May a well be drilled on a 10-acre tract if only the owner of the surface and minerals enters into a lease? Is there a minimum number of acres that must be leased in order to allow drilling? The land is in Texas.
There are certainly fields that have 10-acre spacing in Texas. Statewide spacing is 40 acres. There are exceptions to the statewide spacing regulations which require Railroad Commission approval.
If the 10 acres is surrounded by hundreds of acres of mineral rights held by another person, as a practical matter, can the small tract owner do anything to realize any value from his mineral interest? Can the large landowner just ignore the small tract?
Buddy Cotten said:
There are certainly fields that have 10-acre spacing in Texas. Statewide spacing is 40 acres. There are exceptions to the statewide spacing regulations which require Railroad Commission approval.
Buddy Cotten www.cottenoilproperties.com