The Affiliate Trap: How Operators Sell Your Gas to Themselves at a Discount
Your lease says 'no deductions,' but your royalty check is still shrinking. Here is the accounting trick operators use to bypass your lease protections.
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Articles: Valuation
33 articles in this topic
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.
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The “Dead Pipe” Trap: How Oklahoma’s Multi-Unit Wells Quietly Dilute Your Royalty
Oklahoma’s multi-unit horizontal wells have a hidden math problem. Find out how unperforated pipe dilutes your family's royalty checks.
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The “No Deductions” Mirage: How Three Words in Your Texas Lease Can Erase Your Cost-Free Royalty
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.
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The Unleased Owner Tax: No Lease, Still Deducted
How Louisiana operators force you into a unit, sell your gas without a lease, and then fight you in court over the deductions.
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The State Is Your Secret Mineral Partner
Why your 'private' West Texas minerals might actually belong to the State—and what the Relinquishment Act means for your family's land.
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The 3/16 Safety Valve: Alabama’s Weird Forced-Pooling Math
Alabama has a unique forced-pooling law. If you say no, the operator can hit you with a 150% penalty—but they still have to pay you a 3/16 royalty.
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“The One-Eighth Fakeout” — How Pennsylvania’s ‘Guaranteed Minimum Royalty’ Still Lets Owners Get Squeezed
Pennsylvania law guarantees a 12.5% minimum royalty. We explain how legal loopholes and the net-back method legally shrink that number.
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The Duhig Guillotine: How One Bad Deed Can Delete Your Mineral Rights
A quirky Texas title rule can automatically erase the minerals you thought your family reserved decades ago. Here is how the math works.
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“Your Check Stub Is a Crime Scene” — North Dakota Makes Bad Royalty Statements a Class B Misdemeanor
North Dakota law gives mineral owners powerful tools to fight bad check stubs, including criminal penalties, audit rights, and high interest rates.
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What Happens to Your Royalties When the Well Depletes?
That massive first royalty check won't last forever. Here is what actually happens as oil and gas wells age, decline, and eventually stop producing.
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The Zombie Field Next Door: How Kern County’s Idle Wells Turn Royalties Into Liabilities
Kern County operators are caught between massive idle well fees and drilling bans. Here is how their financial crisis impacts your mineral rights.
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