The way most oil and gas companies inform you about how much production came from the well, how much of it is yours, and any deductions taken from your royalty, is on the stub that comes with the royalty check.
Southwestern appears to have taken lessons from Chesapeake, as they figured out a way to hide deductions from the royalty owners. They just didn’t list the deductions on the check stub.
How they made the numbers work isn’t clear from the article, but what is clear is that a jury decided that Southwestern owed those deductions to the royalty owners.
If anybody has been paid royalties from Southwestern, check your check stub production numbers against the production numbers listed at the Office of Oil and Gas’ web site. If something looks fishy, give us a call and we’ll help you get things sorted out.