Groundwater Valuation in Texas: The Comparable Transactions Method

Full Analysis available at: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/media/files/files/6268119b/bi-report-032018-ces-groundwatervalue.pdf Synopsis: Multiple methods can be used to value groundwater, with some more applicable in certain situations than others. This report analyzes the “comparable transactions” method and how it can be applied to groundwater valuation in Texas. In a nutshell, this entails examining transactions for groundwater purchases or sales to gather pricing…

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Valuing Groundwater: A Tricky Business

The author discussed a range of methods that can be used–and are used–to value groundwater resources in Texas.  Full presentation available here: https://www.bakerinstitute.org/research/valuing-groundwater-tricky-business/. Please cite as:  Gabriel Collins, “Valuing Groundwater: A Tricky Business,” Continuing Legal Education lecture delivered at the “Changing Face of Water Law 2018” symposium, 23 February 2018, San Antonio, TX.  

Key Permian Basin Oil Producers Can Now Move More Water Per Day Than Midland or Odessa

Gabriel Collins, “Key Permian Basin Oil Producers Can Now Move More Water Per Day Than Midland or Odessa,” Texas Water Intelligence™, Water Note #7, 15 February 2018 The water infrastructure footprint in key parts of the Permian Basin is becoming both physically massive and geographically expansive. This helps create commercial critical mass and facilitates making water…

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Frac Ranching vs. Cattle Ranching: Exploring the Economic Motivations Behind Conflicts Over Produced Water Recycling Projects

Full Article Executive Summary: The issue matters because increased produced water recycling can help operators achieve significant structural cost-reductions—both for initial well completions and for lease operating expenses over the wells’ full operational lifetime. Reductions in water procurement and disposal costs would be enduring and could help offset cost inflation in pressure pumping and services…

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Recycle Produced Water, Reduce Costs, and Boost Invest-able Capital

Gabriel Collins, “Recycle Produced Water, Reduce Costs, and Boost Invest-able Capital,” Texas Water Intelligence™, Water Note #6, 2 October 2017 Surface owners’ new water-powered earnings machine is a boon to them, but increasingly, poses a cost burden to operators who would like to reduce freshwater use and instead recycle produced water. This burden is exacerbated by…

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Potential Transaction Structures for Produced Water in Texas

Gabriel Collins, “Potential Transaction Structures for Produced Water in Texas,” Texas Water Intelligence™, Water Note #4, 27 April 2017 Produced water ownership transfer is not simply a rehousing of legal liabilities and risks; it also opens the door to harnessing latent economic value. Once produced water has undergone a transfer of title that severs it from…

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Oilfield Produced Water Ownership in Texas

Gabriel Collins, J.D., “Oilfield Produced Water Ownership in Texas: Balancing Surface Owners’ Rights and Mineral Owners’ Commercial Objectives,” February 2017, Baker Institute for Public Policy, Center for Energy Studies. Executive Summary –The surface estate owns produced water as a matter of law in Texas. However, if a producer transfers produced water to another party for the…

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IMPLEMENTING THREE-DIMENSIONAL GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT IN A TEXAS GROUNDWATER CONSERVATION DISTRICT

Fulltext available here. Gabriel Collins and Hilmar Blumberg, “Implementing three-dimensional groundwater management in a Texas groundwater conservation district,” Texas Water Journal, Vol. 7, No.1, 2016 (69-81). Executive Summary The Guadalupe County Groundwater Conservation District has implemented a 3-dimensional water management solution that allocates pumping rights based on actual volumes in place under a tract. This…

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How Much Can You Sell Brackish Water For in West Texas?

Gabriel Collins, “How Much Can You Sell Brackish Water For in West Texas?,” Texas Water Intelligence™, Water Note #2, 27 June 2016. How much can you sell that brackish water for? As rising oilfield activity and volatile precipitation patterns collide, this is an important question that West Texas landowners will increasingly face.  In dry West Texas,…

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