Let’s talk mineral and surface rights

[offthemap]

Nope. I can drill a personal well. Made sure that would be in writing.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Hmmm... this could present problems from a title standpoint as well. What county is the land situated in? Out west in the Permian Basin where water rights are a premium or somewhere East of I35 where the water table is higher and easier to access?

If it were me, there's no way I would buy a tract of land without the water rights. Even if the seller signs an agreement with you that you can drill a well but that he retains the water rights, he could then potentially drill a water well on your property or otherwise tap into an aquifer under your tract of land later on.

[Txhuntr2]

There is some misinformation in this thread. Here is a quick rundown. The mineral estate is the dominate estate in Texas. Which generally means the mineral owner can enter and produce the minerals subject to the reasonable use doctrine and subject to other laws and railroad commission regulations. However, a mineral owner may choose to waive surface rights. That mineral owner can still produce the minerals under the subject property but not from the surface of the subject property if he has waived all surface rights. The producer may pool the property with other tracts into a unit and drill the well on another tract where surface rights were not waived. A horizontal well bore may also go under the subject property.

All of the this will be determined by/subject to the language in the legal instruments that created the rights and interests and subject to applicable law. Anyone wanting a more depth understanding should consult with a licensed attorney.

[jcamp]

Hmmm... this could present problems from a title standpoint as well. What county is the land situated in? Out west in the Permian Basin where water rights are a premium or somewhere East of I35 where the water table is higher and easier to access?



If it were me, there's no way I would buy a tract of land without the water rights. Even if the seller signs an agreement with you that you can drill a well but that he retains the water rights, he could then potentially drill a water well on your property or otherwise tap into an aquifer under your tract of land later on.

From my understanding he wants to be able to pool the water still in order to irrigate the land that he still would own nearby. I was told as long as he waives surface rights he could not drill a well on my land as the contract would state specially no drilling.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jcamp]

There is some misinformation in this thread. Here is a quick rundown. The mineral estate is the dominate estate in Texas. Which generally means the mineral owner can enter and produce the minerals subject to the reasonable use doctrine and subject to other laws and railroad commission regulations. However, a mineral owner may choose to waive surface rights. That mineral owner can still produce the minerals under the subject property but not from the surface of the subject property if he has waived all surface rights. The producer may pool the property with other tracts into a unit and drill the well on another tract where surface rights were not waived. A horizontal well bore may also go under the subject property.

All of the this will be determined by/subject to the language in the legal instruments that created the rights and interests and subject to applicable law. Anyone wanting a more depth understanding should consult with a licensed attorney.

This to a T is my understanding. And this is what i want.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[offthemap]

There is some misinformation in this thread. Here is a quick rundown. The mineral estate is the dominate estate in Texas. Which generally means the mineral owner can enter and produce the minerals subject to the reasonable use doctrine and subject to other laws and railroad commission regulations. However, a mineral owner may choose to waive surface rights. That mineral owner can still produce the minerals under the subject property but not from the surface of the subject property if he has waived all surface rights. The producer may pool the property with other tracts into a unit and drill the well on another tract where surface rights were not waived. A horizontal well bore may also go under the subject property.

All of the this will be determined by/subject to the language in the legal instruments that created the rights and interests and subject to applicable law. Anyone wanting a more depth understanding should consult with a licensed attorney.

Even if the seller waives all surface rights, there may be other mineral owners that still have their rights of ingress & egress still in tact. Therefore, if say Exxon has all of the other mineral owners leased (along with their associated rights of ingress & egress) Exxon would not be precluded from their right to develop their leased minerals.

For example, in the OP's situation if the seller only owns 5% of the minerals it would not prevent any one else that has the right (whether owned or leased) from being able to develop their minerals whether the owner of the surface has the ingress & egress to a portion of the minerals or not.

[offthemap]

From my understanding he wants to be able to pool the water still in order to irrigate the land that he still would own nearby. I was told as long as he waives surface rights he could not drill a well on my land as the contract would state specially no drilling.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That makes sense from a water standpoint. I need to keep my mouth shut when it comes water usage and stick to what I know which is oil and gas!

Good luck and I hope you get the deal done!

[Txhuntr2]

Even if the seller waives all surface rights, there may be other mineral owners that still have their rights of ingress & egress still in tact. Therefore, if say Exxon has all of the other mineral owners leased (along with their associated rights of ingress & egress) Exxon would not be precluded from their right to develop their leased minerals.

For example, in the OP's situation if the seller only owns 5% of the minerals it would not prevent any one else that has the right (whether owned or leased) from being able to develop their minerals whether the owner of the surface has the ingress & egress to a portion of the minerals or not.

Agreed. See post 12

[jcamp]

Yea I’m on the title search. That’s what I’ve told my agent. I want to who owns any part and that it’s not leased and that surface rights are waived


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jcamp]

Thanks for all the input


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Encinal]

That makes sense from a water standpoint. I need to keep my mouth shut when it comes water usage and stick to what I know which is oil and gas!

Good luck and I hope you get the deal done!

Right. Ground water is part of the surface estate, so it’s completely different.

[offthemap]

Right. Ground water is part of the surface estate, so it’s completely different.

[quarterback]

Keep in mind that he doesn't have to drill a water well on your property in order to completely deplete the aquifer. A well drilled on lands nearby could do the same depending on size and how much water they produce. That would basically cause your home use well not to produce enough water to serve your needs.

I personally would not buy property with water rights withheld unless it was stupid cheap.

[The Crippler]

Yikes. Send me a PM.

[35remington]

This is a complicated and extremely fact-specific subject. Proceed with caution on TBH.

[txwhitetail]

Yikes. Send me a PM.

Definitely PM this guy.