Barnett Shale Oil and Gas Royalties
September 3rd, 2008
Minerals Management Service is too lax in its oversight of oil and natural gas leases on public lands have found some kindred spirits on Capitol Hill. The agency, an arm of the Interior Department, has been in charge of issuing leases for oil, gas and other resources on both the outer continental shelf (undersea) and on-shore federal and Indian lands for the last quarter of a century. Mineral interests and royalty interests are similar in that both involve ownership of minerals under the ground. They both receive a portion of the income from the production of oil and gas. Mineral rights transactions are normally a matter of public record and copies of deeds or other agreements are filed at a government office. Real estate buyers should ask the seller to specify what rights are being conveyed and have an attorney confirm that the seller owns what is being sold.
