The granting clause: what you are leasing, and for what
The granting clause is the opening paragraph of the lease. It names you and the company, says which substances are leased, and lists what the company may do on the land to get them.
What it does
Most forms lease oil and gas and the substances produced with them. Some reach further, to "all other minerals" or to rights that have little to do with a well on your land. The words here set the outer edge of everything that follows.
The list of uses often runs long: exploring, drilling, producing, building roads and tanks, laying pipelines, injecting water or gas, and sometimes disposal. Uses you would not agree to are easier to strike here than to fight later.
Many forms also carry a catch-all, sometimes called a Mother Hubbard clause, that adds any small strips you own next to the described land. It is common, but read how far it reaches.
What we mark on a review sheet
Normal
- Your name as it appears on your deed, and the company named as lessee.
- Oil, gas and the substances produced with them.
Missing
- Limits on uses: no disposal wells, no injection for other land, no storage.
Ask about
- "All other minerals", or minerals that are not oil and gas.
- Rights to use your land for operations on other land.
- A catch-all that reaches beyond small strips next to the described land.
Questions to ask the company
- Will you limit the lease to oil, gas and the substances produced with them?
- Will you strike disposal, injection for other land and storage from the uses?
- Will you limit the catch-all to small strips next to the described land?
Common questions
What is the granting clause in an oil and gas lease?
The opening paragraph that names the parties, the substances leased and the uses the company may make of the land.
What is a Mother Hubbard clause?
A catch-all in many leases that adds small strips or gaps of land you own next to the described tract, so they are not left out by a survey error.
Send it before you sign
Tell us what you got and what you want to know. We reply by email and tell you how to send the pages. A landman reads them and sends back a one-page review sheet.
Email hello@landman.review with what you got and your question, or call (307) 263-8515.