With all due respect, that hasn't been my experience in Oklahoma.
Within the last 3 years, we've seen a shortage of drilling rigs, which meant there was a 9 to 12 month wait to drill a well.
Consequently, landowners were wising up to the fact that they'd sign a lease with a company who couldn't drill a well on their land for nearly two years. This is where the operations guarantee came in that I've seen recently. It basically states that the company will drill a certain number of wells by a certain date.
If you don't believe me, talk to the boys at Chesapeake who are scrambling like mad to punch holes in the ground just to retain their leases.
This is in addition to the 1 to 3 year lease agreement you speak of.
Additionally, you are correct that the ORRI is between 3/16ths and 20 percent, however the "gold standard" has (up until recently) been 1/8th interest.
