Texas Supreme Court Reverses Hughes v. Cantwell, Holds Habendum Clause Does Not Require Personal Production by Lessee

The Texas Supreme Court reversed decades of precedent, holding that habendum clauses using passive voice—providing leases continue "so long as minerals are produced"—do not require the lessee to personally produce minerals to maintain the lease. The Court disapproved Hughes v. Cantwell and Cimarex Energy Co. v. Anadarko Petroleum Corp., applying the default rule against forfeiture of mineral interests where production in commercial paying quantities had continuously occurred on the land.