The Mineral Rights and Lease Acquisition Process

In the United States, ownership of the surface land and the minerals below are often separate. For instance, a landowner can retain full possession of the surface level while leasing or selling the rights to any minerals underneath. The challenge is that before any oil or gas project can begin, the mineral rights must be legally obtained. Led by industry veteran, Brian S. Anderson, J.D., MPG’s Land and Legal Department works diligently to procure leases from private citizens or publicly owned lands by:

Determining Ownership

This can consist of a number of avenues from researching titles in local courthouses and historical archives to reviewing abstracts and databases of filed documents concerning the property.

Curing Defects

If any discrepancies or uncertainties exist, measures are taken to determine the correct and legal ownership of the mineral rights.

Structuring the Lease

At this stage, MPG has the right to drill a set number of wells and develop the lease on its own or sell the lease to an industry partner.

Selling the Lease

The procured mineral rights are sold for production and development – while retaining royalty rights ’in perpetuity’ for MPG and its partners for all wells that are placed on this land.

As a result of the integrity and accuracy of this process, the rights negotiated to benefit our partners have remained uncontested – a standard of excellence that MPG and its Land and Legal Department are committed to protect.