Texas Oil & Gas Lawyers

A landman left a lease on your kitchen table. A royalty check looks smaller than it should. Or you just learned the minerals under the family land may still be yours. In Texas, the documents you sign — and the underpayments you don't catch — can control your money for generations, and the company's paperwork is written by the company's lawyers. Here's the good news: Texas law gives mineral and surface owners real, enforceable rights, and an experienced oil and gas lawyer knows exactly where the standard forms shortchange you. The lease can be negotiated before you sign. The division order can be checked before you're locked in. The missing royalties can be recovered — and some underpayment claims are even handled on a contingency fee. It's best to talk to a lawyer before you sign anything, and the referral costs you nothing.

What Does an Oil and Gas Lawyer Do in Texas?

An oil and gas lawyer protects the people who own the minerals — not just the companies that drill them. That means confirming what you actually own through title work, negotiating the lease terms that will control your bonus and royalty for decades, reviewing division orders before you sign, pursuing royalty underpayment claims, and defending surface owners when operations interfere with how they use their land. Texas oil and gas law is its own specialized field, built on more than a century of Texas case law and the Texas Natural Resources Code — the Texas State Law Library maintains an entire research guide just for it. A general practitioner is rarely the right fit; the lawyers in our network who handle these matters work in this field every day.

Mineral Estate vs. Surface Estate: What Do You Actually Own?

Texas treats land as two separate properties: the surface estate you can see, and the mineral estate beneath it — and they are often owned by different people. Once the minerals are severed by a deed or reservation, the mineral estate is the dominant estate: the mineral owner (or its lessee) generally has the right to use as much of the surface as is reasonably necessary to develop the minerals. Many Texans learn only when a landman calls that they own land without the minerals under it — or own minerals under land they've never seen, inherited through a grandparent's estate. Ownership lives in the county deed records, old reservations, and probate files, and the pieces have to be read together. An attorney can run the title and tell you exactly what you own, what it may be worth, and whether anyone already owes you money for it.

What Should You Look For Before Signing an Oil and Gas Lease?

The lease is the single most important document a mineral owner will ever sign — and the company's standard form is written for the company. Once signed, it can bind your land for generations if production continues. These are the terms an experienced lawyer negotiates while you still have leverage:

A Pugh clause deserves special mention: without one, a single well on a small corner of your tract — or a pooled unit that barely touches it — can keep your entire acreage locked up at the original terms indefinitely. It's best to have a lawyer review the lease before you sign, when negotiation is still possible; afterward, you live with the form.

Division Orders and Royalty Underpayment: Is Your Check Right?

Before paying royalties, the operator sends a division order stating your decimal interest — and signing a wrong decimal can mean quietly accepting underpayment for years. Under Chapter 91 of the Texas Natural Resources Code, an operator may require a reasonable division order before paying, but a division order cannot change the terms of your lease. The statute also puts teeth behind payment itself: Section 91.402 sets deadlines for paying proceeds of production — generally within 120 days after the end of the month of first sale, then on a regular schedule — and Section 91.403 adds interest when payments are late. Royalty owners likewise have statutory rights to request information showing how their payments were calculated. Wrong decimals, unauthorized post-production deductions, and unpaid proceeds are exactly the claims an oil and gas lawyer pursues — and some royalty underpayment cases are handled on a contingency fee, where the lawyer is paid only out of what is recovered.

Can Your Minerals Be Pooled Without Your Consent?

Pooling combines multiple tracts into one drilling unit so a single well can drain them, with royalties shared proportionally — and how the unit is drawn directly changes your check. In Texas, an operator generally needs pooling authority from your lease, and most modern lease forms grant it broadly, which is why the pooling clause deserves close attention before signing. Texas also has the Mineral Interest Pooling Act, Natural Resources Code Chapter 102, a narrow statute under which the Railroad Commission can force-pool interests in limited circumstances. When a unit is sized or shaped in a way that dilutes your interest, or acreage is held by pooling that should have been released, a lawyer can challenge it.

What Rights Does a Surface Owner Have When a Company Drills?

