A few clarifications of Texas O&G rules as I understand them:1....

A few clarifications of Texas O&G rules as I understand them:
1. In Texas the mineral estate is dominant and the surface estate is subservient and the mineral estate can be severed from the surface estate so it is the "mineral owner" rather than the "landowner" who negotiates lease provisions. Sometimes the mineral owner and the landowner are the same entity (or entities), sometimes not.
2. Well spacing density (the number of acres assigned to a producing well), in the absence of Special Field Rules (SFR) issued by the Texas RRC, is determined by RRC Statewide Rules (SWR) and provisions of the individual lease. The Sugarkane (Cretaceous)SFR states that all wells assigned to that field are classified as gas wells.
http://www.rrc.state.tx.us/meetings/ogpfd/ogpofldrules/02-61131-frl_000.pdf
It doesn't address spacing so spacing is controlled by SWR or lease provisions.
3. Some leases contain provisions mandating "continuous development" after the primary term of the lease has expired. If the Lessee fails to abide by the continuous development provisions, the acreages not held by production or other provisions of the lease must be released by the Lessee unless an extension of the lease can be negotiated.
4. These days, most of the time, a Memorandum of Lease is filed in the public records, rather than the lease document itself, making it very difficult for third parties to determine how many acres can be held by a single well or how many wells must be drilled to hold the lease.