Law Commons^™

Legal Effect Of Voluntary Pooling And Unitization: Theories And Party Practice, Joseph J. French Jr, Frank W. Elliott

Faculty Scholarship

The pooling or combining of smaller tracts is a recognized and expanding practice in the oil and gas industry. Consequently, it is important to understand the precise legal effect of pooling and unitization. In a typical situation, if A owns tract 1 and B owns tract 2, and A and B lease their tracts to X and Y respectively, it is clear that B would not share in the production from a well located on A's tract. However, if tract 2 is pooled or unitized with tract 1, B would be permitted to share in the royalties from a …