Opinion ID: 525226
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: use of surface

Text: 17 20. The working interest owners and royalty owners, to the extent of their rights and interests, hereby grant to the Unit Operator the right to use or permit the use of as much of the surface of the land within the unit area as may be reasonably necessary for the development and operation of the unit area and for other operations conducted by the Unit Operator in accordance with the provisions of this agreement and of any agreement or agreements executed by the working interest owners for the operation and development of the unit area: Provided, that nothing in this paragraph 20 shall be construed as leasing or otherwise conveying to the Unit Operator or to the working interest owners a site or location for a gas injection, processing or other plant. The Unit Operator shall have a right of way over and across such land, and the right of ingress and egress thereto and therefrom, for the laying, constructing, using, maintaining, operating, changing, repairing and removing of pipe lines, tanks and other facilities for gathering, storing, treating and handling unitized substances, gas, outside gas and other substances, for returning gas and other substances from a plant, for conveying unitized substances, gas, outside gas and other substances to and into input wells and for metering and measuring unitized substances, outside gas and other substances, together with a right of way for the purpose of constructing, erecting, using, maintaining, operating, changing, repairing, enlarging and removing telegraph, electric and telephone lines, water lines, buildings and roads. The Unit Operator, for the joint account of the working interest owners, shall pay all damages to growing crops, timber, fences, improvements and structures in the unit area resulting from the exercise of the rights and privileges acquired under the provisions of this paragraph 20. 18 The terms of this paragraph create a conflict with the pipeline burial clause of the original leases. As royalty owners--which, we have shown, means also landowners--the Carrigans' predecessors in interest had rights in the surface estate, including the right to require pipeline burial. They grant to the Unit Operator in the Unitization Agreement the right to use as much of the surface as may be reasonably necessary; thus, the grant is as broad as the Texas courts would imply absent an express provision limiting the right of use. See Vest, 752 F.2d at 961; Humble Oil, 420 S.W.2d at 134. Further, the grant is made explicitly to the extent of the rights of the grantors, which must necessarily include their right to require burial. As a surface right, then, the right to require burial is included in the grant to the Unit Operator. Thus, as long as above-the-ground pipelines are reasonably necessary--and no one disputes on appeal the district court's conclusion that Exxon's use of the surface for pipelines is reasonable--such pipelines are allowed by the terms of the broad grant to the Unit Operator. Therefore, the leases' provision allowing for the surface owner to require pipeline burial conflicts with this broad grant of rights to the Unit Operator in the Agreement, and the Agreement by its express provisions governs in cases of conflict. The broad grant of surface rights in the Agreement abrogates the right to require pipeline burial. 19 Finally, we note that the Unitization Agreement provides the surface estate owners with a new right to seek money damages for surface injury resulting from necessary use not provided in the leases, and not implied by Texas law. See, e.g., Texaco, Inc. v. Spires, 435 S.W.2d 550, 553 (Tex.App.--Eastland 1968, writ ref'd n.r.e.). Paragraph 20 expressly grants the surface owners the right to payment of damages to growing crops, timber, fences, improvements and structures resulting from the Unit Operator's use of the surface. In fact, the district court awarded money damages to the Carrigans for surface damages under the terms of this provision. The inclusion of a remedy for surface damages lends added support to our holding that the pipeline burial provisions of the leases were abrogated by the Unitization Agreement. The provision demonstrates that the parties to the Agreement were aware of the danger that the oil and gas operations would interfere with the surface use of the property. The parties chose to deal with this danger in a way different from that in the original leases: They allowed for the payment of money damages rather than providing for pipeline burial upon demand. C. Attorneys' Fees 20 Because we agree with the district court that Exxon has not breached its contract with the Carrigans, we also agree with that court's denial of attorneys' fees.