Mineral rights / Oil & gas
Buying Land in Brooks County? Understand Mineral Rights First
Oil and gas was found in Brooks County in 1935. When you buy land here, someone else may already own the mineral rights underneath it.
Brooks County has a long oil and gas history. When you buy land here, the mineral rights may already belong to someone else. This is called a split estate.
Under Texas law, the mineral estate is dominant. That means a mineral rights owner — or someone they lease rights to — can come onto your surface land to look for and produce oil or gas. They do not need your permission, as long as they do not cause unreasonable damage to the surface.
Before you buy rural land in Brooks County, look at the title carefully. Check for any past deed that reserved or severed the mineral rights. Ask a title company or attorney to do this check.
If you own both the surface and the minerals, you can negotiate a surface use agreement with any operator who wants to drill.
The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) regulates oil and gas operations across the state. Brooks County is in RRC District 4 (Corpus Christi). The RRC website has a FAQ for surface and mineral owners. Its online research tool lets you look up permitted wells and production data by county.
Source to confirm: Oil & Gas Exploration and Surface Ownership — Railroad Commission of Texas