Utopia take 2

[Doofy]

Do I have this straight...you can own a piece of property, but if someone else owns the mineral rights they can just come right in and start mining on YOUR land? That would suck.

Not exactly sure how this actually works since I don't live there or own any physical land there. The actual land is some School Trust land that I just happen to own the mineral rights on. This is in the Permian Basin and was a really a hot prospect before the bottom fell out of the oil market.

 

[two_bit_score]

Very well stated. Yes, be sure you know what you may be purchasing. I have some mineral rights in West Texas and the oil companies are always throwing money at me to do exploration. Mineral Rights are one thing most people wouldn't want to relinquish, ever.

Often a listing will say something like: seller will convey One half of minerals owned.

And they only own an 1/8 interest.

 

[two_bit_score]

Not exactly sure how this actually works since I don't live there or own any physical land there. The actual land is some School Trust land that I just happen to own the mineral rights on. This is in the Permian Basin and was a really a hot prospect before the bottom fell out of the oil market.

It’s boom or bust over and over and over in the Permian.

 

[two_bit_score]

Do I have this straight...you can own a piece of property, but if someone else owns the mineral rights they can just come right in and start mining on YOUR land? That would suck.

I am not an expert but I’ve been around it a little.

It’s not exactly that way. The mineral estate is superior to the surface estate, true. But the surface owner has some rights. Inferior rights but some. They are entitled to damages.

 

[two_bit_score]

We had a client for a while who bought land without mineral rights... we weren't even supposed to take gravel to fix the roads. Water rights are something we take for granted in New England, and is why Nestle is able to extract billions of gallons of water to sell, without paying a penny for the right to do so.

Conservation easements are a big thing in the northern tier on New England. All they are is somebody buying the development rights so that nobody can build on the land they own.

Almost all leases now define minerals as Oil, gas and other hydrocarbons to distinguish from surface gravel.

 

[Doofy]

I kind of miss that area since I've been gone almost 60 years. All that is left are memories and tombstones.

 

[two_bit_score]

I kind of miss that area since I've been gone almost 60 years. All that is left are memories and tombstones.

In many ways it probably hasn’t changed.

 

[Doofy]

In many ways it probably hasn’t changed.

Dropped by in 1996 and hardly anything had changed. Population was about the same too. I remember as a kid that to take a 30 mile trip to see grandma or the cousins had to be planned at least a week or so in advance. Life there was just different. People seemed to be stuck in a time warp and were afraid of any change. Still have a cousin or two living in or around Odessa.

 

[bunyip]

Here you only own the surface of the land, about 15 or 50', anyone can come in and mine unless it is owned by government (of course).
Reality is that it doesn't happen that easily but fracking is causing some concerns near us.

 

[Jstpssng]

Here you only own the surface of the land, about 15 or 50', anyone can come in and mine unless it is owned by government (of course).
Reality is that it doesn't happen that easily but fracking is causing some concerns near us.

What they don't realize is that the water table they are risking is more valuable than the oil they are extracting.