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Gas & Oil Title Research
Gas & Oil Title Research: Helping You Discover and Organize What You Own
Many mineral owners reach out to us with a simple question, which turns out to be anything but simple:
“I think I own oil and gas rights—but I’m not sure where, or even how to find out.”
Believe it or not, this situation is extremely common. Oil and gas interests are often inherited, reserved decades ago, or passed down without clear records. Over time, ownership becomes fragmented, paperwork disappears, and families lose track of what they own.
We help bring clarity to that uncertainty through oil and gas title research conducted at the county courthouse level. Our work focuses on identifying potential mineral interests and presenting the results in a clear, usable format.
Why Oil and Gas Ownership Is Often Unclear
Oil and gas rights frequently become disconnected from everyday awareness. We commonly see this when:
- An ancestor reserved oil and gas rights when selling the surface long ago
- Interests were inherited under residuary clauses or intestate succession
- Ownership spans multiple tracts or counties
- Family records were incomplete, informal, or never kept
The good news is that these records are usually documented at the county courthouse, which maintains the official land records. It simply takes experience to locate the right documents and connect them into a coherent picture.
What Our Oil and Gas Title Research Focuses On
Our oil and gas title research is designed to answer one core question:
Based on the public record, where do you own oil and gas rights?
To answer that, we conduct targeted courthouse research aimed at identifying and organizing potential ownership interests.
Our Research Typically Includes:
- Reviewing deed/lease books and grantor/grantee indexes at the county courthouse
- Identifying oil and gas reservations, conveyances, and fractional interests
- Linking recorded documents to known family members or prior owners
- Helping trace how interests have carried forward over time
- Highlighting properties that may be available for leasing
- Identifying potential claims for unpaid royalties
Rather than leaving clients with assumptions or guesswork, our work is grounded in publicly recorded documents.
Turning Courthouse Records into Clear, Useful Information
Courthouse records are rarely intuitive, especially when they span decades and generations. Our role is to help translate those records into materials that mineral owners can actually understand and use.
What Clients Receive
- A preliminary oil and gas title research report summarizing what was found
- References to the specific recorded documents supporting each finding
- GIS-based maps that show:
- Property locations
- Surface parcels tied to identified interests
- The geographic context of your potential oil and gas holdings
- Nearby oil and gas wells and information about recent drilling activity
- Clear identification of areas that warrant closer examination
A Practical First Step Before Deeper Review
Many clients use oil and gas title research as an initial step. Once potential interests are identified and organized, the path forward becomes much clearer.
Depending on your goals, follow-on work may include:
- Incorporating the findings into a broader mineral management strategy — leasing opportunities, estate planning, etc.
- Engaging an oil and gas attorney for a formal title opinion supported by the research already completed
- Evaluating whether wells or production units overlap your acreage
- Reviewing royalty payments tied to identified properties
Because the groundwork is already done, any additional work is much more focused and efficient.
A Scenario We See Often
A mineral owner knows their grandparents sold the family farm decades ago but “kept the gas rights.” No royalties have ever been paid to the family, and no documentation is readily available.
Through courthouse-based oil and gas title research, we locate multiple deeds confirming oil and gas reservations tied to the family. Mapping the reservations reveals that some of the tracts are in areas where multiple oil and gas companies are actively drilling. The mineral owner is now prepared to negotiate much better lease terms. What began as uncertainty becomes documented, actionable information.
Bringing Order to Complex Ownership Histories
Oil and gas ownership does not have to remain a mystery. With thoughtful courthouse research, clear reporting, and professional mapping, long-forgotten interests can often be identified and organized.
If you believe you may own oil and gas rights—or simply want a clearer understanding of what the public record shows—we can help you take that first, meaningful step.
Oil and gas title research is often where clarity begins.
