In Tarrant County, Surface Rights and Mineral Rights Can Be Separate

Texas law lets mineral rights be split from surface rights. In other words, the land you stand on and the oil and gas below it can have different owners. If a previous owner sold the minerals, a gas company may have the legal right to drill on your land even after you buy it. Read your title carefully and ask your attorney to do a mineral rights search before closing.

The Tarrant County Law Library has a Mineral Rights Research Guide to help you search ownership records. The Tarrant Appraisal District (TAD) also tracks mineral interests as taxable property and maintains maps of gas units. Contact TAD directly at tad.org to find out more about mineral records for a property.