This course includes a study of various kinds of property interests that are commonly created in oil and gas and the land from which they are produced. Included are concepts as to the nature of a landowner's interest in oil and gas; the creation and duration of mineral leases; the rights and duties between lessor and lessee; the nature and characteristics of a mineral fee; the rights and duties between mineral and surface owners; the different kinds of royalty and mineral interests; the protection of interests in oil and gas properties against trespassers and wrongful claimants, and agreements between oil companies, such as farmouts and operating agreements. State regulation of drilling and production, including spacing rules, pooling and unitization, will also be covered.
Smith, Ernest E. III