Co-Tenant Production Cannot Extend Bottom Lease Under Habendum Clause: Cimarex v. Anadarko

The El Paso Court of Appeals held that a mineral lessee's habendum clause did not permit the lessee to rely on its co-tenant's production to extend the lease into the secondary term, and that the lessee's payment of royalties on its share of the co-tenant's production did not prevent lease termination. The court rejected estoppel arguments based on lessors' acceptance of royalty payments and found that a settlement agreement between the parties was not a joint operating agreement.