Cities Service Oil Co. v. Pubco Petroleum Corp.

McINTYRE, Chief Justice.

This case involves the right of a company which has drilled an oil well to claim a lien for unpaid drilling costs against the royalty interest of a company which holds an overriding royalty interest.

Cities Service Oil Company entered into a farmout contract with The Colorado Corporation pertaining to acreage in the Kitty Field, a known producing oil field in Campbell County, Wyoming. The acreage covered by the farmout agreement was the SEV4SEJ4 of Section 4, Township 51 North, Range 73 West.

According to its contract, Cities Service was to assign certain earned leases…