How oil and gas leases address helium royalties — and what mineral owners in the Hugoton-Panhandle helium-bearing area should look for in lease language.
Get Your Free Mineral ValuationIt depends on your lease's granting and royalty clauses. Many older oil-and-gas leases — especially pre-1990s leases — are silent on helium, which can leave the helium stream's ownership unclear. Modern leases in helium-bearing areas increasingly name helium and other non-hydrocarbon gases explicitly. To know whether yours covers helium, check three things:
The granting clause — look for broad wording like “oil, gas, and all other minerals,” “all substances,” or an explicit reference to “helium and other noble gases.” Narrow “oil and gas only” language may not cover it.
The royalty clause — see whether royalty is paid only on “oil, gas, and casinghead gas,” or on a broader list that would include helium.
Your mineral classification — helium from federal minerals is reserved to the U.S. government, so even with oil-and-gas royalty the helium may not be yours. Confirm whether your minerals are fee, state, or federal.
If the lease is silent or ambiguous, the helium question is open — and worth an attorney's review before you assume you do (or don't) share in helium revenue. This is general information, not legal advice. See where your acreage sits in our U.S. helium content by field dataset and the national helium guide.
Oil and gas leases vary widely in how they address helium and other non-hydrocarbon products. Common patterns:
Pre-1990s leases — frequently silent on helium. The lease grants royalty on "oil, gas, and casinghead gas" without addressing whether helium is included.
1990s-2010s leases — variable. Some grant "all minerals" or "all hydrocarbons and other substances"; others maintain narrower oil-and-gas-only language.
Modern leases (post-2015) — often address helium, hydrogen, and other noble gases explicitly, with separate royalty rates negotiated for non-hydrocarbon substances.
Modern lease forms in helium-bearing areas commonly include reservation language similar to:
"All oil, gas, casinghead gas, hydrocarbons, helium and other noble gases, hydrogen, and any other commercially recoverable substances dissolved in or derived from produced water, formation brine, or any subsurface fluid; at all depths and from all formations; with separate royalty rates for non-hydrocarbon substances to be negotiated."
This is sample illustrative language only — actual lease language must be tailored to the specific transaction.
Hugoton-system counties with characteristic high helium content:
Hansford, Moore, Hutchinson, Carson — Texas Panhandle
Texas County, Beaver County, Cimarron County — Oklahoma Panhandle
Stevens, Grant, Haskell, Seward — southwest Kansas
It depends on your lease's granting and royalty clauses. Many older oil-and-gas leases — especially those signed before the 1990s — are silent on helium, which can leave the helium stream's ownership unclear. Modern leases in helium-bearing areas increasingly name helium and other non-hydrocarbon gases explicitly. To know whether yours covers helium, read the granting clause for broad language like “and all other minerals” or “all substances,” or an explicit reference to helium, and confirm whether your minerals are fee, state, or federal.
Read the granting and royalty clauses. Broad language such as “oil, gas, and all other minerals,” “all hydrocarbons and other substances,” or a specific reference to “helium and other noble gases” generally pulls helium in. Narrow “oil and gas only” wording, or a lease that simply pays royalty on “oil, gas, and casinghead gas,” may not clearly address helium. When the language is ambiguous, an attorney should review the specific instrument.
When a lease does not mention helium, ownership of the helium component can be unsettled and is generally resolved by the lease wording, applicable state law, and the parties involved. Silence does not automatically mean you keep or lose the helium — it means the question is open. This is common in older Hugoton–Panhandle leases and is a key reason owners in helium-bearing areas have their leases reviewed before assuming they share in helium revenue.
Generally no. Helium contained in gas produced from federal minerals has long been reserved to the United States government, so a federal mineral classification can mean the helium is not yours even if you receive oil and gas royalty. Confirming whether your minerals are fee, state, or federal is the first step before evaluating any helium interest.
On fee minerals in a helium-bearing area, it is worth addressing helium and other non-hydrocarbon substances explicitly in any new lease — including a separately negotiated royalty rate for them — rather than relying on silent or oil-and-gas-only wording. Lease terms should always be tailored with a qualified attorney; this is general information, not legal advice.
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