John S. Lowe

Headshot of John S. Lowe, emeritus faculty member at SMU Dedman School of Law.

Professor Emeritus of Law

Emeritus faculty

Email

jlowe@smu.edu

John S. Lowe has taught courses on oil and gas law and oil and gas contracts at SMU Dedman School of Law since 1987. He served as Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs from 2009-2014. A Maxwell Fellow in Malawi from 1966-69, he practiced law privately in Columbus, Ohio from 1970-75. He was a member of the faculty at the University of Toledo, with the rank of assistant and associate professor from 1975-78. He joined the faculty of the University of Tulsa in 1978, where he served as professor and associate director of the National Energy Law and Policy Institute. Professor Lowe has been a visiting professor at the University of Texas, a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Natural Resources Law at the University of Denver, the Visiting Judge Leon Karelitz Chair of Oil and Gas Law at the University of New Mexico, and the Visiting Borden Ladner Gervais LLP Chair of Energy Law and Policy at the University of Alberta, Canada. He has also held long-term appointments as an Honorary Lecturer and Principal Researcher of the Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy at the University of Dundee, Scotland, as a Senior Fellow of the Faculty of Law at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and as a Visiting Professor at the University of Sydney, Australia.

Professor Lowe has served for several years as an International Legal Advisor for petroleum issues in the Commercial Law Development Program of the U. S. Department of Commerce, lecturing at universities and advising governments around the world. Lowe is a former Chair of the Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Law of the American Bar Association and a former President of the Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law [formerly the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation]. He is a member of the commercial arbitration panels of the American Arbitration Association and the International Center for Dispute Resolution, as well as a frequent expert witness in oil and gas disputes.  Lowe has edited or written many articles and books, including CASES & MATERIALS ON OIL & GAS LAW, OIL & GAS LAW IN A NUTSHELL, OIL & GAS LAW & TAXATION, INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM LAW & TRANSACTIONS, and KUNTZ LAW OF OIL & GAS.

Area of expertise

  • Energy Law
  • Oil and Gas

Education

B.A., Denison University
LL.B., Harvard University

Courses

Oil & Gas Law
Oil & Gas Contracts
International Petroleum Transactions

Books

OIL AND GAS LAW IN A NUTSHELL (West, 8th edition 2024) (1st through 7th editions published in 1983, 1988, 1995, 2003, 2009, 2014 and 2019)

CASES AND MATERIALS ON OIL AND GAS LAW (West, 7th edition 2018) (with Owen Anderson, Ernest Smith, David Pierce, Christopher Kulander and Monika U.. Ehrman) (1st through 5th editions published in 1986, 1993, 1998, 2003 and 2008)

FORMS MANUAL TO CASES AND MATERIAL ON OIL AND GAS LAW (West, 7th edition 2018) (with Owen Anderson, Ernest Smith, David Pierce, Christopher S. Kulander & Monika U. Ehrman) (1st through 4th editions published in 1987, 1993, 1998, and 2004)

KUNTZ, LAW OF OIL AND GAS (6 Volumes) (Lexis 1995) (Annual Cumulative Pocket Parts 1995-2018) (with Owen Anderson, Ernest Smith and David Pierce)

INTERNATIONAL PETROLEUM TRANSACTIONS (Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, 3rd edition 2010) (with Ernest Smith, John Dzienkowski, Owen Anderson, Bruce Kramer, and Jacqueline Weaver) (1st edition published in 1993)

OIL AND GAS LAW IN A NUTSHELL (West, 6th edition 2014) (1st through 5th editions published in 1983, 1988, 1995, 2003, and 2009)

HEMINGWAY OIL AND GAS LAW AND TAXATION (West, 4th edition 2004) (with Owen Anderson, John Dzienlowski, Robert Peroni, David Pierce, and Ernest Smith)

SUMMERS OIL AND GAS LAW (West 1989) (Annual Cumulative Pocket Parts 1989-2007)

WEST'S TEXAS FORMS (Volumes 6, 7 & 7A) (West 1992) (Annual Cumulative Pocket Parts, 1992-2008)

