Pinchback v. Gulf Oil Corp.

242 S.W.2d 242, 1951 Tex. App. LEXIS 1619
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 13, 1951
Docket4689
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 242 S.W.2d 242 (Pinchback v. Gulf Oil Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Pinchback v. Gulf Oil Corp., 242 S.W.2d 242, 1951 Tex. App. LEXIS 1619 (Tex. Ct. App. 1951).

Opinion

R. L. MURRAY, Justice.

At a prior sitting of this court and by an opinion filed December 21, 1950, we reversed and rendered the judgment of the trial court in this case. We have considered the appellee’s motion for rehearing, with oral argument Ulerean, and have concluded we were in error in doing so. The appellee’s motion for rehearing ■ is granted, the former opinion in this case is withdrawn, and the following is now filed as the opinion in this case:

In 1929 and prior thereto Mrs. Pinch-back was the owner of a tract of land containing 119 acres in the Charles Williams League in Jefferson County. By her deed dated February 6, 1929, she conveyed to Gulf Pipe Line Company a diagonal strip of 8.28 acres out of the said 119 acres, reserving unto herself, “⅛⅛ of all minerals that may hereafter be produced and saved” on the land conveyed. The total cash consideration paid by the grantee to the grantor was $5,400. This conveyance was made before oil was discovered and produced in that immediate vicinity. Gulf Pipe Line’s interest in the land passed by conveyance to Gulf Oil Corporation. On January 30, 1933 Mrs. Pinchback executed an oil and gas lease upon the entire 119 acre tract to J. P. Landry, which lease was assigned by Landry to Humble. Oil & Refining Company. In 1936 oil was discovered on the 119 acre tract and Humble Company completed two producing wells on the .land adjoining the 8.28 strip. Thereafter in January, 1937, Gulf Oil Corporation and Humble Oil & Refining Company entered into a pooling agreement whereby they pooled.their respective interests in the 119 acre .tract and thereby formed, among others, three 20 acre tracts designated by them as Units 3, 4 and 5. The tracts were so arranged and located as to include a portion of the 8.28 acre tract in each unit. The salient portions of this pooling agreement will be set .out hereinafter in detail. Under this pooling agreement Humble was authorized ,to conduct all drilling operations as to the interests of both parties and then completed producing wells on each of the 3 units by December, 1937. No wells were drilled arid no production made on the 8.28 acre tract. Under its lease from Mrs. Pinchback to Landry and assigned to it the Humble Company has paid to Mrs. Pinchback over $130,OCX) in royalties from the wells operated on Mrs. Pinchback’s *244 land. She had conveyed ,¼⅛ of her ⅜⅜⅛ royalty interest to other parties. During the same period of time the Gulf Oil Corporation has received from Humble a sum in approximately the same amount.

The contract by which the Gulf Oil Corporation and' Humble Oil & Refining Company pooled their respective interests in the 119 acre Pinchback tract of land recited that the parties were owners of certain interests in lands in the general territory of the 8.28 acre tract and recited that the parties had agreed to ‘pool their interests in the land, including the 8.28 acre tract upon which the Gulf owned the surface and %ths of the minerals; they agreed to divide the 8.28 acre tract into 3 units for drilling purposes which 3 units each contained a portion of the 8.28 acre tract and portions of land from other portions of the Pinch-back 119 acre tract. The contract thereafter provided as follows:

“And Humble, its successors and assigns are hereby given the right to develop and operate each of said respective pooled units without reference to the boundary line, or lines, separating the tracts 'composing such unit, and it shall not be necessary to drill on one of said tracts composing a unit in order to protect the same from drainage from a well drilled on another tract included in such unit, and Humble, its successors or assigns are hereby given the right to drill Unit #1 as though all of the acreage included therein were included in the S. L. Guinn Lease, and to drill Unit #2 as though all óf the acreage included there were included within the Mary E. Langham Lease, and to drill the respective Unit's #3, #4 and #5 in the same manner as though the ygths mineral interests under Gulf’s 8.06 acre tract were subject to Mrs. Seawillow Pinchback et vir lease above described.
“It is specifically understood and agreed that Gulf shall receive 213/1000ths of all oil and gas produced and saved from Unit #1 under the terms and provisions of the S. L. Guinn et vir lease, and shall be entitled to and receive 2085/10000ths of the oil and gas produced and saved from Unit #2 under the terms and provisions of said Mary E. Langham Lease, and shall be entitled to and receive %ths of 135/1000ths of the oil and gas produced and saved from Unit #3 under the terms and provisions of Mrs. Seawillow Pinchback et vir lease, and shall be entitled to and receive %ths of lOl/lOOOths of the oil and gas produced and saved from Unit #4, under the terms and provisions of Mrs. Seawillow Pinch-back et vir lease, and shall be entitled to and receive -%ths of 169/lOOOths of the oil and gas produced and saved from Unit #6 under the terms and provisions of Mrs. Seawillow Pinchback et vir lease.
“It is specifically understood and agreed ■that as between the parties hereto all of the oil and gas produced and saved from the respective units hereinabove described, over and above that portion of production, to which Gulf is entitled to by reason of the. provisions hereof, shall belong to Humble, subject to the rights, if any, of the royalty owners under the respective leases above described; provided, however, that nothing herein contained shall be construed as giving to the royalty owners under the S. L. Guinn et ux. lease and/or the Mary E. Langham lease any royalties on oil produced from the Gulf’s 4.26 acre tract or Gulf’s 4.17 acre tract.
. “Gulf warrants that it is the owner of the fee title to the 4.26 a.d. 4.17 acre tracts and is the owner of all the oil, gas and other minerals thereunder, and does further warrant that it is the owner of %ths of the oil, gas and other minerals under the 8.06 acre tract above described. Humble warrants that it is the owner of the S. L. Guinn et ux., Mary E. Langham and Mrs. ■Seawillow Pinchback et vir leases above described, subject to the royalty provisions thereof and certain overriding royalties affecting same.
“It is further understood and agreed between Humble and Gulf that it is contemplated that Humble shall be in charge of development operations on the respective units, above described, and Gulf and Humble do hereby enter into the following joint operating contract in connection with the pooling into the units above described of the property and leasehold rights herein-above described for the purpose of setting out more fully the terms and conditions *245 under which Humble shall operate said premises for.the Joint Account:
“Now,' Therefore, in consideration of the additional mutual covenants herein contained, to he kept and performed by the parties hereto, it is mutually agreed as follows :
“1. Humble shall manage, develop and operate the respective units hereinabove described, said management, development and operation to be in accordance with the terms and conditions of this contract.
“2.

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Bluebook (online)
242 S.W.2d 242, 1951 Tex. App. LEXIS 1619, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/pinchback-v-gulf-oil-corp-texapp-1951.