Basic Mineral Rights Laws in Texas, Oklahoma, and North Dakota

As our business interests relate to mineral rights, we focus on several key areas of the United States, including Texas, Oklahoma, and North Dakota, among other states. Those regions are rich with minerals, which is why we’re interested in them.

A Brief History Lesson

Being a mineral rights broker, we have a strong interest in Texas, Oklahoma, and North Dakota because they’re hotbeds of activity, and have been for generations. Mineral rights in The Lone Star State date back to the time when the state existed under Spanish and Mexican rule. Those rights are included in the state’s constitutions, which stem from the years 1869 and 1876.

A full two-thirds of the counties in The Lone Star State produce oil or gas for mineral rights owners. The state’s first oil well was established in Beaumont, TX way back in 1901.

Oklahoma is home to some of the most resource-rich ground in America. In 1927, the state was the world’s largest oil producing area. Today, Oklahoma is the nation’s fifth largest producer of crude oil, and it’s responsible for about eight percent of the country’s natural gas production. The first oil well in Oklahoma was built in 1897 and it was called the Nellie Johnstone.

Oil wasn’t discovered in North Dakota until 1951. The discovery didn’t garner much attention until the Bakken Shale formation was found. That formation occupies more than 24,000 square miles. Despite that discovery, most of the state’s mineral rights owners are farmers rather than corporations.

Getting to the Heart of the Matter

Explaining the laws governing mineral rights in different states is a bit more difficult because those laws vary by state. Although that’s the case, some laws remain the same across state lines.

For example, Texas, Oklahoma, and North Dakota all agree that mineral rights and surface rights differ from one another. They also agree that mineral rights can be sold or leased in part or in full. There’s agreement that surface rights and mineral rights can be tied together or dealt with separately as well. To learn more about the basic mineral rights laws in TX, OK, or ND, we encourage you to contact our mineral rights brokerage.

Are you ready to sell your mineral rights? If so, you won’t have to look beyond Enfield Minerals for a broker you can trust. Reach out to our team today.