# Helium Lease Language and Royalty Provisions for Mineral Owners

**TL;DR:** Oil and gas leases vary significantly in how they address helium royalties, with older leases often silent on non-hydrocarbon substances while modern leases explicitly cover helium, hydrogen, and noble gases with separate royalty rates. Mineral owners in the Hugoton-Panhandle helium-bearing region should carefully review lease language to ensure helium rights are properly addressed, especially in counties across the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles and southwest Kansas where helium concentrations are characteristically high.

## Key Takeaways

- **Pre-1990s leases are frequently silent on helium**, granting only "oil, gas, and casinghead gas" royalties without addressing whether helium or other non-hydrocarbon substances are included in the grant.
- **Modern post-2015 leases typically address helium explicitly**, often including separate negotiated royalty rates for non-hydrocarbon substances like helium, hydrogen, and noble gases.
- **Critical helium-bearing counties** include Hansford, Moore, Hutchinson, and Carson in the Texas Panhandle; Texas, Beaver, and Cimarron counties in Oklahoma; and Stevens, Grant, Haskell, and Seward counties in southwest Kansas.
- **Comprehensive modern lease language** covers "all hydrocarbons and other substances" including helium, hydrogen, noble gases, and substances dissolved in or derived from produced water or formation brine.
- **Leases from the 1990s-2010s show variable treatment**, with some granting "all minerals" broadly while others maintain narrower oil-and-gas-only language that may exclude helium.
- **Separate royalty rates for non-hydrocarbon substances** are commonly negotiated in modern helium-bearing area leases, recognizing the distinct economic value of helium versus traditional hydrocarbons.

## Page Highlights

**How Leases Address Helium**: Oil and gas leases have evolved significantly in their treatment of helium and non-hydrocarbon products, with pre-1990s leases typically silent, 1990s-2010s leases showing variable approaches, and modern post-2015 leases explicitly addressing helium with separate royalty structures.

**Sample Helium-Reservation Language**: Modern lease forms in helium-bearing areas commonly include comprehensive language covering "all oil, gas, casinghead gas, hydrocarbons, helium and other noble gases, hydrogen, and any other commercially recoverable substances" with provisions for separate royalty rates on non-hydrocarbon substances.

**Geographic Focus Areas**: The Hugoton-system counties span three states—Texas Panhandle (Hansford, Moore, Hutchinson, Carson), Oklahoma Panhandle (Texas County, Beaver County, Cimarron County), and southwest Kansas (Stevens, Grant, Haskell, Seward)—where helium lease language provisions are most critical due to characteristic high helium content.

## Related Topics

- [How to Sell Mineral Rights](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/sell)
- [What Are My Minerals Worth?](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/sell) 
- [Should I Sell?](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/sell)
- [Beginner's Guide](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/sell)
- [Getting a Fair Price](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/sell)

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