Natural Gas Pipeline Co. of America v. Pool

in which Chief Justice PHILLIPS, Justice HECHT, Justice SCHNEIDER, Justice SMITH, and Justice WAINWRIGHT joined.

We deny Respondents’ motion for rehearing. We withdraw our opinion of August 28, 2003, and substitute the following in its place.

In these consolidated proceedings, lessors under three oil and gas leases contend *190that the leases terminated because intermittently over the years there were periods of time ranging from 30 to 153 days when there was no actual production. We do not decide whether the leases terminated because even assuming they did, the lessees thereafter acquired by…