+Iarch 18, 1957. 

.,, 

,. 

Honorable .Richard Slack, Chairman Opinion No; WW-67 

Oil and Gas Committee 

House of Representatives~ ,,Re: To what extent and in what 

Austin,’ Texas way does Section 7 of H.B. 

496 change.Article 6066c, 

Dear Mr. Slack: ‘I Revised Civil Statutes ? 

In reply to your letter of March 5, 1957, which we quote in 

part as follows: 

YWill you please ascertain to what extent and in 

what wag Section 7 of the proposed bill changes Article 

6066c, RWiS~d Civil Statu@%3.“. 

we offer the following opinion: 

Article 6066c, V.C.S., provides that the Railroad Commission 

may approve agreements for the construction and operation of cooperative 

facilities necessary for the conservation and utilization of gas, including 

facilities for extracting and separating hydrocarbons from natural gas, or 

casinghead gas. This statute declared that, such, cooperative agreements 

are intended as a reasonable exception to the Anti-Trust Acts.1 

The Railroa~d Commission can approve agreements for the 

construction and operation of cooperative facilities for the extraction of 

liquid hydrocarbons from gas and the separation of such liquid hydrocarbons into butanes, propanes, ethanes, distillate, condensate and natural 

gasoline without any additional processing of any of them, and Article 

6066~ specifically provides that no approval shall be given to agreements 

providing for cooperative marketing or +efiningN2 of crude petroleum, 

condensate, distillate or gas or any by-products thereof. 

1Title 126, Revised Civil Statutes, 1925, as amended; Chapter 3, Title 19, 

Penal Code of Texas, 1925, as amended. ” 

2Article 6066~ provides in part “the extraction of liquid hydrocarbons from 

gas and the separation of such liquid hydrocarbons into butanes, propanes, 

ethanes, distillate, condensate and natural gasoline without any additional 

processing of any of them shall not be considered to be refining.* 
Honorable Richard Slack, Page 2 (WW-67) 

Section 7 of H.B. 496 is quoted as follows: 

“Sec. 7. Agreements made in the interest of conservation 

of oil or gas, or both, or for the prevention of waste, between 

and among owners or operators, or both, owning separate holdings in the same field or pool, or in any area that appears from 

geologic or other date to be underlaid by a common accumulation of oil or,.ges,, or both, and agreements between and among 

such owners or operators, or both, and royalty, owners therein, 

for ,the purpose of bringing about the development and operation 

of the field, pool or area, or any part thereof, as a unit, and for 

establishing ,and carrying out a plan for the cooperative development and operation thereof, when such agreements are approved 

by the Commission. are hereby authorized and shall not be held 

or construed to violate any of the statutes of this State relating 

to trusts, monopolies, or contracts and combinations in restraint 

of trade.” 

The effect of the enactment of Section 7 of.H.B. 496 would be to 

grant to agreements made and approved pursuant~ to H.B.. 496. immunity from 

the Anti-Trust laws of Texas. 

In our opinion nothing in Section 7 of H.B. 496 repeals or affects 

Article 6066c.. 

SUMMARY 

In. our opinion nothing in Section,7 of H.B. 496 repeals 

or affects Article 6066~. 

HB:tiw 

APPROVED:, 

OPINION GOMMIT,TEE 

H. Grady Chandler, ahairman 

Very truly yours, 

,WILL- WILSON 

Attorney General 

BY - 

Houghton Brownlee, Jr. 

Assistant