WEST'S LEGAL FORMS (28 Volumes) (West 1991) (Annual Cumulative Pocket Parts 1991-2007) (with Bradford Stone)

Articles

The Future of Oil and Gas Law, 49 Washburn Law Journal 235 (2010)
SSRN | SMU Repository

The Lessee's Right of Free Use of Produced Substances: New Wine in Old Bottles, 37 Natural Resources Journal 729 (1997)
SSRN | SMU Repository

Defining the Royalty Obligation, 49 SMU Law Review 223 (1996) (reprinted in 33 Public Land & Resources Digest 257 (1996))
SSRN | SMU Repository

Principles of Energy Policy, 32 Washburn Law Journal 1 (1992)
SSRN | SMU Repository

Analyzing Oil and Gas Farmout Agreements, 41 Southwestern Law Journal 759 (1987) (reprinted in 25 Public Land & Resources Digest 5 (1988))
SSRN | SMU Repository

Severance Taxes as an Issue of Energy Sectionalism, 5 Energy Law Journal 357 (1984)
SSRN | SMU Repository

Representing the Landowner in Oil and Gas Leasing Transactions, 31 Oklahoma Law Review 257 (1978)
SSRN | SMU Repository 

Book chapters

Recent Significant Developments Affecting Farmout Agreements, in 50th OIL & GAS INSTITUTE 3-1 (Matthew Bender 1999)
SSRN

Royalty Calculation in Texas, in OIL AND GAS LAW FOR A NEW CENTURY: PRECEDENT AS PROLOGUE (Appendix to the Proceedings of the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the Southwestern Legal Foundation, Matthew Bender, 1999)

The Anatomy and Preparation of OCS Farmout Agreements, in Oil and Gas Operations in Federal and Coastal Waters, Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation – Special Institute (1989)
SSRN

Other publications

Some Recurring Issues in Operating Agreements and What AAPL's Drafting Committee Might Do About Them, 60 Proceedings of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Annual Institute (2014)
SSRN | SMU Repository

Terrorism and Energy Security, The Brief Magazine (Fall 2002)
SMU Repository

The Easement of the Mineral Estate for Surface Use: An Analysis of Its Rationale, Status, and Prospects, 39 Proceedings of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Annual Institute (1993)
SSRN | SMU Repository
 

Presentations

Dean of Oil and Gas Law
66th Annual Oil and Gas Law Institute of the Institute for Energy Law
Houston, TX (February 2015)

International Petroleum Contracts Overview
Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum and
Members of the Afghanistan Parliament
Doha, Qatar (June 2013)

International Petroleum Contracts
University of Dundee
Dundee, Scotland, UK (May 2013)

The Joint Operating Agreement
39th Annual Ernest E. Smith Fundamentals of Oil, Gas and Mineral Law conference
University of Texas School of Law and the
Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Law Section of the State Bar of Texas
Houston, TX (March 2013)

Issues in Operating Agreements
University of Texas
Fundamentals of Oil and Gas Law program
Houston, TX (March 2013)

Energy and the Middle East/North Africa
Moderator and Panelist
The Arab Spring: Doing Business and the Rule of Law Conference
ABA Midyear Meeting
SMU Dedman School of Law
Dallas, TX (February 2013)

Contracts Used in the International Oil Industry
Afghan and Yemeni Ministry of Oil
Doha, Qatar (February 2013)

Emerging Issues in US Energy Law
Panelist
Appellate Judges Education Institute
New Orleans, LA (November 2012)

International Farmout and Operating Agreements
Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Law
Bangkok, Thailand (September 2012)

Cross-Border Unitization
For senior Iraqi government officials and officials of the
U.S. Departments of State, Interior, and Commerce
Washington, DC (June 2012)

Legal Issues in the Development of Petroleum Resources
Australia National Tax Office
Melbourne, Vic., Australia (May 2012)

Operator/Non-Operator Issues
University of Texas
Program on Fundamentals of Oil and Gas Law
Houston, TX (March 2012)

