Texas Oil & Gas Corp. v. Moore (630 S.W.2d 450, 1982)

OPINION

YOUNG, Justice.

This is an appeal of an order overruling pleas of privilege. Hallie Kelley Peareson Moore and three other plaintiffs sued Texas Oil & Gas (TXO) and Delhi Gas Pipeline Corporation (Delhi) for an accounting and recovery of underpaid gas royalties, for the declaration of the rights of the parties under the terms of the leases and for the release of properties due to failure to pay shut-in royalties. TXO and Delhi each filed pleas of privilege to be sued in Dallas County, the place of residence for both. In their controverting plea, appellees alleged that Subdivisions 5, 7, 14, 23, 27, and 29a of Article 1995, Tex.Rev.Civ.Stat.Ann. (Vernon 1964) justified venue in Wharton County. After a hearing, the trial court in one order overruled both pleas. We affirm.

Beginning in 1971, appellees executed four oil and gas leases covering land known as the Peareson field in Wharton County, Texas. When it had completed two wells, TXO made arrangements for sale of all the natural gas produced from the Peareson field for the next 20 years to Delhi, its wholly owned subsidiary. The terms of the sale are embodied in the Gas Purchase Agreement executed on October 1, 1974, by TXO and Delhi. The provisions concerning price established that Delhi would pay 90