Okla. Stat. » Title 52 — OIL AND GAS
Oklahoma Statutes

Okla. Stat. tit. 52, § 318.2 (2026)

Definitions

✓ current as of July 2026
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For purposes of Sections 1 through 8 of this act: 1. "Operator" means a mineral owner or lessee who is engaged in drilling or preparing to drill for oil or gas; and 2. "Surface owner" means the owner or owners of record of the surface of the property on which the drilling operation is to occur. Added by Laws 1982, c. 341, § 1, operative July 1, 1982.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 28 cases, 1983–2019 · leading case: Torres v. Seaboard Foods, LLC, 2016 OK 20 (Okla. 2016).
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Torres v. Seaboard Foods, LLC, 2016 OK 20 (Okla. 2016). · cites it 2× “9) as the removal of a common-law defense while the dissenting opinion viewed the Act as shifting a contractual property right from one contracting party to another when the Act was applied retroactively to a mineral lease that had been created prior to the effective date of the…”
YDF, INC. v. Schlumar, Inc., 2006 OK 32 (Okla. 2006). · cites it 4× “10 is part of the Oklahoma Surface Damages act, 52 O.S. § 318.2 et seq., and thus applies only to surface owners and not to adjacent landowners.”
Ward Petroleum Corp. v. Stewart, 2003 OK 11 (Okla. 2003). · cites it 2× “The trial court also entered an order staying the trial court proceedings during the pendency of review proceedings before the Supreme Court.”
DuLaney v. Oklahoma State Dep't of Health, 868 P.2d 676 (Okla. 1993). · cites it 2× “In Turley this Court found such an adequate alternative remedy in the form of the Oklahoma Surface Damages Act, 52 O.S.Supp. 1982, § 318.2 et seq., as amended, which entitles a surface owner to compensation for injury to his property.”
Davis Oil Co. v. Cloud, 766 P.2d 1347 (Okla. 1989). · cites it 2× “I am authorized to state that Vice Chief Justice OPALA, and Justices HODGES and SIMMS share these views.”
Houck v. Hold Oil Corp., 867 P.2d 451 (Okla. 1993). · cites it 2× “This well was drilled in March 1982 prior to the effective date (July 1, 1982) of the Surface Damage Act (Act), 52 O.S.Supp.1982, § 318.2 et seq. Subsequently, an employee of the Houcks negotiated with Hold to settle damages to the surface estate.”
Hobson v. Cimarex Energy Co., 2019 OK 58 (Okla. 2019). · cites it 3× “Plaintiff filed suit alleging that he is entitled to compensation for the surface damages caused by the drilling of wells and entitled to be notified of negotiations to determine surface damages because he is a "surface owner" within the meaning of the Surface Damages Act (SDA),…”
Lierly v. Tidewater Petroleum Corp., 2006 OK 47 (Okla. 2006). “The common-law right of access for drilling and production operations is limited not only to the extent it is reasonably necessary but also as provided in the Oklahoma Surface Damages Act, 52 O.S.2001, §§ 318.2—318.9. Anschutz v. Sanders, at ¶ 6, 734 P.”
Anschutz Corp. v. Sanders, 734 P.2d 1290 (Okla. 1987). · cites it 2× “The basis of appellant’s arguments on appeal is his assertion that the surface *1291 damages act, 52 O.S.Supp.1982, §§ 318.2 through 318.9, applies to an oil and gas lessee seeking to make entry onto the surface estate for the purpose of exploration activities.”
Turley v. Flag-Redfern Oil Co., 782 P.2d 130 (Okla. 1989). · cites it 2× “2 does not violate equal protection; and 4) the surface owner’s remedy is under the Oklahoma Surface Damages Act, 52 O.S.Supp.1982 § 318.2 et seq. The determination that surface owners do not have standing to appeal applications to establish, reestablish, or reform drilling and…”
Santa Fe Minerals, Inc. v. Simpson, 735 P.2d 1206 (Okla. Civ. App. 1987). · cites it 4× “However, the legislature may want to reexamine the Surface Damages Act, 52 O.S.Supp. 1986 §§ 318.2 through 318.9.”
Andress v. Bowlby, 773 P.2d 1265 (Okla. 1989). “The first argument presented challenges the constitutionality of the application of the Oklahoma oil and gas surface damages act, 52 O.S.Supp.1982 §§ 318.2 through 318.9, to the present case.”
Show all 28 citing cases →
Okla. Stat. tit. 52, § 318.2(1): 1 case
Anschutz Corp. v. Sanders, 734 P.2d 1290 (Okla. 1987). “The basis of appellant’s arguments on appeal is his assertion that the surface *1291 damages act, 52 O.S.Supp.1982, §§ 318.2 through 318.9, applies to an oil and gas lessee seeking to make entry onto the surface estate for the purpose of exploration activities.”
Okla. Stat. tit. 52, § 318.2(2): 1 case
Hobson v. Cimarex Energy Co., 2019 OK 58 (Okla. 2019). “Plaintiff filed suit alleging that he is entitled to compensation for the surface damages caused by the drilling of wells and entitled to be notified of negotiations to determine surface damages because he is a "surface owner" within the meaning of the Surface Damages Act (SDA),…”
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