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The U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming has authorized this notice. This is not a solicitation from a lawyer.

Anadarko & Occidental Petroleum Corporation

Class Action Lawsuit

If you owned or had an ownership interest in certain oil & gas rights between November 1, 2017 and October 19, 2020, you may be eligible for a settlement payment.
Oil and Gas Mineral Owners in eastern Laramie County, Wyoming, have reached a $12 million settlement with Anadarko, a company owned by Occidental Petroleum Corporation. This settles a lawsuit claiming that Anadarko prevented them from leasing their oil and gas rights by keeping other competitors out of eastern Laramie County.

The Court preliminarily decided that this case should be a settlement class action on behalf of a “Class” or group of oil and gas mineral owners and their heirs. The Court has not decided who is right. Distributions from the Settlement Fund will not be made unless the Court issues an Order finally approving the settlement.
  • View a lists of potential settlement class members whose settlement notice could not be sent because addresses could not be located, or the heirs of deceased settlement class members need to be determined.  
    • List of Settlement Class Members with No Known Address
    • List of Settlement Class Member Estates with No Known Heirs or Addresses
  • Geographically, the sections in which Settlement Class Minerals exist are dispersed in eastern Laramie County as shown in the shaded sections areas on this map though it may be the case that only a portion of any given sections may hold Settlement Class Minerals.
Am I a Class Member?
You are a member of the Class if you owned or had an ownership interest in Class Minerals during the Class Period in, on, and under the lands having Class Minerals as defined below.

Class Minerals are defined as:

  • Oil and gas minerals, as shown by the public records of the Clerk and Recorder of Laramie County, Wyoming, that were: (a) not  under an oil and gas lease to drill and operate wells during the Class Period; (b) were located in the Niobrara and/or Codell geologic formations in Laramie County, Wyoming, east of the eastern boundary of Range 67W having oil and gas pools that could be reasonably produced as demonstrated by the industry’s filing of drilling and spacing applications or applications for drilling permits in at least 50% of the sections in the relevant township; and (c) located either:
    • Within a section that had a 30% royalty Intracompany Lease covering at least 50% of the oil and gas minerals, provided the Intracompany Lease or memorandum of the Intracompany Lease was filed in the Laramie County public records disclosing the royalty rate, or
    • In a section (or a part thereof) immediately bounded to the north, south, or both by a section in which the Anadarko Defendants had a 30% royalty Intracompany Lease as set forth in the subparagraph above.

Class Period is defined as the time between November 1, 2017 and continuing through October 19, 2020.

You are not a member of the Class if you are an owner who:

  • Is one of the Anadarko Defendants;
  • Is an officer, director, or employee of one of the Anadarko Defendants;
  • Is an entity in which one of the Anadarko Defendants has a controlling interest or is an affiliate;
  • Is an entity controlled by a buyer of Anadarko Defendants' leases or minerals, including Cowboy Land LLC, Sweetwater Trona HoldCo LLC, and any other affiliate of Orion Mine Finance Group;
  • Has given a valid release concerning the claims asserted in this lawsuit;
  • Was a lessee of Class Minerals during the Class Period; or
  • Is an affiliate of the Court.
What Are My Options if I Am a Class Member?
Class members may participate in the Class, opt out of Class, or object to the Settlement.
Participate in the Class and Get an Automatic Distribution
Eligible class members who received a notice in the mail will receive an automatic distribution from the settlement, unless they opt out of the class. The automatic distribution will be made by check, mailed from the Settlement Distribution Agent (Converse County Bank in Douglas, Wyoming). Contact us if you think you are a class member but did not get a mailing.
Object to the Settlement
Write to the Court and tell the judge why you do not like the settlement. Review section VII(c) of the Long Form Notice for details. The deadline to object to the settlement is May 15, 2025.
Opt Out of the Class
If you want to keep your rights to sue Anadarko on your own over claims in this case, you need to exclude yourself. If you exclude yourself, you cannot get benefits from this lawsuit. See Section VII(B) of the Long Form Notice for details. The deadline to exclude yourself is May 6, 2025.
Long Form Notice