| name | oil-gas-lease |
| title | Oil and Gas Lease |
| description | Drafts enforceable U.S. Oil and Gas Leases conveying subsurface mineral rights from lessor to lessee while reserving surface rights, royalty interests, and environmental obligations. Handles grant clauses, royalty structures, pooling/unitization, habendum terms, and state-specific regulatory compliance. Use when preparing leases for exploration, extraction, production, mineral rights conveyance, delay rentals, shut-in royalties, or energy law transactional matters. |
| author | CaseMark |
| author_url | https://github.com/CaseMark/skills/tree/main/skills/legal/oil-gas-lease |
| license | Apache-2.0 |
| version | 0.1.0 |
| execution_mode | open |
| jurisdiction | us |
| practice | real-estate |
| language | en |
| tags | ["transactional","energy-law","agreement","drafting"] |
Oil and Gas Lease
Drafts a state-compliant oil and gas lease conveying subsurface mineral rights from lessor to lessee while protecting surface rights, royalty interests, and environmental obligations.
Prerequisites
- Property deed — full legal description (metes and bounds, govt survey, or lot and block), recording info, acreage
- Mineral ownership verification — fractional interest, existing reservations, encumbrances, co-owners
- Entity/capacity documents — board resolutions, operating agreements, trust instruments, spousal joinder requirements
- Commercial terms — primary term length, royalty fraction, delay rental rate, bonus payment, shut-in royalty amount
- State-specific requirements — mandatory minimum royalty rates, prohibited provisions, recording format rules
- Environmental/regulatory context — applicable federal and state environmental regulations, permit requirements
If any prerequisite is missing, pause and ask — do not assume or fill gaps.
Output Structure
Step 1: Verify State Law Framework
Before drafting, verify from authoritative sources (current statute, state bar resources, regulatory guidance):
| Element | Verify |
|---|
| Implied covenants | Reasonable development, drainage protection, marketing, prudent operator standards |
| Royalty calculation | Wellhead value vs. proceeds; post-production cost deduction rules |
| Recording format | Margins, font sizes, notarial forms per county |
| Minimum royalty | Statutory floor rates (if any) |
| Surface damage acts | Separate compensation requirements for surface owners |
| Pooling/unitization | Voluntary vs. forced pooling rules; unit size limits |
Anti-hallucination rule: Do not rely on parametric memory for state-specific royalty rules, implied covenant standards, or execution formalities. Search and cite the current statute. If unable to verify, insert: [VERIFY: Confirm against current [STATE] oil and gas law before execution.]
Step 2: Parties, Property & Grant
Parties & Capacity: Full legal names, addresses, TINs, entity type/jurisdiction, authority confirmation, co-owner inclusion, trust/community property disclosure.
Property & Mineral Rights: Legal description per jurisdiction survey system, acreage (2 decimal places), minerals covered (oil, gas, CBM, helium, CO₂), depth limitations, fractional interest, recording references.
