How to locate your mineral rights on a map (and research oil and gas wells)

If you are like most people who inherit mineral rights, you have no idea where to start looking for information.
You might have inherited it from a relative that kept poor records, or perhaps you didn’t even know you owned mineral interest until a landman contacted you, offering to lease your minerals.
Even if you inherited your mineral from a well-organized relative, it’s still new to you, and everyone has to start somewhere.
Let’s start by locating the legal description, which will help you find the property on a public GIS viewer. Once you’ve found your property, you can explore the wells in which you own interest as well as the oil and gas activity in the surrounding area. Finally, all of the information should be added to a mineral management spreadsheet.
You can read more about locating your mineral interest, find your state's GIS, and download the Free Mineral Management Spreadsheet at:
bluemesaminerals.com/locating...
Here is the Texas Railroad Commission's Public GIS Viewer that I used in this video:
gis.rrc.texas.gov/GISViewer/
For those who want to sell their mineral rights, request a quote at:
learn.bluemesaminerals.com/

[@vonnie4781]

My cousin sent your video to me and I’m so glad she did! You explained things so clear and concise, even I could understand! Thank you!

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

Thank you for the kind words. I'm glad the videos are helpful. Please let me know what else you would like to know about - I'm always looking for future video ideas.

[@SunnyRain0614]

I wanted to say, Thank you for making this video. You are very easy to follow, and you have an easy to listen to voice. I appreciate the knowledge. Ty, Janine Davis

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

Thank you!

[@MadeInTexas]

Thanks for sharing. Helps so much. Thanks again 👍🤠

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

You're welcome!

[@jasminepina9058]

Thank god for this video

[@axg275]

Awesome thank you great job thanks for the secrets

[@guiller2371]

Thanks; very useful information.

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MrLandualet]

Wow! You’re video have been truly awesome. I’m a beginner who’s trying learn. Basics of how to go purchase. My first mineral soon. I don’t have to many questions now. But soon I will 🙂. Thank you once again for this wisdom it’s preparing early.

[@MrLandualet]

Keep up the Great Work!

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

Thank you for your kind words. There is a steep learning curve with mineral rights - especially if you want to buy them. I highly recommend you read and research a lot before buying anything (and start really small so you can learn from your mistakes). Investing in oil and gas is extremely risky.

[@meestahmeestahlady]

Hi Raphael Have you found a good you tube on how to buy mineral rights? Thanks

[@abrahambendavid.7474]

Thank you 🙏

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

You’re welcome 😊

[@alexwhatley1190]

THANKS

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

You're welcome!

[@ervin1jp]

First of all, thank you for your informative video(s). Very helpful indeed. I’m a (newly inherited) mineral owner in Texas, and I’m trying to locate the tract of land that I inherited. So far I've been able to locate the Survey referenced in a previous lease on the Railroad Commission's GIS viewer, and get a more precise legal description by obtaining the partition deed wherein my Grandmother was the Grantee. But the description of the said tract is in metes and bounds, so I need to know what steps I need to take in order to locate that on the GIS viewer. I hope you can help me out with this. Thanks Thanks for anything you can help me with.

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

Unfortunately, you cannot look up metes and bounds on the GIS viewer. You may have to hire a landman to research it for you.

[@ervin1jp]

@@BlueMesaMinerals Thank you.

[@user-yk7vp2qw4h]

Thank you for your information...

[@toddboothbee1361]

Your instructive videos have been a great help to me, I believe. I'm curious about a couple things: My natural gas royalties come from wells in a single county in Texas. 1. I've been getting large offers per natural gas unit, ones that far exceed the monthly income at this time would indicate. 2. I notice several horizontal wells from 2006, are still active, and that there are a few permits, one for a horizontal well. 3. There are fresh horizontal drillings on properties surrounding and close to the wells that generate my royalties. What might be the cause of the high offers? Is there reason to believe that the operators of my interests will begin to horizontal drill as well, or would they have done so by now? And/or, might the offers be adjusted downward during the due diligence stage of the sale? (This is not quite bait-and-switch, I guess.) Though all these seem equally likely to me, I suspect that they are not. Now I wonder what due diligence generally entails. If you read through this hideous block of text, thank you!

