Oil and Gas company approached my family asking to do a survey prior to leasing a Surface Agreement and PL ROW. There hasn’t been an lease in over 32 years and I asked who owned the mineral rights. They said they have not done the title search. I feel this is not true. Isn’t required that they must completee this step first before approaching the landowners? I later found out that they purchase the mineral rights behind my property for 1.3 millions on a 39 acres. My family acreage is over 80. What are your thoughts about this?
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Welcome to the forum.
They do not have to know all the mineral owners before doing a survey as the survey affects the surface owner depending upon how they shoot it. Frequently a survey is done by a contracted seismic company before any leasing is done. Title searches are very expensive, so operators do not do them unless they are interested in leases (because they found something enticing on the seismic survey). In some states, they only need the surface owner to agree to the survey and perhaps 1 acre of mineral rights to agree. If you own the surface and the minerals, then you can agree on both levels. If you only own the surface, then they need your agreement for that level.
We had a shoot over our property and were able to get a nice road around our pond because they had to put geophones in a line by it. They had to whack through a bunch of brush to get to the location, so we agreed on a nice deal for the destruction. They pick up the geophones afterwards. Good idea to get an attorney to look at the contract, especially if you have crops or other potential short term damage.
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ptyler74
From what you said about asking the O&G company that contacted who owns the mineral rights on your property, I’m assuming you only own the surface interest. If that’s right, the folks who contacted you only need your agreement on making a seismic survey there, or other surveying involving only the surface, and if they are wanting to obtain an easement for a pipeline right of way. Any potential O&G leasing would involve only the owner of the mineral interest. The price that the mineral rights on that adjoining 39 acres sold for would also only have potential meaning to the owner of the mineral interest in your tract. If you don’t know who currently holds the mineral interest under your land it might be good to find out.
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AI is not a reliable source for legal information. It puts together bits of information for a partial picture. So what you found is partly true. You need a detailed written proposal from the oil company and more information. You may or may not be able to refuse the use of your surface for operations or a pipeline, depending on factors such as whether the minerals are under lease and included in the planned well or whether the company can use eminent domain power for the pipeline. Also, the right-of-way agent will likely only know about surface ownership because that is the party who will be negotiating and signing the surface use agreement.
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The seismic survey may be shot years to months before the operator considers leasing. They use the seismic information to help them determine if they are even interested in the area. Some operators might do a mineral owner title search at that time, but pretty unlikely due to the cost. It is expensive to do a title search so it is usually done at the time of the leasing to drill.
Some people think that if they pay the property tax in Texas for 5 year’s that the property is theirs! I’ve seen this many times over the year’s. A tract of land with possible multiple owners in the estate that has never been legally settled have to realize that “sooner or later” they need to do it. There are some “hard headed” people out there.
Since I am a geologist and usually answering pending drilling questions, I may have wrongly assumed you were talking about a seismic survey. After re-reading your question, you may be referring to a surface land survey which is different. If the second is the question, then ask the company for a certified copy of the new land survey using modern techniques. The mineral rights owners would also want it and should ask for a copy or may have to pay for it. If there is a river or stream that has moved, that could affect not only your surface, but also their minerals. Our family has both lost acreage and gained acreage depending upon the new survey results. Put the copy of the new survey in your files.
A lot of times when a tract of land in, say East Texas has not been surveyed in maybe 100 year’s or so, the old original surveys were done without the use of GPS. When resurveyed using new methods most of the time the acreage is very different. Most of the time it turns out to be more acreage. When family estates have not been “settled” in over, say 100 year’s, there are many heirs. Usually the older heirs think that it is theirs! Title is Title, not what they want or think. They lie, make mistakes, self appoint themselves as admininstrators and so on. I would advise your family to try and create a true and correct family tree asp. If the company wants to survey the land get a legal agreement that you and your family must be furnished with a Certified Filed Mark Copy of the Survey within 30 days of its completion at NO COST in Writing along with the plat to you. Make sure they agree to file it in the County where the property in located in that County within the 30 Days. Good Luck!
Thanks for the advice!
I appreciate your advice.
If they did not, at that time, done a “title search” then how did they locate You? Before they could buy the property and receive total ownership of it they would need to “buy out or pay” each and every legal owner. There are other legal ways to do it but it is very time consuming and very expensive to go through the court system in Texas.