Liberty Petroleum Corp. v. Ndic

Summary

The Court affirmed approval of the Haystack Butte Unit plan, holding that pre-unitization drilling and operating costs could be treated as unit expenses and that the plan could apply outstanding risk-penalty balances against production allocated to the affected tracts. It also rejected Liberty’s takings claim because the plan caused neither a permanent physical invasion nor a complete deprivation of economically beneficial use. The Court further held that the Commission made the findings required for unitization and that substantial and credible evidence supported them.