I have received so much help here regarding my mineral rights I decided to reach out to the land owners sorry if the wrong place but not sure where to ask! I have a cousin who owns land but not minerals on land that they are currently drilling on. This land is undivided. Last year he received money for pipeline & was told there would be more money in the future. How does he find out if the land is worth holding onto? The taxes are quite high there are no exemptions.
Owning the surface without any minerals is not a good situation. Generally, the mineral owner (oil company) has the right to reasonable use as much surface as necessary to produce the minerals. Your cousin is receiving "surface damage" payments from the oil company for use of the surface for well sites, pipelines, etc. What is the current use of the surface by your cousin? Farming, ranching? Owning the surface without any mineral ownership is not as valuable as having at least some of the minerals. A local realtor/broker may be able to give you an indication of what the surface is worth. Is the current well a vertical or horizontal well? Drilling a horizontal well without his permission may be illegal. If this is the case, you should seek legal advice.
Thank you! The land actually is undivided within my family. His step sister sold their mineral rights without his knowledge when she had POA...legal just not ethical :( All they have left is the surface rights the rest of us have surface &mineral. He’s trying to figure out if he should sell & if so, why would someone be interested in undivided surface rights? We do have horizontal wells.