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When Your Oil Or Gas Lease Stops Producing

Leasing your property for oil or gas production is highly profitable, but can pose risks to your land. From salt water contamination to abandoned equipment, these operations are not always easy on the land. In Kansas, a lease is subject to termination when it produces less than three barrels of oil a month.

When a well or gas pocket stops producing, it is possible to terminate a lease and ask the production company to remove equipment and remediate the site. At Stull, Beverlin, Nicolay & Haas, LLC., we can help ensure that the oil or gas producer does what is it is supposed to under the terms of the lease.

Your lease entitles you to protections such as:

  • Continuous economical production
  • Covenants to explore and develop
  • Equipment, lease road and wellsite maintenance
  • Declarations of abandonment and prudent well plugging
  • Spill cleanups and soil remediation

Termination of non-producing oil and gas leases entitles you to damages for any harms done in the process of well removal or abandonment.

Important Deadlines For A Lease Termination

According to Kansas statutes, there are some important deadlines oil and gas companies are subject to. After a company stops using a well, they are responsible for:

  • An oil and gas operator generally cannot cease operations without just cause and if cessation has lasted more than 90 days a landowner may have cause to terminate the lease.
  • Landowners may be entitled to their attorney fees should they be successful in their action.
  • Operators are on the hook for plugging abandoned wells and remediating the land after plugging.

Oil and gas companies are known for leaving equipment behind and failing to properly remediate acreage. Our lawyers have the knowledge and skills to prevent lasting damage to your property or to aid you when damage is done.

Get Legal Help Today

If an oil and gas lease has become or is at risk of becoming non-productive, contact one of our attorneys to review your options and rights. Call our Pratt office at 620-450-4267, or contact us online.