Land service
Mineral title research
Mineral title research finds who owns the oil and gas minerals under a tract and what's been reserved, leased or passed on since the first grant.
Reservations and fractions
Mineral title turns on small words. A reservation in a deed from decades ago, a fraction handed down through three estates, a royalty split off from the minerals. Modern software, AI included, reads and sorts the deeds and flags where an interest changes. Then a person reads those instruments, and writes up the ownership. A tract with a long or tangled chain can have several landmen from our network on it at once.
What it covers
- Mineral ownership. The owners of the mineral estate and the fraction each one holds, built from the instruments of record.
- Reservations and severances. Where minerals were kept back or sold apart from the surface, with the exact words quoted.
- Royalty and lease status. Which leases are of record, who signed them, and whether the term has run.
- Inheritance. How an interest passed after a death, from probate files, decrees and recorded affidavits.
- Ownership reports. A short summary table by owner and interest, tied back to the runsheet rows it came from.
Mineral title and surface title
The surface and the minerals under it can have different owners, and a search for one doesn't always answer the other. We settle at the start which estate you need and how far back to go. If the minerals have been split into fractions over the years, we show the math for your attorney to check.
What to send
- County, state and legal description
- Whether you need the minerals, the surface or both
- How far back, or the starting point your attorney wants
- Any earlier ownership report or lease list
- The date you need it
What you get
- A mineral ownership report by owner and interest
- The runsheet and images behind each line
- A list of reservations, missing probates and other items that need an attorney's attention
What we do not do
- A mineral ownership report is not a title opinion. Your attorney decides who owns what as a matter of law.
- We do not insure title or guarantee what the record holds.
Related
Send a scope for mineral title research
Send the county, the legal description and the date you need the ownership report. If the minerals were split off long ago, or an owner never had a probate, mention it. You'll get a scope and a quote. Write to jc@sectionlineland.com.