I was discussing this issue with a Realtor friend of mine, and thought I would ask anyone out there that may be a Tulsa and/or Oklahoma title attorney:
I think it is a pretty safe assumption that most Tulsa residential lot owners do not own the mineral rights to their land. Exactly who does own the mineral rights to Tulsa residential lots? Are mineral rights in the public domain or owned by City government? I assume Tulsa residential land owners as a rule own only surface rights.
I have examined my own residential lot abstract and I can find natural gas leases and water leases granted back when the property was still a Muscogee Indian allotment. These leases have long since expired or were returned to the property owner. I know drilling and mining activity are against city ordinance, and I have no intention of doing so, but I am just curious as to whom legally owns the mineral rights to my mid-town (26th & Yale) residential lot. Any expertise or insight is appreciated.
well, if tulsa would allow horizontal drilling under the city i think lots of people would be interested in their mineral rights.
quote:
Originally posted by inteller
well, if tulsa would allow horizontal drilling under the city i think lots of people would be interested in their mineral rights.
You may have no interest, so why did you bother to respond inteller? Sounds like you are advocating theft of underground resources.
Maybe those folks that have had problems with natural gas seeping out of the ground on their residential property would be interested too. If they could economically corral the seeping gas, they could have a "free" source of natural gas for their homes.
Anyhow, none of this answers my questions. If the deed holder to a residential lot in Tulsa does not own the mineral rights, who does?
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Originally posted by Steve
Sounds like you are advocating theft of underground resources.
sounds like you dont have a clue.
I believe each deed to a residential lot would specify whether it was for the surface rights, the mineral rights, or both. If silent, which many deeds are, a deed would generally convey the surface and the mineral rights. There are exceptions, of course.
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Originally posted by inteller
sounds like you dont have a clue.
Maybe so inteller, but drilling methods are not the subject of this discussion topic.
Thanks madashell for your reply. My general warranty deed lists the legal description of my property and then says "...except outstanding minerals if any." So the deed grants all property rights to me, except any previous outstanding mineral rights. I can't find any such outstanding mineral rights in my abstract, although that does not mean they don't exist, so I assume I also own mineral rights. I guess it would be a question for a title attorney to research and answer for sure.
I've owned three properties in Tulsa, and the mineral rights on all three were maintained by Indian Tribes.
I believe it's the first owners of that land. Their lawyers draw up a contract to let them keep all min. rights on that land, even if it's sold many times over. In fact, I don't know of any land where the owner has min. rights as far as that goes. I know in Ohio it's NOT the land owner's right to keep the minerals found on his land, he has no claim or rights to any minerals. I assume other states are simuiar.
It looks to me from what others have posted that Indians own the mineral rights to the land in Oklahoma. I live in Ohio and I know that land owners in Ohio have no mineral rights.
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Originally posted by sauerkraut
It looks to me from what others have posted that Indians own the mineral rights to the land in Oklahoma. I live in Ohio and I know that land owners in Ohio have no mineral rights.
I don't believe that to be the case in Oklahoma. The mineral rights would have originally belonged to the Indian Tribe or Indian citizen that originally owned the allotment, but mineral rights in OK can be conveyed from owner to owner, just like surface rights. There is no state law barring ownership of mineral rights. I know of several people that currently or used to live in the counties surrounding Tulsa and they had their own crude oil wells or natural gas wells and owned these wells and their production outright. The wells were on their own private residential acreages. It is all on a property-by-property basis here, and to determine who owns the mineral rights of a particular parcel would take property/abstract research on that parcel. Tulsa city ordinance prohibits mining/drilling activity on residential zoned land so I couldn't drill even if I wanted to. I was just curious about the issue and wondered if anyone else had researched the issue for themselves.
quote:
Originally posted by Steve
I guess it would be a question for a title attorney to research and answer for sure.
wow, what a revolutionary idea! consult an expert instead of a message board? That is amazing!
wow, what a revolutionary idea! consult an expert instead of a message board? That is amazing!
Hey! Hey! Hey! We're all experts here.
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Originally posted by Wilbur
wow, what a revolutionary idea! consult an expert instead of a message board? That is amazing!
Hey! Hey! Hey! We're all experts here.
I guess inteller thinks we are not allowed to benefit from each other's experience and knowledge. He is a poster child for the "ignore" button feature. I just used it for the first time to ignore his smart-donkey remarks.