If mineral owners can’t be found, are their funds escrowed with the Secretary of State in Texas?
Ultimately, yes; but, first: usually a receivership cause of action is filed in District Court of the venue of the property to be leased… a court-issued lease is attained on behalf of the absentee owners and the receiver is appointed to collect/escrow the bonus/rental/royalty funds until and if the owners come forward to prove themselves. Then every 7 years the collected funds are forwarded to the Unclaimed Property Division of the Secretary of State. Alternatively, in the case of very small interests in a drill-site tract, the lessee/operator may elect to voluntarily escrow the proceeds due the mineral owner as a non-consent drilling partner. This is perhaps as often a solution when the court costs may exceed the value of “carrying” the non-consent/absentee owner. In today’s culture of online search engines, etc., it’s difficult for me to accept that one cannot be found, or at least a credible trace of their being… there are people that specialize in this and are incredibly efficient.