirely optional. It is not a "class session," and, as such, no attendance will be taken. I have requested for this session to be videotaped and for the video to be put on reserve, on DVD, in the library. There is no reading for this session.

* In case it needs to be said, AFTEC, Conexeco, and Hexetron are fictitious entities.

© 2018 Eric E. Johnson. Konomark — most rights sharable.