The mineral estate is dominant in Texas — but the surface owner is not powerless. Under the accommodation doctrine recognized by the Texas Supreme Court, when a surface owner has an existing use of the land, the operator may be required to accommodate it if reasonable, industry-accepted alternatives exist. Lease terms and negotiated surface use agreements add far stronger protection: fixed payments for well sites and roads, designated locations away from homes and improvements, water protections, and cleanup obligations — settled on paper before the first truck arrives. Operators also answer for damages caused by negligence and for plugging and remediation under Railroad Commission of Texas rules. If drilling operations are damaging your land, your water, or your livestock operation, a lawyer can act on it; for contamination and pollution claims, our environmental lawyers page covers that side in depth.

Who Regulates Oil and Gas in Texas?

The Railroad Commission of Texas — despite its name — is the state's oil and gas regulator. The RRC issues drilling permits, enforces well spacing and density rules, oversees pipelines, and administers plugging and oil-field cleanup, while the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality handles certain related air and water quality matters. But disputes over title, lease terms, and royalty money are not decided at an agency — they're decided by contracts and courts, which is where an oil and gas lawyer fights for mineral and surface owners. When a dispute heads toward litigation, our civil litigation lawyers page explains how the Texas lawsuit process works.

What Does an Oil and Gas Lawyer Cost — and Why the Referral Is Free

It depends on the matter. Transactional work — lease negotiation, title examination, division order review, surface use agreements — is typically billed at a flat or hourly rate explained up front, and it is small compared to the value of the terms it improves. Money-damage claims such as royalty underpayment are sometimes handled on a contingency fee, where the lawyer is paid a percentage of the recovery and nothing if there is none. The attorney will explain the fee structure up front. Our referral through the Texas Lawyer Referral Service is free, and most oil and gas lawyers offer a free initial consultation, so you can find out what you own and what it's worth before you commit to anything.

Related Help

Depending on your situation, these may help too:

• Real estate lawyers — for deeds, title defects, easements, and land transactions.
• Environmental lawyers — for contamination, TCEQ matters, and pollution claims tied to energy operations.
• Business lawyers — for operating agreements, joint ventures, and energy-related contracts.
• Civil litigation lawyers — for lease, title, and royalty disputes headed to court.
• Estate planning attorneys — for passing mineral interests to the next generation cleanly.
• All practice areas — browse every kind of lawyer we can connect you with in Texas.

Frequently Asked Questions About Texas Oil and Gas Lawyers

What does an oil and gas lawyer do in Texas?

An oil and gas lawyer protects the people who own the minerals, not just the companies that drill them: confirming what you actually own through title work, negotiating the lease terms that control your bonus and royalty for decades, reviewing division orders before you sign them, pursuing royalty underpayment claims, and defending surface owners when drilling operations interfere with how they use their land. Texas oil and gas law is its own specialized field, built on a century of Texas case law and the Texas Natural Resources Code, which is why a general practitioner is rarely the right fit.

What is the difference between the mineral estate and the surface estate in Texas?

Texas law treats land as two separate properties: the surface estate (the land you see) and the mineral estate (the oil, gas, and minerals beneath it), and the two can be owned by different people. Once severed by a deed or reservation, the mineral estate is the dominant estate, meaning the mineral owner generally has the right to use as much of the surface as is reasonably necessary to develop the minerals. Many Texans discover only when a landman calls that they own land but not the minerals under it, or minerals under land they have never seen. A lawyer can run the title and tell you exactly what you own.

What should I look for before signing an oil and gas lease?

The lease is the single most important document a mineral owner will ever sign, and the company's standard form is written for the company. Key terms include the bonus payment, the royalty fraction, the primary term and what holds the lease into its secondary term, whether royalties are free of post-production costs, a Pugh clause that releases unproduced acreage, and surface protections. Once signed, a lease can bind your land for generations if production continues. An attorney can negotiate these terms before signing, when the leverage is highest.

What is a Pugh clause?

