SM Energy Co

As of December 31, 2023, over 97 percent of our operated oil and gas producing assets are located on private lands, are held pursuant to oil and gas leases from private mineral owners, and are not located on federal lands or leased from the federal government. The remainder of our operated oil and gas producing assets are located on Texas state lands. We have obtained title opinions or have conducted other title review on substantially all of our producing properties and believe we have satisfactory title to such properties. We obtain new or updated title opinions prior to commencing initial drilling operations on the properties that we operate. Most of our producing properties are subject to mortgages securing indebtedness under our Credit Agreement, as defined in Note 5 – Long-Term Debt in Part II, Item 8 of this report, royalty and overriding royalty interests, liens for current taxes, and other ordinary course burdens that we believe do not materially interfere with the development of such properties. We typically perform title investigations in accordance with standards generally accepted in the oil and gas industry before acquiring developed and undeveloped leasehold acreage.