{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-52-52-902","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 52, § 52-902","heading":"Construction of oil and gas contracts, statutes and","body":"governmental orders.\n\nThe sanctity of private agreements, and the consistent and\n\npredictable application and interpretation of statutes, governmental\n\norders and common law, being essential to the oil and gas industry,\n\nthe following are declared to be paramount rules of construction to\n\nbe applied by the courts of this state in the construction of\n\nprivate agreements, statutes and governmental orders relating to the\n\nexploration for, operations for, producing of, or marketing oil or\n\ngas, or disbursing proceeds of production of oil or gas:\n\n1. A person is bound as a reasonably prudent operator to\n\noperate the well on behalf of all owners in the well and perform any\n\nduties owed to any person under a private agreement, statute,\n\ngovernmental order or common law relating to the exploration for,\n\noperations for, producing of, or marketing oil or gas, or disbursing\n\nproceeds of production of oil or gas, and performance of the duties\n\ndescribed herein is that performance which an operator acting\n\nreasonably would have undertaken given the circumstances at the\n\ntime, without being required to subordinate its own business\n\ninterests, but with due regard to the interests of all affected\n\nparties, including the operator; and\n\n2. There shall not be implied in the duties in paragraph 1 of\n\nthis section or otherwise any fiduciary duty, quasi-fiduciary duty\n\nor other similar special relationship in any private agreement,\n\nstatute or governmental order or common law relating to the\n\nexploration for, operations for, producing of, or marketing oil or\n\ngas, or disbursing proceeds of production of oil or gas.\n\nNothing in this section shall either prohibit the parties to a\n\nprivate agreement from expressly agreeing in writing otherwise or\n\nprohibit the Legislature from expressly providing otherwise in any\n\nstatute subsequently enacted or prohibit any governmental order from\n\nexpressly providing otherwise to the extent within the power or\n\nauthority of the issuer of such order. However, the provisions of\n\nparagraph 2 of this section shall not apply to Sections 287.1\n\nthrough 287.15 of Title 52 of the Oklahoma Statutes and nothing in\n\nthis act shall be interpreted to relieve an operator or owner from\n\nany obligation or duty set forth expressly in the Production Revenue\n\nStandards Act or the Natural Gas Market Sharing Act; provided the\n\nperformance of such obligations or duties shall be subject to the\n\nsame reasonably prudent operator standard set forth in paragraph 1\n\nof this section.","path":["OK Code","Title 52"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os52.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"edbfd70b32026a31af601a13f95eef978de5bc2e4a41208632b46cec16d9dd66","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-52-52-901","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-52-52-903"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}