Mariner Energy, Inc. v. Devon Energy Production Co.

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER

LEE H. ROSENTHAL, District Judge.

After a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, litigation often follows to determine who will pay for the consequences. This is such a case. When Hurricane Rita struck the Texas and Louisiana Gulf Coast area in September 2005, it damaged Eugene Island 333 (“El 333”), an oil and gas block on the Outer Continental Shelf. The decision was made to abandon part of the block, El 333 A, which required that it be “decommissioned.” The decommissioning cost much more than it would have before the hurricane and resulting damage. The increase is from…