A CLOUDY CRYSTAL BALL A few weeks ago, I was sitting in my conference room with a client, his wife, and their son who was in his twenties.  We were reviewing a series of agreements that the client was about to enter into with his operator that would permit the operator to drill a certain…

Oil and gas interests are interests in real property and thereby have the same attributes as other real property such as a home or a ranch. Although the ownership of oil and gas interests can take many forms, courts commonly analogize the ownership of oil and gas interests to a bundle of sticks.  Comprising this…

Is oil and gas real or personal property?  It’s a question with a complex answer. While in the ground, oil and gas are classified as real property, i.e., oil and gas are considered part of the land. However, once oil and gas are produced (i.e., removed from the ground), the classification changes from real to…