The CourthouseDirect.com Blog

What You Need to Know About Mineral Appraisals

When you own land in Texas, your “estate,” or property you own, is split into two - you have the surface estate and a mineral estate. Within municipalities, the local government typically owns the mineral estate, but out in the wide-open ...
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How to Use the Lease Alert Feature on CourthouseDirect

CourthouseDirect.com has a nifty tool called the Lease Alert, and it was developed by oil and gas landmen. Lease Alert helps you keep tabs on any oil and gas leasing activity in any Texas county. All you have to do is sign up. Lease Alert ...
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How to Perform a Lease Check

The first step in the process of bringing a tract of land from prospect to oil sales is the lease check. A lease check is a quick way of ensuring there are no obstacles to signing a lease on a tract, including problems with title and the ...
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What Does an Oil and Gas Attorney Do?

As the name implies, an oil and gas attorney specializes in the law as it pertains to the industry. Even so, it includes a wide range of legal topics, including property law, mineral rights, contract law, and environmental law. The gas and ...
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How CourthouseDirect.com Provides Value to Oil and Gas Professionals

CourthouseDirect.com is the premier resource for the oil and gas industry in Texas. Our website provides easy online document searches for real property records, grantor/grantee indexes, liens, and other documentation. We continue to build ...
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Division Orders: Protection from Double Liability

For operators and mineral rights owners, oil and gas leases are complicated at best. Adding to the Gordian knot of contractual obligations and regulations is a document called a division order. If not handled correctly, a division order ...
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Unpacking the Drill Site Runsheet

When it comes time to drill the well, the oil and gas company must be absolutely sure that it has every right to do so. There should be no surprise owners. There should be nobody waiting in the wings to grab part of the production that ...
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What Is a Production Sharing Agreement?

Of all the legal contracts in the oil and gas industry, one of the most significant is the production sharing agreement. It’s used as an instrument by all parties to realize a quick return on their investments and increase revenue as much ...
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How to Sell Your Property When You've Leased the Mineral Rights

You have a piece of land that has been pretty good to you. Maybe it was good pastureland or grew terrific crops. Plus, it came with a bonus - you got a lucrative mineral lease from an oil or gas company that developed a productive well. ...
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The Difference Between Pooling and Unitization

While pooling and unitization are often used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. Oil and gas operators (lessees) look for the most cost-effective way to get the most mineral out of the ground. Mineral owners (lessors) look for ...
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