Railroad Commission Texas and Bill forney v. Pend Oreille Oil & Gas Company

This case involves the application of the Mineral Interest Pooling Act (MIPA) by the Texas Railroad Commission to a pooled gas unit in Live Oak County. The interest owner who was force pooled appealed the commissions decision through the administrative appeals process to the court of appeals. That court reversed in part, affirmed in part and partially vacated the district courts judgment, which affirmed the commissions order. 788 S.W.2d 878. The MIPA applicant, the MIPA contestant and the commission filed applications for writ of error, all of which we granted. This case presents three main questions. First, did the MIPA applicant make a fair and reasonable offer to pool voluntarily? Second, may the commission force pool, in a single MIPA proceeding, separate deposits of gas in man-made communication through a common well bore? Third, may the commission enter a final order in a MIPA proceeding that establishes an effective date which is coincident with the date of an earlier interim order entered in the same proceeding? We answer each of these questions in the affirmative. Consequently, we affirm the court of appeals judgment in part and reverse in part.