Understand Primary and Secondary terms in Minerals Leases
An oil and gas lease runs in two terms. The primary term is a fixed window, usually three to five years, when the operator must drill or the lease ends. A secondary term then keeps the lease alive for as long as the well produces in paying quantities, which can stretch for decades. That second phrase is where Texas landowners quietly lose control of their minerals. A lease you signed for five years can bind your land for forty, on the strength of one marginal well. Before founding this firm, Attorney Daughtrey spent nearly a decade inside oil companies as a licensed attorney and landman. Holding acreage cheaply was part of that job. Here is how the two terms actually work, and how operators use the second one to keep land they are barely using. In This Article: What is the primary term in an oil and gas lease? Why
