For most of the country, prospective property owners are usually concerned with square footage, acreage, bathrooms, bedrooms, and quality school systems. In Texas, however, there is something else landowners need to think about — is there any oil or other minerals on my property that I should know about?
If you are a Texas homeowner or rancher, you should know about any natural resources and other minerals on your property and your rights to them. A clear understanding of these rights will help you to avoid future conflicts or disputes. The following are Texas mineral rights basics that you should be aware of.
Mineral rights are property rights the holder has for exploiting an area for its minerals. These rights can be distinct from property ownership and can refer to sedentary minerals that do not move below the Earth’s surface or fluid minerals, such as natural gas or oil.
Mineral rights are the rights to minerals and natural resources under the surface of a piece of property. Usually, the surface estate owner owns the mineral rights under the property. However, under Texas law, those rights can be sold or leased to another party. Therefore, it is essential to clarify who has the rights to the minerals below the surface. It can be done with a legally binding oil & gas lease agreement.
When establishing who has the mineral rights of a property, it may be a good idea to consult with a lawyer specializing in mineral rights and natural resources law. The mineral rights sold with the property must be owned by the person selling the surface estate. That person must own those rights outright to transfer them with the sale of the surface estate.
The difference between the mineral estate and the surface estate seems simple in theory, but understanding what it means in practice is crucial to understanding your mineral rights.
Under Texas law, a mineral estate and a surface estate are separate legal interests in the land. So, one party can own the surface estate, and another can own the mineral estate underneath the ground.
Mineral estate refers to all oil, gas, and other minerals in or under a property. It also includes royalties under any existing or future lease covering any part of a property, surface rights — including rights of egress and ingress — drilling and production rights, lease payments, and all related benefits.
Since the mineral estate includes any minerals within the land, under the surface, the owner is the only one with rights to any minerals there. When not explicitly retained, mineral estates typically pass to the surface estate owner in a sale.
If so, an owner of the mineral estate can choose to lease their rights to companies that extract minerals from below the surface. Sometimes, removing the minerals will require access to the surface estate.
Surface estate refers to the land visible at the surface of the property. This means simply that the surface estate owner has the right to use and access the land's surface.
Therefore, the mineral owner has no rights to the land on the property's surface, and the surface owner has no rights to the minerals beneath the property. A landowner can sell the surface estate to someone else but keep the mineral estate. If the mineral estate needs to be clearly and specifically reserved, it will pass to the buyer when the property is sold.
Do you own the mineral rights on your property? When a person asks this question, the answer is often not easy to find. However, do not assume that you automatically buy mineral rights when you purchase a property.
Even when mineral rights are included in a sale, they might have needed to have been correctly conveyed to the seller in the first place. A previous owner could have held back the transfer of a parcel’s mineral rights, and the deed could fail to include this information.
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for deeds to contain incorrect information or to leave out information altogether. Adding to the complexity of this issue is the federal General Mining Law, which allows mineral rights to be sold separately to individuals or corporations.
Apparently, the law was enacted hoping to encourage settlers to move out west in the late 1800s. The law is still in effect. In Texas today, it is common to have a situation where a previous surface owner reserved the mineral rights in an earlier sale of the property.
Going through the county records can be brutal if you aren’t experienced in property research. The land records in Texas are not easy to navigate, especially for land located farther out in the backcountry. Texas has “grantor/grantee” indexes that a person must review to find the correct deed. Once the person finds one correct deed, they have to return to the index to find the next correct deed — and so on. Each deed must be reviewed to see the exact rights granted.
To be certain of your rights, you must carefully research historical deeds and property records. The process can be complicated and overwhelming, so hiring someone who knows the public land records system well is probably wise. This person can then “run the title” and determine who actually owns the mineral rights to your land.
Generally, mineral rights are granted when a property is sold unless they are specifically not included in the property’s chain of title. The chain of title is a document that records the history of a property’s transfers. This history includes the current owner all the way back to the original owner of the property.
For those who are wondering how to get mineral rights to your property, this is a matter that should be taken very seriously. Figuring out Texas mineral rights when it comes to land ownership can be an extremely complicated endeavor. Hiring an experienced legal professional can be beneficial.
Owning your land’s mineral rights and gas mineral rights could potentially be very lucrative for you and your family. Having control over minerals and oil and gas on your property can provide many financing options, including:
Leasing the minerals rights and earning royalties;
Selling all or a portion of the minerals rights;
Participating in the development of the minerals;
Royalty deeds; and
Bonus payments.
Bonus payments are one-time payments made to the mineral rights owner when an oil and gas lease is signed with a gas company. Royalty deeds give the holder of the deed the right to receive a percentage of the profits from the sale of minerals when they are actually extracted and produced.
Before you explore these options, consider consulting with an experienced oil and gas attorney to find out the value of your mineral rights. Not surprisingly, mineral rights valuation can be a complicated procedure. The value can depend on:
Where the property is located;
The kind of minerals under the surface;
How easy the property is to access; and
How close the property is to other resources.
If you sell or lease the mineral rights to your property, make sure the contract addresses the way the resources can be accessed and how much disruption to the surface estate will be allowed.
An accommodation doctrine can apply in these situations. This doctrine allows the mineral estate owner to use the surface estate to the extent that is reasonably necessary for the exploration, development, and production of the minerals beneath the surface.
The contract should also state who will pay for any additional or unexpected surface damage while digging for any potential mineral resources. It is important to also make sure that you are aware of the extraction process and that you research the companies you are working with to make sure they are worth doing business with.
Get a ready oil and gas release form to craft an agreement in a few clicks
For Texas landowners, owning your property's mineral rights can be very lucrative. However, establishing whether you have mineral rights can be a complicated and time-consuming process. Consult only reliable resources to get legal advice and obtain templates of documents crafted by professional lawyers working with Texas lease agreements.
To ensure that your rights are clear and uncontested, consult with an attorney experienced in helping clients avoid unnecessary conflict and disputes regarding their property rights.
Ilona Riznyk is a Product Content Manager at Lawrina. In her role, she creates and manages various types of content across the website, ranging from blog articles to user guides. Ilona's expertise lies in meticulous fact-checking, ensuring all the published content is accurate and reliable.
Verifying mineral rights ownership in Texas involves several steps. It typically requires a title search to trace the property's ownership history, potentially back to the land's original grant.
Many people use an attorney or a title company for this, especially as it can involve examining courthouse records and legal documents. Additionally, the Texas General Land Office provides online resources for researching mineral rights ownership.
In Texas, land ownership does not necessarily mean you own the mineral rights. Often, the mineral rights have been sold or leased to other parties, and these can be separated from the surface rights. It's essential to check the property deed to ascertain if you also own the mineral rights.
Yes, in Texas, as in many other states, a land owner can sell the mineral rights independently of the land itself; this is known as severing the mineral rights. Once severed, the mineral rights can be sold, transferred, or leased separately from the surface rights. This is common in areas with a high level of oil or gas exploration.
Acquiring land in Texas does not automatically include mineral rights. The seller of the land may choose to retain the mineral rights, and if that is the case, this should be specified in the sales contract.
Before you buy land, it's crucial to ask if the mineral rights will be included and ensure that this is clearly stated in the sale contract. As mineral rights can be a significant asset, it's recommended to always verify what rights are included in a land purchase.