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Everything we're covering, section by section.

The full map of every topic, every section, and every key concept across the site: so you can see the whole picture in one place.

5 topics · 32 sections · ~70 min of reading

5
Topics
32
Sections
~70 min
Total reading
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01 · Fundamentals 02 · Conveyancing 03 · Leasing 04 · Interest Calc 05 · Title Exam
01

Mineral Title Fundamentals

Fee simple, the surface/mineral split, the five sticks of the mineral estate, and what severance actually does to a tract of land.

Beginner ~12 min
1.1
What "title" even means
Title = who owns what, and how we know it. The step-zero concept before tracing any chain.
titleownership
1.2
Fee simple: the whole bundle
Fee simple absolute as the largest ownership possible. The "bundle of sticks" metaphor: possess, use, exclude, sell, lease, devise.
fee simplebundle of sticks
1.3
The two estates
Surface estate vs. mineral estate: one tract, two separable ownership interests stacked on top of each other.
surface estatemineral estate
1.4
The mineral estate's five sticks
The five rights within the mineral estate: develop, lease (executive right), bonus, delay rentals, and royalty. Each one can be severed separately.
five sticksexecutive rightNPRI
1.5
Severance: splitting the estate
How the surface and minerals separate: by reservation or by grant. Two chains of title from that day forward.
severancereservationmineral deed
1.6
The dominant estate
Mineral estate as dominant, surface as servient. Implied right of surface use, bounded by the accommodation doctrine.
dominantservientaccommodation
1.7
Why it matters in title work
The practical checklist: was the estate severed? Were sticks carved out? Who can lease, and who gets paid?
practical
02

Conveyancing & Deeds

How to read what a deed really conveys: the granting clause, habendum, reservations vs. exceptions, and the words that quietly decide who owns what.

Beginner–Intermediate ~14 min
2.1
Anatomy of a deed
The parts of every deed: grantor/grantee, granting clause, property description, habendum, covenants, execution. What to look for first.
deed anatomygrantorgrantee
2.2
The granting clause & habendum
What "grant, bargain, sell, and convey" actually does, and how the habendum clause ("to have and to hold") defines the estate being conveyed.
granting clausehabendum
2.3
Reservations vs. exceptions
A reservation keeps something the grantor already has. An exception removes something from the conveyance entirely. The difference matters more than it sounds.
reservationexception
2.4
Mineral deeds & royalty deeds
What's actually being conveyed: a mineral deed transfers the estate; a royalty deed transfers only the right to revenue. The "mineral or royalty" construction problem.
mineral deedroyalty deed
2.5
Legal descriptions
Reading metes & bounds, the rectangular survey (township/range/section), and lot-and-block descriptions. How to identify the tract on a map.
metes & boundsPLSSlot & block
2.6
Recording & constructive notice
Why deeds get recorded at the county clerk's office, what "constructive notice" means, and the race-notice recording system most states use.
recordingconstructive noticerace-notice
03

Oil & Gas Leasing

Lease anatomy: the granting clause, primary term, royalty, bonus, and the clauses that bite you later (Pugh, continuous development, shut-in).

Intermediate ~14 min
3.1
What an oil & gas lease is (and isn't)
A lease isn't a rental: it's a grant of the right to explore for and produce minerals, plus a fee interest in whatever's produced. The "profit à prendre" concept.
lease basicsprofit à prendre
3.2
Primary term & secondary term
The lease stays alive during the primary term as long as the lessee pays delay rentals. Production (or operations) kicks it into the secondary term: potentially forever.
primary termsecondary termHBP
3.3
Royalty, bonus & delay rentals
The three payment streams from a lease: bonus (up front), delay rentals (keep-alive), and royalty (share of production). How each one gets divided among owners.
royaltybonusdelay rental
3.4
Key clauses that matter in title
Pooling, Pugh clause, continuous development, shut-in royalty, force majeure: the clauses a title examiner checks because they decide if the lease is still alive.
poolingPugh clauseshut-in
3.5
Lease termination & top leasing
How a lease dies: expiration, cessation of production, surrender, and what "top leasing" means for the next operator waiting in line.
terminationcessationtop lease
3.6
Leasing fractional interests
What happens when the mineral estate is split among 14 people and the landman needs to lease them all: ratification, unleased interests, and the "unless" lease form.
fractional leasingratification
04

Interest Calculations

Net mineral acres, net revenue interest, and turning ugly fractions into clean decimals: the math that actually shows up on division orders.

Intermediate–Advanced ~16 min
4.1
Gross acres vs. net acres
Gross acres = the whole tract. Net mineral acres = your fractional share of the minerals, expressed in acres. Why the distinction matters before any math starts.
gross acresnet acres
4.2
Calculating net mineral acres (NMA)
Fraction of minerals owned × gross acres = NMA. Walking through a real chain with multiple conveyances to get the number.
NMAworked example
4.3
Working interest & net revenue interest
Working interest = the operator's share of costs and revenues. NRI = your decimal share of production revenue after all burdens. The equation: NMA ÷ unit acres × royalty.
WINRIthe equation
4.4
Overriding royalty & non-participating royalty
How ORRIs and NPRIs burden the working interest. Stacking burdens, and why the decimal on your division order is smaller than you expected.
ORRINPRIburden
4.5
Pooling & unitization math
When a well unit pulls from multiple tracts: how to calculate each owner's share across the unit. Tract participation factors.
poolingunittract factor
4.6
Fractions to decimals: worked examples
Three full worked examples: simple, messy, and ugly, with every step shown so you can reproduce the numbers yourself.
worked examplespractice
4.7
Division orders & decimal interest
What a division order is, how the decimal interest gets there, and why it matters that you check it: this is where the money actually flows.
division orderdecimal
05
Capstone: where it all comes together

Title Examination Workflow

Run a chain of title from patent to present, build a runsheet, and write title requirements like a working examiner: the skill every other topic has been building toward.

Advanced ~15 min
5.1
Where title examination starts
The assignment comes in: here's a section, find out who owns the minerals. What you need, where to look, and the mindset of an examiner.
getting started
5.2
Building the chain of title
Working backward from the present through recorded documents (deeds, probates, leases, assignments) linking each instrument to the one before it.
chain of titlerecorded docs
5.3
The abstract & the courthouse
What a title abstract is, how abstracts are compiled, and what to expect when you pull records at the county clerk's office (or use an online index).
abstractcourthouseindex
5.4
Building a runsheet
The examiner's spreadsheet: every instrument, every conveyance, every fraction, laid out chronologically so you can follow the mineral interest as it splits and moves.
runsheetspreadsheet
5.5
Common title defects & curative
Broken chains, missing heirs, unreleased mortgages, defective acknowledgments: the problems that pop up and how curative work resolves them.
defectscurativequiet title
5.6
Writing title requirements & opinions
How to write the requirements an attorney sends to the operator: what needs to be cured before the well can be drilled or the division order can go out.
requirementstitle opinion