Definitions for "WORKING INTEREST"
Keywords:  royalty, drill, burdened, oil, gas
Oil and Gas Working Interests. A working interest in an oil or gas property is one that is burdened with the cost of development and operation of the property, such as the responsibility to share expenses of drilling completing or operating an oil and gas property, according to working or operating mineral interest in any tract or parcel of land. Rights to overriding royalties, production payments, and the like do not constitute working interests because they are not burdened with the responsibility to share expenses of drilling, completing, or operating oil and gas property. Likewise, contract rights to extract or share in oil and gas, or in the profits from extraction, without liability to share in the costs of production do not constitute working interests.
An interest created by the execution of an oil and gas lease.
In oil and gas, a working interest is the exclusive right to drill for oil or gas on a lease, paying 100% of the cost and receiving the revenue (less the royalty interest agreed to with the owner of the lease). The holder of the working interest can subdivide revenue interests from his working interest and transfer or sell them.