A Pugh clause provides that production from one part of a leased or pooled tract does not hold the entire tract; acreage that is not producing or included in a producing unit is released back to the mineral owner at the end of the primary term. Without one, a single well on a small corner of your land, or even a pooled unit that barely touches it, can keep your entire acreage locked up at the original lease terms indefinitely. It is one of the most valuable clauses a lawyer negotiates into a Texas lease.

What is a division order and should I sign it?

A division order is the document an operator sends before paying royalties, stating your decimal interest in production. Under Texas Natural Resources Code Chapter 91, an operator may require a reasonable division order before paying, but a division order cannot change the terms of your lease. The decimal should be verified against your deed and lease math before signing, because signing a wrong decimal can mean quietly accepting underpayment for years. A lawyer can verify the calculation and strike improper provisions.

What can I do if my oil and gas royalties are underpaid or unpaid?

Texas law gives royalty owners real remedies. Texas Natural Resources Code Section 91.402 sets deadlines for paying proceeds of production, generally 120 days after the end of the month of first sale and then on a monthly or regular schedule, and Section 91.403 adds interest on late payments. Royalty owners also have statutory rights to request information about how their payments were calculated. Underpayment claims, deducted post-production costs that the lease does not allow, and unpaid proceeds are exactly the kinds of claims an oil and gas lawyer pursues, and some royalty underpayment cases are handled on a contingency fee.

What is pooling and can my minerals be pooled without my consent?

Pooling combines multiple tracts into a single drilling unit so one well can drain them, with royalties shared proportionally. In Texas, an operator generally needs pooling authority from your lease; most modern leases grant it, which is why the pooling clause deserves close attention before signing. Texas also has the Mineral Interest Pooling Act, Natural Resources Code Chapter 102, a narrow statute under which the Railroad Commission can force-pool interests in limited circumstances. How a unit is sized and shaped directly changes your royalty check, and a lawyer can challenge improper pooling.

What rights does a surface owner have when a company drills on their land?

Although the mineral estate is dominant in Texas, the surface owner is not without protection. Under the accommodation doctrine recognized by the Texas Supreme Court, if the surface owner has an existing use, the operator may have to accommodate it when reasonable industry-accepted alternatives exist. Lease terms, surface use agreements, and statutes add further protection, and operators are responsible for damages caused by negligence and for cleaning up under Railroad Commission rules. A lawyer can negotiate a surface use agreement that fixes payments, locations, and remediation before the first truck arrives.

Who regulates oil and gas in Texas?

The Railroad Commission of Texas, despite its name, is the state agency that regulates oil and gas exploration, drilling, production, pipelines, and well plugging. It issues drilling permits, enforces spacing and density rules, and oversees cleanup of oil-field contamination. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality handles certain air and water quality issues connected to energy operations. Disputes over titles, leases, and royalties, however, belong in the courts, which is where an oil and gas lawyer fights for mineral and surface owners.

How much does an oil and gas lawyer cost in Texas?

It depends on the matter. Transactional work such as lease negotiation, title review, and surface use agreements is typically billed at a flat or hourly rate explained up front, and it is small compared to the value of the lease terms it improves. Some royalty underpayment and similar money-damage claims are handled on a contingency fee, where the lawyer is paid a percentage of what is recovered. The attorney will explain the fee structure up front, and the referral and the initial consultation are free.

How do I find out if I own mineral rights in Texas?

Mineral ownership is determined by the chain of deeds, reservations, and probate records in the county where the land sits, going back to the original severance. County deed records, Railroad Commission production records, and tax statements all hold pieces of the answer, but they have to be read together, and old reservations are easy to miss. An oil and gas attorney can run or commission a title examination and tell you what you own, what it may be worth, and whether anyone owes you money for it.

How do I get a Texas oil and gas lawyer right now?

Call or text 512-872-4400 any time, day or night. You will be connected with an experienced oil and gas lawyer serving your area anywhere in Texas. The referral is free and most attorneys offer a free initial consultation, so you can get clear answers about your lease, royalties, or mineral rights before you sign anything or accept any offer.