Barnett Shale Mineral Rights Lawsuits

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user warning: Table './dca_drpl3/cache_filter' is marked as crashed and should be repaired query: UPDATE cache_filter SET data = 'Clayton Williams Energy Inc. of Midland filed two lawsuits in late August 2007 against Energy Transfer Co. of Dallas for allegedly manipulating natural gas prices at the Houston Ship Channel in 2004 and 2005, similar to allegations made against the firm by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in July.\nRegarding the charges against the company made by FERC and the CFTC, Energy Transfer has said it will “vigorously defend our position as the legal proceedings go forward.”\nEnergy Transfer is expected to answer the charges from FERC and the CFTC shortly.\nThe CFTC said in its enforcement action on July 26 that Energy Transfer, anticipating a drop in natural gas demand in Houston following Hurricane Rita in September 2005, stockpiled gas and sold it after the storm made landfall in an attempt to lower prices. In related action, FERC gave Energy Transfer 30 days to show it did not violate anti-manipulation rules, or face $167 million in penalties.\nThe complaints against Energy Transfer allege that the company sold natural gas at the Houston Ship Channel hub at below-market prices while simultaneously buying gas at the hub. The company then took a financial position that the price would go down, according to the two agencies. The FERC complaint alleges the company would lose money on the sales, but more than make up for it by taking a short position.\nOn Oct. 9, Energy Transfer formally disputed the FERC charges that it manipulated natural gas prices.\nEnergy Transfer said its detailed response to the allegations shows that its business transactions were conducted in a lawful manner and should set the record straight.\nEnergy Transfer is an active buyer and transporter of natural gas in the Barnett Shale.\nOn Oct. 8, the company announced the planned expansion of two of the company’s major Texas intrastate pipeline systems.\nIn southeast Texas, Energy Transfer expanded its ETC Katy Pipeline with the installation of 56 miles of 36-inch pipeline and the addition of 20,000 horsepower of compression, increasing the capacity of the pipeline to more than 1.1 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas per day, up from 700,000 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day. In east Texas, the company will expand its newly constructed 42-inch Cleburne to Carthage pipeline from the Houston Pipe Line interconnect at Texoma to Carthage, adding an additional 500,000 Mcf per day of capacity to Carthage. Capital expenditures for the two projects will total approximately $260 million with construction expected to begin in June 2008. The two expansion projects are expected to be in service by September 2008.\nThese projects will serve the rapidly expanding Barnett Shale and Bossier Sands plays, according to Energy Transfer.\n', created = 1283578597, expire = 1283664997, headers = '' WHERE cid = '1:4e648157e84d858d1a4c678218102cd7' in /home/dca/public_html/www-barnettshalelawsuit/includes/database.mysql.inc on line 172.
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Clayton Williams Energy Inc. of Midland filed two lawsuits in late August 2007 against Energy Transfer Co. of Dallas for allegedly manipulating natural gas prices at the Houston Ship Channel in 2004 and 2005, similar to allegations made against the firm by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in July.

Regarding the charges against the company made by FERC and the CFTC, Energy Transfer has said it will “vigorously defend our position as the legal proceedings go forward.”

Energy Transfer is expected to answer the charges from FERC and the CFTC shortly.

The CFTC said in its enforcement action on July 26 that Energy Transfer, anticipating a drop in natural gas demand in Houston following Hurricane Rita in September 2005, stockpiled gas and sold it after the storm made landfall in an attempt to lower prices. In related action, FERC gave Energy Transfer 30 days to show it did not violate anti-manipulation rules, or face $167 million in penalties.

The complaints against Energy Transfer allege that the company sold natural gas at the Houston Ship Channel hub at below-market prices while simultaneously buying gas at the hub. The company then took a financial position that the price would go down, according to the two agencies. The FERC complaint alleges the company would lose money on the sales, but more than make up for it by taking a short position.

On Oct. 9, Energy Transfer formally disputed the FERC charges that it manipulated natural gas prices.

Energy Transfer said its detailed response to the allegations shows that its business transactions were conducted in a lawful manner and should set the record straight.

Energy Transfer is an active buyer and transporter of natural gas in the Barnett Shale.

On Oct. 8, the company announced the planned expansion of two of the company’s major Texas intrastate pipeline systems.

In southeast Texas, Energy Transfer expanded its ETC Katy Pipeline with the installation of 56 miles of 36-inch pipeline and the addition of 20,000 horsepower of compression, increasing the capacity of the pipeline to more than 1.1 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of gas per day, up from 700,000 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day. In east Texas, the company will expand its newly constructed 42-inch Cleburne to Carthage pipeline from the Houston Pipe Line interconnect at Texoma to Carthage, adding an additional 500,000 Mcf per day of capacity to Carthage. Capital expenditures for the two projects will total approximately $260 million with construction expected to begin in June 2008. The two expansion projects are expected to be in service by September 2008.

These projects will serve the rapidly expanding Barnett Shale and Bossier Sands plays, according to Energy Transfer.

If you feel you have a case against an energy company who mislead you about the value of your mineral rights, fill out the form below and your case will be reviewed by a mineral rights lawyer free of charge.