In the event of the death of an individual owning Oklahoma mineral rights, certain steps must be taken to transfer ownership to those entitled to inherit the property. This issue may come to the forefront shortly after death in the event the mineral rights are producing royalty income at the time of the owner’s death. In other cases, it may … Read More

Royalty check stubs can be confusing and impossible for the uninitiated to understand. In order for a mineral owner to calculate what their royalty payment should be, the mineral owner must determine their Net Revenue Interest (NRI) in the producing well. To do so, follow these steps: Step 1. Determine the mineral owners interest in the spacing unit where the … Read More

Drilling and spacing units (hereinafter called “spacing units”) are a component of a comprehensive state regulatory framework put in place to control the exploration for and production of oil and gas. A spacing unit is a legally described boundary designated by a governmental agency (the Oklahoma Corporation Commission (OCC) in the case of Oklahoma)) as a “common source of supply” … Read More

Forced pooling is a procedure established by the Oklahoma legislature in 1945 to facilitate and simplify the exploration for oil and gas in the state. The forced pooling process is controlled by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the agency with primary regulatory power over the state’s energy industry. Once a unit has been spaced (Note: see related article on Drilling and … Read More