Speakers
David Snodgrass
Education Session
This panel will explore the unique unitization requirements and practices in Louisiana and Mississippi, with a focus on what landmen need to know when working with pooled and unitized interests. Panelists will discuss regulatory considerations, lease and ownership issues, operator requirements, and common challenges that arise during the unitization process. Attendees will gain practical insight into navigating unitization projects and working effectively with mineral and working-interest owners.
Scott R. Patton is a Managing Member of Patton Law Firm, LLC, and focuses his practice in the areas of oil, gas, and energy law. His experience includes oil & gas title examination; unitization; carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS); regulatory consultation; transactions; intrastate pipeline regulation; and litigation. Mr. Patton frequently represents operators before the State Mineral and Energy Board on State lease issues and the Office of Conservation on various regulatory matters.
Mr. Patton has drafted drilling and division order title opinions for oil and gas companies and mineral owners on acreage across the State Louisiana, including resource plays such as the Haynesville Shale, Cotton Valley, Tuscaloosa Marine Shale, Austin Chalk, as well as conventional Louisiana prospects and has handled numerous curative projects involving complex title issues. Mr. Patton frequently prepares unitwide division orders for operator clients.
Mr. Patton has represented various energy companies in the creation of drilling and production units across the State of Louisiana, including the establishment of reservoir wide units and secondary recovery projects, along with obtaining approval of alternate unit wells and cross unit alternate unit wells.
Mr. Patton also advises companies seeking to establish carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) projects in the State of Louisiana, including representation before the Office of Conservation, State Mineral and Energy Board, and Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. He has been involved with the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, Ad Hoc Committee on Carbon Capture and the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil & Gas Association (LMOGA), Carbon Committee.
In 2007 and 2008, Mr. Patton served as Executive Counsel for the Office of Mineral Resources at the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, where he provided legal counsel to the Office of Mineral Resources and the Louisiana State Mineral and Energy Board.
Mr. Patton is admitted to practice in the State of Louisiana, the State of Texas, the United States District Court for the Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Louisiana, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Mr. Patton received his undergraduate degree from Washington & Lee University in 2002 and his Juris Doctor and Bachelor of Civil Law Degrees from Louisiana State University in 2006.