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

Usually, when mineral owners get multiple unsolicited offers, there are new drilling permits or a rig onsite. A lot of mineral A&D companies are chasing drill bits and would like to buy the minerals before the wells start producing so they receive the initial revenue (and sometimes use the first checks to flip the minerals at an auction). You mentioned a new permit, which is potentially great news. If you are considering selling, you might want to get multiple offers and if your minerals are especially valuable, maybe consider hiring a landman to look over your minerals and give his or her opinion on the value. You also asked about bait-and-switch scenarios. That sometimes happens when a company sends an offer letter based on public data but when they run the title, they find that you don't own as much as they thought. They are probably not trying to dupe you, but I can't speak for everyone. I don't usually send letters, so I haven't run into this situation (yet). We base our offers on the mineral owner's royalty history rather than calculations using public data.

[@toddboothbee1361]

@@BlueMesaMinerals Thank you for your insights.

[@anthonyttime]

The video was super helpful! I need help with getting started my family has 110 acres in old ocean Texas that we are having trouble collecting royalties from.

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

Did you contact the operators to see what they need to clear the title?

[@toddboothbee1361]

This seems like an interesting way to make a living, and one I thought about pursuing when I inherited minerals--the returns can be very good compared to most investments. I realize one must have the same skills of a pro poker player or investor, and the right personality. I might not have these. (Emotional stability?) Thanks for this time saving video!

[@dannahblumenau2140]

I don't think you need pro-poker player skills (or any poker skills) to buy mineral rights - you just need deep knowledge about mineral rights, the ability to evaluate a property, and make an offer. Both the buyer and the seller need to walk away happy and that doesn't happen when you are trying to fool someone or take advantage of possible knowledge discrepancy. I often encourage mineral owners to seek multiple offers and if I know I can't make a competitive offer, I will often decline to make an offer.

[@toddboothbee1361]

@@dannahblumenau2140 Thanks. You're right. One of poker's main skills is bluffing. I'm glad selling and buying mineral rights don't require such skills. I had planned to take out that bit of my comment, but your good response makes me glad I hadn't. I have received a high offer for a producing property, had shown interest in selling for that price, only to receive a mineral royalty conveyance that included more lease names/ abstracts than what I wanted to sell, and was indeed worded in such a way as to cover all my royalty interests in that county. The generous offer seemed suddenly less so. And the sudden fatigue of having to deal with crooks washed over me. Nothing subtle there. I guess this is why one uses a lawyer now and again. Thanks for your patient answer.

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

@@toddboothbee1361 Yikes. I've heard that story a lot. They should have specifically told you the exact properties they wanted to purchase and told you about the catch-all language. I usually include language to buy all the interest in the county, but only when the mineral owner intends to sell everything and never wants to deal with this again (which is the vast majority of the cases for me). There are also cases where I buy only a portion of the interest or only specific properties. I've even had cases where the mineral owner only wanted to sell what was known to be owned at that time, so we didn't include the catch-all language. There have been cases where it was really good to have the catch-all language, which saved both parties the hassle of having to do another conveyance document (after a trust or estate closed).

[@heatherwithrow7816]

Sure hope I can get started in my search. Father passed away leaving me (his daughter) An undivided twenty acre mineral interest in and to the south half (S/2) of the Northeast Quarter (NE/4) of section eight (8), Township Three (3) North, Range Eight (8) West of the Indian Meridian, Grady County in Oklahoma. Plus another 20 acres of the North Half. How to I find out if these are active and producing? This was given to me in a Living Trust. Give me a link to search please, I'm clueless. Thanks in advance

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

It's okay! Everyone feels like they are drinking from a firehose at first. Oklahoma minerals are terribly difficult to research, though. I recommend creating a free account on WellDatabase or searching the OCC Map at datamining.occ.ok.gov/rbdmsweb_ok/OCCOGOnline.aspx. You might also try searching the legal descriptions here: otcportal.tax.ok.gov/gpx/gp_PublicSearchPUNbyLegal.php. Sometimes these links don't work after business hours - due to routine maintenance. I hope this helps! You can also explore the Mineral Rights Forum to connect with others who have minerals in your county.

