William J. Brennan, Jr.

“ Indeed an order directed to the purchaser of the gas rather than to the producer would seem to be the most feasible method of providing for ratable taking, because it is the purchaser alone who has a first-hand knowledge as to whether his takes from each of his connections in the field are such that production of the wells is ratable. [15] An order addressed simply to producers requiring each one to produce ratably with others with whose activities it is unfamiliar and over whose activities it has no control would create obvious administrative problems. ”

“ The ratable take orders here were intended as conservation measures [20] -to protect the correlative rights of producers taking gas from a common source of supply by preventing drainage from underproduced wells to overproduced wells. [21] It has always been recognized that the States possess the power to conserve scarce resources such as natural gas and to prevent unfair and discriminatory production of this resource by some wells at the expense of others. ”

“ That order was superseded in February 1960 by the general order, directed at all natural gas purchasers taking Kansas gas. These orders presented the appellant with the alternatives of complying with the obligations of the Republic contract and increasing its takes from the other producers' wells-thus taking more gas from Kansas than it could currently use-or of risking liability for a breach of the Republic contract by decreasing its takes from the Republic wells below the allowables. ”

“ The danger of interference with the federal regulatory scheme arises because these orders are unmistakably and unambiguously directed at purchasers who take gas in Kansas for resale after transportation in interstate commerce. In effect, these orders shift to the shoulders of interstate purchasers the burden of performing the complex task of balancing the output of thousands of natural gas wells within the State, cf. ”