# Helium Lease Language and Royalty Rights for Mineral Owners

**TL;DR:** Whether mineral owners receive royalties on helium production depends on specific lease language, with many older oil-and-gas leases silent on helium ownership. Owners in the Hugoton-Panhandle helium-bearing region should verify that leases explicitly include helium in granting and royalty clauses, especially since helium is marketed separately from natural gas. Federal mineral owners generally do not own helium rights. Consult a qualified attorney before assuming helium revenue rights.

## Key Takeaways

- **Older leases are often silent on helium**: Pre-1990s oil-and-gas leases frequently omit helium from granting and royalty clauses, leaving ownership unclear when helium is marketed separately from natural gas.
- **Granting clause language determines coverage**: Broad wording like "all minerals," "all substances," or explicit "helium and other noble gases" typically includes helium, while narrow "oil and gas only" language may not.
- **Federal minerals exclude helium rights**: Helium from federal minerals is reserved to the U.S. government, so federal mineral owners do not share in helium revenue even if they receive oil-and-gas royalty.
- **Geographic concentration matters most**: Hugoton-Panhandle counties in Texas (Hansford, Moore, Hutchinson, Carson), Oklahoma (Texas County, Beaver County, Cimarron County), and Kansas (Stevens, Grant, Haskell, Seward) have characteristic high helium content.
- **Modern leases increasingly address helium explicitly**: Post-2015 leases in helium-bearing areas commonly name helium, hydrogen, and noble gases with separately negotiated royalty rates for non-hydrocarbon substances.
- **Silent leases require legal review**: When lease language is ambiguous or silent on helium, ownership is resolved by specific wording, applicable state law, and parties involved—warranting attorney review before assuming revenue rights.

## Page Highlights

**How Leases Address Helium**: Oil-and-gas leases vary widely by era—pre-1990s leases frequently omit helium; 1990s-2010s leases show variable approaches with some granting "all minerals" while others maintain narrow oil-and-gas-only language; modern post-2015 leases increasingly address helium and other non-hydrocarbon gases explicitly with separate royalty terms.

**Determining Helium Coverage**: Three critical checks reveal whether a lease covers helium—the granting clause for broad "all minerals" or explicit helium language, the royalty clause to see if payment extends beyond oil-gas-casinghead, and mineral classification confirmation (fee, state, or federal) since federal minerals exclude helium rights.

**Modern Lease Language Patterns**: Sample reservation language in helium-bearing areas includes all oil, gas, hydrocarbons, helium and noble gases, hydrogen, and substances from produced water or subsurface fluids, with separate non-hydrocarbon royalty rates negotiated; actual lease language must be tailored to specific transactions.

**Geographic Focus Areas**: Counties where helium lease language matters most are concentrated in the Hugoton system—Texas Panhandle counties (Hansford, Moore, Hutchinson, Carson), Oklahoma Panhandle counties (Texas, Beaver, Cimarron), and southwest Kansas counties (Stevens, Grant, Haskell, Seward).

**Federal Mineral Considerations**: Helium in gas produced from federal minerals has long been reserved to the United States government, meaning federal mineral classification can exclude helium ownership even when oil-and-gas royalty is paid; confirming fee versus federal status is the first evaluation step.

**New Lease Negotiations**: On fee minerals in helium-bearing areas, explicitly addressing helium and other non-hydrocarbon substances in new leases—including separately negotiated royalty rates—is preferable to relying on silent or oil-and-gas-only wording; lease terms should be tailored with qualified legal counsel.

## Related Topics

- [Lease Terms Explained](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/lease-terms-explained)
- [Held By Production](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/held-by-production)
- [Lease Expiration Options](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/lease-expiration-options)
- [Force Pooling](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/force-pooling)
- [Pooling Vs Unitization](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/pooling-vs-unitization)
- [US Drilling Activity Index](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/us-drilling-activity-index)
- [Oil & Gas Market Data Hub](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/oil-gas-market-data-hub)

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