Mineral rights are a blessing for landowners in the U.S. – the only country in the world that gives the ownership of minerals and resources extracted from a piece of land to the landowner. The scenario was, however, not same from the beginning. There were many disagreements in the early years, which led to the creation of laws to protect the rights of landowners. This blog post is an attempt to dig into the history of mineral rights ownership.
The Mexican Rule and Mineral Rights
The State of Texas was under the Mexican rule after 1836, and at that time, the government was the sole owner of land deposits. Texas adopted the English common law in 1840, which also covered the clause of ownership of deposits that were found under the surface of a property. It was soon after that adoption in which disputes over salt deposits were common as the salt was being transported to Mexico for sale.
Soil and Mineral Ownership in the 1800s
After more than two decades of dispute on the trading of salt, there was a war between Texas and Mexico. The Texas government took the possession of all the mineral rights for the protection of deposits but released the rights back to the landowners in 1867.
Federal Law for Protection of Mineral Rights of Landowners
Similar disputes on mineral rights surface in other areas of the U.S., which made it a necessity to frame a federal law. The first statute declaring the selling of mineral rights along with the land was first put into order in Texas in 1907. Then, other states soon followed the law, which is still very much in place throughout the United States.
Current Scenario
Every state follows the Federal law, thus the landowner has rights to the minerals and resources under the parcel of land. The property owners are, nowadays, leasing or selling their mineral rights to make money. Fig Tree Capital Ventures LLC partners with largest publically traded operators who already have agreements with the landowners to buy or take their property on lease for oil and gas extraction projects. We have our energy investment projects running in Oklahoma, Texas and North Dakota, which are generating profitable returns for investors. If you are looking for a direct investment opportunity in the energy sector, call (866) 300-2170 and one of our executives will guide you through the process. To learn more about mineral rights and energy investments, check out our blog.
