What the record can show
- When the minerals were severed, and what the severance deed said about use of the surface.
- Surface terms in the lease: setbacks, notices and payments for damages.
- Recorded surface use agreements, or memoranda of them.
- Pipeline and road easements across the tract.
- Well locations and dates from state records, and the surface ownership history from the deed records and the appraisal district.
Documents that matter
- Severance deeds, leases, surface use agreements and easements.
- State well permits with their location plats.
- Appraisal district records for the surface.
- Aerial photographs over time.
- Any recorded release of damages.
How a landman's work helps
- A timeline of ownership and development on the tract.
- A map of facilities set against the grants and the lease's limits.
- A list of payments and releases of record.
- Exhibits for deposition and trial.
What to send
- The county and state, and the tract.
- The operator and the wells, roads or lines in question.
- The lease and any surface agreement you have.
- The parties, for a conflicts check.
We are landmen, not attorneys. This page describes the land record in general terms. It is not legal advice, and every matter turns on its own instruments.