Build a work-programme and expenditure tracker from a federal oil and gas lease
Key facts
- Human involvement
- YellowClose supervision
- How AI is used
- From the lease, the unit agreement, and the conditions the lawyer supplies, list each work commitment and expenditure figure with the clause and the date written in the document. Do not compute a statutory rental and do not decide that a commitment has been met.
- What the lawyer must review
- 30 U.S.C. § 226(e) provides that competitive and noncompetitive leases issued under that section shall be for a primary term of 10 years, and that each such lease shall continue so long after its primary term as oil or gas is produced in paying quantities. The section also conditions leases on rental and, for a lease under subsection (c), on a royalty. The figures that govern a particular lease are the figures in that lease and in any unit or communitisation agreement, which may sit above a statutory minimum. 43 C.F.R. § 3106.76 provides that an assignee of record title agrees to comply with the terms of the original lease, and that a transferee of operating rights agrees to comply with those terms as they apply to the area or horizons acquired. The tracker uses the documents. It does not substitute a statutory minimum for the lease figure, and it does not decide that production is in paying quantities.
- Written for / version
- United States versionUS
Who does what
| Role | What they do |
|---|---|
| Assistance | Potential support includes organising research leads and preparing preliminary structure or wording. Confirm the tool’s capability and permitted scope. |
| Lawyer | Set the scope, supervise the work closely, verify every part relied on, resolve omissions and exceptions, and approve the exact output. |
Checklist
- Trace every relied-on figure to its source, confirm dates and assumptions, and independently recalculate totals or derived amounts.
- Review operative clauses in the complete document, including definitions, cross-references, schedules and inconsistencies with the instructions.
- Verify the applicable jurisdiction and the version of each relevant law, rule or instrument in force at the material time.
- Confirm the output against the client’s instructions and the complete relevant source material, including omissions or contradictions.
- Resolve exceptions and record the responsible lawyer’s approval of the exact output and intended use.