Energy's Future
2012 Energy Symposium
Thurgood Marshall Law School
Houston, TX (March 2012)

Petroleum Development Contracts
Agencia Nacional do Petroleo
Rio De Janerio, Brazil (November 2011)

Legal Issues in the Development of Petroleum Resources
Australia National Tax Office
(Perth, WA, Australia (May 2011)

Implications of the Macando Oil Spill
Petroleum Institute of Thailand Executive Session
Bangkok, Thailand (September 2010)

Operator/Non-Operator Issues
University of Texas' Fundamentals of Oil and Gas Law
Houston, TX (April 2010, 2011)

Legal Constraints to Natural Gas Development in the United States
George W. Bush Institute
Dallas, TX (March 2010)

Fundamentals of International Operating Agreements
Iraq Ministry of Oil
Dallas, TX (February 2010)

Principles of U.S. Energy Policy
Cornell Institute of Public Affairs
Ithaca, NY (October 2009)

The Future of Oil and Gas Law
Symposium at Washburn University Law School
Topeka, KS (October 2009)

International Petroleum Agreements
To students in the LL.M. program at Universidade Agostinho Neto
Luanda, Angola (May 2009)

International Petroleum Transactions
To students at the Universities of Melbourne and Sydney,
Australia and the University of Dundee, Scotland
(May 2009)

Iraq's Draft Technical Services Contract
To officers of the Iraq Ministry of Oil
Dead Sea, Jordan (March 2009)

U.S. Energy Policy
Institute of United States Policy Studies
Edmunton, Alberta (November 2008)

Operator Liability, Removal and Succession
Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation Special Institute on Operating Agreements
Denver, CO (March 2008)

Teaching in American Law Schools
Faculty presentation
Qatar University
Doha, Qatar (December 2007)

The International Arbitration Process
Qatar University [two presentations]
Doha, Qatar (December 2007)

Damages in International Arbitration
American University
Washington, DC (October 2007)

U.S. Oil Policy in the Middle East
Institute of Foreign Relations
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (May 2006)

U.S. Energy Policy
Oklahoma City Mineral Bar Association
Oklahoma City, OK and
SMU Law Reunion Weekend
Dallas, TX (April 2006)

International Minerals Development and Trade
Kyrgyzstan Rule of Law Forum
SMU Dedman School of Law
Dallas, TX (February 2006)

Other

International Activities
Taught, Short Course in International Petroleum Transactions, for lawyers and government officers
Bangkok Thailand (September 2014)
 
Taught, Short Course on International Petroleum Contracts
University of Melbourne
Australia (May 2014)
 
Taught, Short Course on International Petroleum Contracts
University of Sydney
Australia (May, 2014)
 
Taught, Short Course on International Petroleum Contracts
University of Melbourne
Australia (May 2013)
 
Taught, Short Course on International Petroleum Contracts
University of Sydney
Australia (May, 2014)

Taught, International Petroleum Contracts
University of Dundee
Dundee, Scotland, UK (May 2013)

Taught, International Petroleum Contracts
University of Dundee
Dundee, Scotland, UK (May 2012)

Taught, Intensive Masters/JD Course in International Petroleum Contracts
University of Melbourne
Melbourne, Vic., Australia (May 2012)

Taught, Selected Issues in International Operating Agreements
University College London's Natural Resources LLM program
Adelaide, South Australia (May 2012)

Taught, Intensive Masters Course in Global Oil and Gas Contracts
University of Sydney LLM program
NSW, Australia (April and May 2012)

Taught, Intensive Masters Course in Global Oil and Gas Contracts
University of Sydney LLM program, British Institute for International and Comparative Law
London, UK (June 2011)

Taught, Short Course in International Petroleum Contracts
University of Dundee
Dundee, Scotland, UK (June 2011)

Taught, Selected Issues in International Operating Agreements
University College London
Adelaide, South Australia (May 2011)

Taught, Intensive Masters Course in Global Oil and Gas Contracts
University of Sydney
Sydney, Australia (May 2011)