woodford shale expiries , page-2

Recko, from the reading i have done (I am not an O&G lawyer, just a regular investor) acreage is generally retained down to 100 ft below the deepest depth drilled, unless explicitly stated otherwise in what is known as a horizontal Pugh clause, which is essentially like a retained acreage clause but deals with retention severance on a depth basis.

While you say the company has been unclear in its communication, we know from published information that:

1. The company's leased acreage in the big river project includes mineral rights to both the ML and WS formations (and by implication of the recent farmout agreement, all depths at least down to and including the WS).

2. The company has to drill a certain minimum number of wells this year and next in order to "meet its HBP obligations" and therefore maintain all its leasehold mineral rights in those acreages.

3. The company is not just drilling ML wells but also more recently WS wells, in order to secure its HBP acreage mineral rights retention.

It seems as if there is some acreage where there is time pressure to complete the necessary HBP drilling, because as advised by the company in its April 8th announcement it is seeking to renew or extend some leases.

As far as I can tell from my general reading on Oklahoma O&G law and what the company has published, the WS acreage held by the company is not under threat of vertical severance. Maybe you could write to the company and ask to have this confirmed if this is a point of interest for you, and share the response if you receive one?

Cheers, Sharks.