The Meaning of "Other Minerals" and Other Incidents of Mineral Ownership

Authors

Monika U. Ehrman, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of LawFollow
Colton Franks, Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law

ORCID (Links to author’s additional scholarship at ORCID.org)

Monika U. Ehrman: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6990-0777

Abstract

Of all the contracts used in the oil and gas industry, none is as important as the oil and gas lease. It is the foundational instrument in oil and gas and a required prerequisite to development for those who do not own the mineral estate. Its uniqueness arises in that, unlike most other oil and gas contracts, it is both a contract and a conveyance of property. Part I of this article begins with an overview of the mineral estate, the predecessor to an oil and gas lease. Part II examines theories of oil and gas rights ownership and oil and gas lease ownership. Part III provides a general overview of the oil and gas lease. Part IV reviews the granting clause, examining its rights of use and the accommodation doctrine; substances granted by the lease; lands and interests granted by the lease, which includes in gross provisions, Mother Hubbard and coverall clauses, after acquired title language, proportionate reduction clauses, subrogation clauses, and warranty clauses. Part V focuses on the incidents of mineral ownership and the meaning of “other minerals.”

Publication Title

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

Document Type

Article

Keywords

Oil and gas law, Energy law, Petroleum, Pore space, Property, Natural resources, Oil and gas lease, Ownership, Granting clause

Recommended Citation

Monika U. Ehrman & Colton Franks, The Meaning of “Other Minerals” and Other Incidents of Mineral Ownership, 10 Oil & Gas, Nat. Resources & Energy J. 627 (2025)