Enervest Operating, LLC v. Sebastian Mining, LLC

GRUENDER, Circuit Judge.

This case involves the property rights to coal bed methane gas (“CBM”) produced from certain lands located in Sebastian County, Arkansas. CBM is a form of natural gas, comprised primarily of methane, that forms in coal beds and may exist in the form of a free gas, of a gas dissolved in the water in coal, or of a gas adsorbed on the surface of the coal. The original holder of fee simple absolute title to the lands (“Grantor”) conveyed surface and coal rights in 1965 via an instrument the parties refer to as the Garland Deed. Sebastian Mining, LLC (“Coal Owner”) acquired…