Sometimes, landowners no longer need their land but find profit potential from the minerals beneath the property. Fortunately, they can sell their land and retain mineral rights. This way, they can continue exploring and making most of the minerals under the ground....
Gas And Mineral Law
How do mineral rights differ from surface rights?
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...
What does it mean to “lease” mineral rights?
If you own property that is rich in desired minerals — meaning oil, natural gas and coal — then you may consider selling your land to an oil or gas company. Before you forfeit your rights to your property entirely, consider, first, the idea of leasing it. A mineral...
The basics of selling mineral rights
A property owner in Texas who holds title to mineral rights may at some point want to sell or lease these rights to an oil and gas company. Market conditions change from month to month, so property owners should know the value of their holdings and some of the legal...
How may an oil and gas lease transfer to another party?
The Texas Natural Resources Code allows parties to transfer or relinquish their oil and gas lease agreements. As noted on the Texas Constitution and Statutes website, the transferee must take over the terms and obligations of the lease. A transferee takes...
RRC exceptions allegedly lead to theft of unleased minerals
Mineral rights represent a niche set of Texas law, but anyone with oil, gas or minerals on his or her property may want to know about them. Companies may offer property owners money to lease them. If you choose not to lease them, a state rule may help them find a way...
When may I file a mineral lien against an oil and gas company?
Contract or subcontracting work performed for an oil and gas company entitles you to collect payment for the labor and services you provided. As noted by the State of Texas Property Code, if a company fails to pay for your services six months after submitting an...
The profitability of mineral rights depends on the lease
People across the country recognize that Texas is a land rich oil and natural gas. Landowners in Texas can make a lot of money by entering oil and gas leases with a company that wants to extract these resources from the landowner’s ground. The oil and gas lease is a...
Abandoned wells and setback rules in Texas
After a gas or oil company drills a well in Texas, some of those wells decrease in production to the point they aren’t profitable. Some of these wells can be repurposed to enhance oil recovery in other wells nearby, but others may be abandoned and plugged by the oil...
What is the difference between mineral rights and surface rights in Texas?
There are property owners in Texas who may not know that there are two types of land ownership they may possess. There are many properties in Texas that may contain mineral rights as well as surface rights. Knowing the difference between these types of rights can be...