PUBLICATIONS

Isaac Olson’s (3L) article, “New Challenges to Transboundary Unitization in the Gulf of Mexico,” was selected for publication in the Texas A&M Journal of Property Law. The article discusses the impact of new technology on oil companies’ ability to drill at deeper ocean depths to tap offshore reserves. Offshore drilling poses problems where oil reserves hundreds of miles from shore cross an international boundary line. Olson explains that while American courts typically apply the rule of capture to determine who owns the subsoil resources, international law requires countries to work together to maximize the efficient, safe extraction of the resources. In 2012, the United States and Mexico drafted a treaty that would govern the unitization of an offshore transboundary oil field. Today, Mexico’s energy laws are very different, a new administration threatens to unravel recent liberal reforms and the 

On April 30, Texas A&M Law faculty met with members of the Texas A&M Energy Institute to discuss opportunities to collaborate at the Energy, Law and Policy Workshop. Among other issues, participants discussed potential joint and dual degrees and certificate programs, research collaborations, student scholarships, and related topics. Two distinct research topics and one academic area were identified as opportunities for further engagement.

Mr. Skip Alvarado visited Texas A&M School of Law to speak with students and faculty members about his 50-year career in the oil and gas Industry. Since graduating from Texas A&M University in 1968 with a degree in Architectural Construction, Alvarado has led an exciting career distinguished by his leadership in extinguishing more than 700 oil and gas fires in Kuwait lit by retreating Iraqi forces during the first Gulf War. 

Texas A&M Law Professors Vanessa Casado Pérez and Felix Mormann participated in a panel discussion for students at a lunch-hour event on March 18, 2019. The panel moderated by Professor Gabriel Eckstein focused on how the current administration’s rollback of environmental regulations might affect legal job market. The discussion was attended by a room full of students concerned that the current administration could affect their job prospects.

On March 25, students and faculty gathered for the 6th Annual Water Lecture Series at Texas A&M University School of Law in Fort Worth. 

Former Israeli Ambassador Ram Aviram and Dr. Francesco Sindico from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland, each gave a brief presentation highlighting their areas of expertise and knowledge on transboundary groundwater resources and the international agreements (or lack thereof) governing their use. 

Freeman Mills, PC is an energy industry focused firm made up of 37 attorneys working in Dallas, Fort Worth, Longview and Tyler, Texas. The firm focuses on representing energy industry clients in a variety of litigation, title and transactional matters.

Executive Professor of Law, Harry Sullivan’s expertise in international oil and gas law drives his classroom focus on teaching future attorneys the importance of understanding their client’s industry business practices to achieve their complex transactional objectives. As former Senior Counsel for ConocoPhillips, and currently Assistant General Counsel for Kosmos Energy Ltd., Professor Sullivan is able to share the practical industry-focused knowledge he has acquired throughout his career in-house with oil and gas companies in his Oil and Gas Law, International Petroleum Transactions, and Oil and Gas Drafting classes. 

Vanessa Casado Pérez 

• Published “Whose Water” in Environmental Law, Disrupted (K. Hirokawa & J. Owley, eds. Forthcoming Environmental Law Institute 2019)
• Published “From Nuisance to Environmental Protection: an  European approach”, in the  92 Southern California Law Review, 2019. 
• Presented “Local Approach to Environmental Border Issues” at the Network of “Transnational Administrative Law” Meeting, Barcelona, Spain in May 2019 (remotely).
• Presented “Liquid Business” at the University of Indiana at Bloomington, Ostrom Workshop, Bloomington, Indiana, April 2019

Back in July 2018, eight research teams across Texas A&M campuses were awarded X-Grants of close to $7 million. Of the $7 million, $1.5 million was awarded to a team led by Wendy Jepson from the College of Geoscience and included law professor Gabriel Eckstein to study the issues surrounding sustainable freshwater systems in urban areas.  

This past spring, second- and third-year, as well as one LL.M., Texas A&M law students again participated in a uniquely experiential Natural Resources Systems Capstone course directed by Professor Gabriel Eckstein. This year, students enrolled in the course developed a legal toolkit and provided policy guidance and recommendations to Texas Target Communities, a Texas A&M program assisting Texas coastal municipalities to respond to flood risks in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey in 2017. View their resulting publication “Legal Mechanisms for Mitigating Flood Impacts in Texas Coastal Communities” at law.tamu.edu/CoastalCommunities.