The Mississippi Penalty Box: Why Saying "No" to a Lease Can Cost You Dearly
Refusing an oil and gas lease might feel like leverage. In Mississippi, it just hands the operator the right to take your oil and charge you a penalty.
Legal
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The Mineral Rights Journal
Plain-language research for mineral and royalty owners making consequential decisions.
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Michigan Dormant Mineral Rights: Preserving an Interest After 20 Years
Michigan's dormant mineral law means your family's severed oil and gas rights can simply evaporate through silence. Here is how the 20-year trap works.
LegalEducationInheritance
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11 on this pageColorado Local Oil and Gas Regulation: What It Means for Mineral Owners
How Colorado's SB 19-181 gave towns the power to ban drilling, leaving mineral owners with stranded assets and sparking fierce legal battles.
Legal
Oklahoma Late Royalty Payments: The 12% Interest Rule
Oklahoma law requires operators to pay 12% interest on late royalties. Here is why you aren't getting it, and the exact steps to claim your money.
Legal
Pennsylvania Unleased Mineral Owners: Drainage and Lease Decisions
How the PA Supreme Court's Briggs decision made holding out a dangerous game for unleased mineral owners.
Legal
Affiliate Gas Sales: How Operator Pricing Can Affect Royalties
Your lease says 'no deductions,' but your royalty check is still shrinking. Here is the accounting trick operators use to bypass your lease protections.
Valuation
The “Market Enhancement” Illusion: How West Virginia Operators Tricked You Into Paying Their Pipeline Bill
How SWN, Antero, and others used the Market Enhancement Clause to bypass West Virginia law and quietly deduct 30% from your royalty checks.
Legal
Oklahoma Multi-Unit Wells: Allocation and Royalty Calculations
Oklahoma’s multi-unit horizontal wells have a hidden math problem. Find out how unperforated pipe dilutes your family's royalty checks.
Legal
Virginia Coalbed Methane Royalties: Escrow and Ownership Disputes
Millions in gas royalties were locked in a Virginia state escrow account for decades. Here is how the law trapped families and what it takes to get out.
Legal
“No Deductions” Clauses in Texas Oil and Gas Leases
You paid a lawyer to write a cost-free royalty clause. Your check still shows 20% in deductions. Here is why the phrase 'at the well' ruins Texas leases.
Legal
The 200% Carry: New Mexico’s Forced-Pooling Sting
Think ignoring a lease offer in New Mexico protects your minerals? Learn how the state can force you into a deal with a 1/8 royalty and a massive penalty.
Legal
The Tax Before the Check: How Kansas Takes Its Cut First
Kansas can take severance tax out of your royalty money before you ever get paid. Here is how K.S.A. 79-4222 taxes frozen suspense accounts.
Taxes