Hi Kathleen,
My experience comes as a rancher/landowner in Wyoming. Wyoming law is probably not the same as Texas law, but I’ll take a shot at an explanation. The legal standing of the mineral estate being dominant over the surface estate only goes so far as to surface activities that are necessary to produce the minerals. If the minerals have been produced out, the well bore is abandoned (either plugged or converted to a disposal well) and the lease may or may not (depending on lease language/pugh clause) be released. If the equipment is not being used to produce your minerals, you probably don’t have a claim to the surface activities. If you re-lease to another company, that company would probably have to drill a new well rather than use the old well bore.