[@martint.1955]

What does it mean when the map shows an industrial forklift on a property? Thanks

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

I'm not sure. There isn't enough information for me to help you with this. It's too bad you can't post a screen-shot in the comments.

[@eternalylost]

The Gia that you linked from this video is no longer available any reccomendations I’m looking specifically for tx

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

Thanks for pointing that out! I didn't realize the link changed (I google it every time). Here is the new link: gis.rrc.texas.gov/GISViewer/

[@pn3940]

when you buy a piece of land, that info is there when you do the papers right?

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

I'm not quite sure what you are asking. The legal description is on the deed which is filed with the county's land records.

[@SparkyGTSB]

can you search by well name if you don't have the legal description?

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

There may be a way to find it using the RRC's website, but I don't think you can search by well name in their interactive map. Try this: webapps2.rrc.texas.gov/EWA/specificLeaseQueryAction.do

[@bungalobill7941]

How do you get the legal description information? I own a well in Fisher County Texas.

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

You can find it on your mineral deed or oil and gas lease.

[@bungalobill7941]

@@BlueMesaMinerals Thanks.

[@tawannaflowers9514]

Just received a deed to 113.6 acreage of mineral rights my family inherited that my Uncle forgot about. Not sure what next steps would be please advise.

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

First - make sure the deed has been recorded with the county where the minerals are located. Next, you need to check to see who the "grantee" is on the deed. Hopefully, it is you, but if not, and the grantee is deceased, you may need to contact an attorney to transfer the interest to the heirs. If there are producing wells, and the minerals are in your name, you can contact the operator and request an ownership transfer. If there are no producing wells, but the deed is in your name and has been recorded with the county where the minerals are located, you don't need to do anything else.

[@alexpratt99]

Keep it if you own mineral rights keep it every company will try to make you sell you never sell land with mineral rights if you own the land and the mineral rights you can get very rich

[@Imaseeker13]

Hello my mother has land in Louisiana. We think they neighbors are stealing her oil and minerals because she was told she have this on the land and now they all have wells and she heard nothing back. Whats that website with the map you are on? Please help! 🙏

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

You may be able to find more information on Louisiana's oil and gas resource map: www.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=1d1a40b0141b4a05bb4298c5a1a57bec. However, it might be best to contact a landman or attorney and have them figure out if your mom owns the minerals under her property.

[@Imaseeker13]

@@BlueMesaMinerals Great thank you so much for the advice and info!

[@rubywaldroff]

That’s how many oil tycoons became tycoons stealing oil

[@user-mu8sq9wp5p]

We were just informed that we are a possible adverse mineral interest holder they are asking us to find the deed in order to claim our interest what do I do

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

You can look through the county records (where the mineral rights are located) and see if you can find the deed. If you don't live in the area, you can have a title company check for you, or even hire an attorney. It's probably a good idea to consult an attorney regardless.

[@user-sv9cp8zq1h]

Can you help me with information on Ohio state law regarding a soft search

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

I think you may need to contact an attorney in Ohio.

[@gotrust4741]

Found out I'm an heir of 3 different abstracts. What do I do how do I find out?

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

Hi. I responded to your other comment on a different video. I think that will answer your question. If not, feel free to contact me at bluemesaminerals.com/contact/.

[@SunnyRain0614]

How do you find out that information? Heir to three different abstracts...what does this mean?

[@gotrust4741]

@@SunnyRain0614 found out all the info already thanks

[@cynthiaatamplin251]

Hello, I just tried to download the spreadsheet but it says, “Account is cancelled and can not accept new subscribers.” What should I do now in order to get the spread?

[@DannahBlumenau]

Oh, thank you for letting me know! I'll fix that over the next day or two.

[@DannahBlumenau]

I just updated the link! You should be able to download the mineral management spreadsheet at bluemesaminerals.com/locating-your-minerals.

[@greenbeginner3353]

How do I find this information for Oklahoma? I tried searching for the Okahoma "GIS" viewer and it looks nothing like what your video is showing. Can you help?

