Mineral Rights
In El Paso County, Mineral Rights and Surface Rights Can Be Separate
When you buy land in Texas, you may not own what is underground — mineral rights and surface rights are often held by different owners.
In Texas, land ownership has two parts: the surface estate and the mineral estate. The surface is what you walk on and build on. The mineral estate covers oil, gas, and other resources underground. These two estates can be split — and often are. You could buy a property and discover the mineral rights were sold off by a previous owner decades ago.
If someone else owns the mineral rights under your land, they have legal access to extract those resources, even if that means drilling on your property. Always ask for a title search that checks mineral ownership before buying land. The Railroad Commission of Texas regulates oil and gas activity in the state. You can search their records at rrc.texas.gov to see if there is drilling activity near a property.
Source to confirm: Railroad Commission of Texas — Oil and Gas Exploration and Surface Ownership