Selected Surface Issues

There are several issues that may arise under Texas law regarding the use of the surface by an operator. This edition of Practice Notes discusses several of them, but as usual, note that the matters that follow are based on certain assumptions, most of which involve the precise wording of the oil and gas lease…

The Use of Water by Mineral Lessees

If there has been a severance of the surface estate and the mineral estate, and there has been no express statement regarding which estate is to own the water which may be produced from the lands, the Texas Supreme Court has held that water underlying the surface is owned by the owner of the surface…