Can someone pls explain the difference between a working interest and an operating interest?
Jan,
The company responsible for operating a well or group of wells owns that responsibility and reaps the benefits and accepts the liabilities of operating under the regulations and laws. A working interest owner is responsible to the operating company and reaps its rewards from the operator under joint operating agreement terms The basic difference is found in the responsibility each type of ownership must hold to the rest of the world. Incidentally, a working interest owner must pay the operator a fee for, in part, accepting the added responsibility for operations. Hope that helps.
Thank you, that answers my question.