Natural Gas Royalty Owners Awarded $126 Million

Beckham County royalty owners will receive a settlement of $126 million from Helmerich & Payne Inc, for damages and lost profits related to natural gas wells that were drained in the 1980s.

The suit alleged that H&P turned off the gas wells on the plaintiffs' properties during a contract dispute with ANR Pipeline, the purchaser of the natural gas. The plaintiffs were not compensated, despite the gas having been taken from the wells once the dispute was settled.

The multi-million dollar settlement is nearly double what the jury had originally awarded the plaintiffs in November 2008.