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

It looks Oklahoma has a new system. Try this link: oklahoma.gov/occ/divisions/oil-gas/database-search-imaged-documents/occ-well-data-finder.html

[@greenbeginner3353]

@@BlueMesaMinerals Thank you. I tried that in my quest but with no success. Either I'm doing something wrong or OK doesn't want owners to know something.

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

@@greenbeginner3353 Oklahoma has the worst public data of any state I've encountered. It's probably not you! What are you trying to find?

[@greenbeginner3353]

@@BlueMesaMinerals I have the address for mineral rights in OK and I’m trying to find anything about its activity with hopes I might start getting checks again some day.

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

@@greenbeginner3353 Call me at the phone number on my website (bluemesaminerals.com), and I'll look it up for you. Or email [e-mail].

[@backwoods7678]

Wow I was told buy who we are buying property from we have mineral rights .. But I don't have and wells on the property .. How or where do I go to see if I can use this

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

Probably nothing. Here's a video that might help: kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5zPo2ibm9Vjn8U. What state and county is your property located in?

[@backwoods7678]

@@BlueMesaMinerals New Matamoras Ohio Washington County .. Lots a tracking and so was here kinda still is ... I know property has mineral right buy nothing more ... Almost 3acres of property

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

@@backwoods7678 Washington County, Ohio does have minerals and active wells. Check out ShaleXP's map at www.shalexp.com/ohio/washington-county. You can also look your property up on the Ohio GIS map at gis.ohiodnr.gov/mapviewer/?config=oilgaswells to see if there is any development nearby.

[@backwoods7678]

@@BlueMesaMinerals thanks I'll give it a try awsum

[@yoblob34]

Who owns the mineral rights to those wells

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

You have to search the deed records to figure out who owns the mineral rights. Typically, landmen do this on behalf of oil and gas companies (and sometimes mineral owners).

[@friskyaugust4892]

I didn’t receive anything yet since 2014. I don’t know anything. My parents nor relatives that have all passed away, didn’t explain anything, just passed the deeds to me. I have no clue what to do.

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

Have the deeds been recorded in the county where the mineral rights are located?

[@reeceedwards2509]

Question I have asked previous will site operator to provide release of property hence all equipment has been removed ie batteries I have not any luck is it required for a new lease in future

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

Is the previous company still in business? If so, perhaps a letter from your attorney will inspire some action.

[@SalBOER]

So I have mineral rights in Ozona..Crockett Co in Texas. What or who can help me get the royalties due me if I am not being paid??

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

This is a complex question. Is there a producing well on the property?

[@SalBOER]

@@BlueMesaMinerals There are 3 Ranches handed down from family. All 3 are producing or have permits on them but I have not been contacted. Good example is section 85, Vaughn Deep, 83 Pure-Vaughn, all of Williams, Bean and Vaughn ranches..

[@SalBOER]

@@BlueMesaMinerals When I mentioned the sections it is all of the sections..Just not sure how or who can help me with this..

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

​@@SalBOER Do you know if you own both the surface and the minerals? Very often the minerals have been severed from the surface and sold off over the last hundred-plus years. You can check by looking back at the chain to title all way back to the original land patent. There are a few things that could have happened. Maybe there is not a clean chain of title and the landmen from the company that drilled the wells couldn't find all of the heirs? You can contact the companies that are operating the wells and tell them that you think you are a mineral owner in these tracts of land. If you want quick and accurate answers, the best way to get that is by contacting (and paying) and landman do the research for you. If you join MineralRightsForum.com, there are a lot of people (including landmen) who can help you.

[@cassiecain7970]

please help me

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

You can reach out to companies that buy mineral rights and see if anyone else will give you a higher offer. Or hire a landman to research what you own and help you get into pay status.

[@dukestelecom]

Do you have a contact number ?I have mineral right and someone wants to extract the gas oil , need someone to go over the documents to make sure there legit

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

It sounds like an oil and gas lease. You probably need the help of an oil and gas attorney.

[@laurelclark8309]

Your sound is gone.

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

Weird. It seems like it's working okay for me.

[@beaubiddle834]

Come on. Please don’t use mono audio. It is 2022!

[@BlueMesaMinerals]

I was born with a profound hearing loss, so sound isn't my forte. I'm using a Rode lav mic, but am open to suggestions if you'd like to give me some advice/education.