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How do mineral rights differ from surface rights?

On Behalf of | Mar 28, 2023 | Gas And Mineral Law, Oil

Mineral rights in Texas are the rights of an individual to any oil, gas, mineral and resource deposit below the surface of a certain estate or property. The surface is the real property or visible estate where one would usually build housing or commercial establishments. Surface rights give the owner the right to use or access the surface of the land, but that does not necessarily include the minerals beneath.

A property owner may have both mineral and surface rights, but one can also decide to sever the rights, which makes matters entirely more complicated. When this happens, the owner can use, lease or sell them separately. The state puts a premium on a person’s mineral rights.

Mineral rights are the priority

The reason behind prioritizing mineral rights is that it allows land development and expansion. As a result, there will be more job opportunities and profitable ventures for the people of the state. Mineral rights will enable a person to access and utilize the surface property. These rights include the following:

  • Use the surface area as an operation site
  • Conduct seismic testing on the surface to determine the location of oil and gas reserves
  • Drill, excavate and establish production well sites to extract the minerals
  • Build roads, but also maintain and use them during ongoing operations
  • Create injection wells and use them to dispose of waste from production and operations

As a current or potential landowner, you may need legal help to determine if the deed or title to the property includes full or partial mineral rights. The severance of the surface and mineral estate could have happened years ago.

Mineral rights are not always straightforward

A current landowner may sell or lease mineral rights separately to different parties without the knowledge of the potential landowner. An oil company could have rights to the oil, while a gas company has rights to the gas. The mineral rights owner can also lease these rights to another company for extraction while maintaining ownership or mineral interest.

Mineral law has so many aspects that can benefit property owners. Surface owners may also receive payment for using their land for operations. Maximize the use of your property through detailed investigation and research.