Surface Rights Value

In McClain Co. how much can one expect to get for surface rights? Since surface rights don’t seem to generate any money from a well or in signing a lease I’d like to find out if I can sell the surface rights.

Surface rights can generate funds from a pad on location or pipeline right of way for oil or gas or water lines. Since I don’t have any, other folks will have to chime up as to the value of those. They will have their own surface lease which needs to be pretty tight to protect and remediate any environmental damage. The rest of your surface can be sold just like any other real estate for grazing, growing, living, commercial, etc. Market prices prevail.

Well the pad I believe is on my section and I didn’t get any extra money when I signed the lease last year.

Being on your tract is different from being on your Section. On your tract generates money, somewhere else doesn’t.

Don’t know what that is or means. But thanks anyway.

Land in Oklahoma was surveyed as governmental “Sections” comprised of a 640-acre square. If you own less than the full 640 acres in “your section,” the divided portion you own is commonly referred to as a “tract”, such as the NE/4 of Section 1, T6N R4W.

A good place to learn the terminology is:

Are you sure you own surface rights in the exact place where the well is located?

Think of it as a city block where you live and the entire block is the spacing unit the well produces from. Assume each owner owns the property “fee simple” which includes both surface and mineral rights. Only the person with the well in their back yard would get “surface damages” although all the owners on the block would share in the production of the oil.

If you own the surface rights, your lease agreed to allow them to use the surface. However they would still owe you surface damages on the property where the well is located.

Also, many times we see a new well go onto an existing pad. Unless someone was pretty experienced in their surface agreement no additional consideration would be due.

Sandra, can you provide more information on location of your surface rights?