Ownership of land implies the legal right to decide what happens to such elements as water and timber on its surface or coal or other mineral products beneath the surface. However, complexities of the law dictate whether a person actually possesses these elements outright and has the ability to legitimately sell them or sell or lease future access to them. Freehold ownership of land states that a person or organization owns that land until conducting a sale of that property. Fee simple ownership gives a real estate holder absolute entitlement to every element on the land or under its surface; the term “fee” stems from feudal origins and does not connote a payment or charge.
Such a title allows an owner to sell the property or access to its features, including water, timber, oil and gas, coal, precious minerals or those used in manufacturing. The owner also enjoys the legal right to lease the rights to such elements over a period of time. For instance, some people rent the right to harvest timber or hay from landowners for a set number of years; others lease the oil and gas rights or mineral rights.
An oil and gas or mineral lease gives the tenant or renter the right to drill or otherwise obtain these products for a certain amount of time, as well as allowing the tenant adequate access to the land to acquire the products. Such access generally entails placing an easement from the road to the point of excavation or drilling, as well as requiring sufficient land to accommodate extraction of the mineral products. If the renter does not utilize the oil and gas or mineral rights during the lease period, the rights revert to the owner. About Sentry Energy: Sentry Energy explores for oil and natural gas and uses state-of-the-art drilling and excavation methods to generate the best possible production and returns for its partners.