Developer Guidance
Structuring site control for hot rock systems.
Engineered geothermal systems (EGS) and closed loop projects have different real property requirements than traditional oil and gas leases or surface solar farms.
The geothermal site control architecture
Securing ground for deep geothermal circulation requires assembling four distinct legal layers across your project area:
1. Surface Drilling Pad
A primary surface lease (5 to 15 acres) providing exclusive possession for drilling rigs, wellheads, heat exchangers, binary cycle generation units, and switchgear.
2. Subsurface Lateral Envelope
Subsurface easements across target crystalline formations to permit horizontal wellbore drilling, fracture creation, and working fluid circulation.
3. Buffer & Setback Parcels
Surface and subsurface accommodation on adjoining tracts to establish protective buffer corridors and prevent boundary trespass claims.
4. Interconnect Corridors
Linear right-of-way easements connecting the generation pad to regional electrical transmission facilities and dedicated water supply pipelines.
Navigating split estates and oilfield accommodation
In mature energy basins, the surface estate and mineral estate have frequently been severed for decades. Developers must address the legal relationships created by severance:
- Statutory Ownership Default: Under Texas Natural Resources Code Section 141.004(a), geothermal energy and associated resources belong to the surface owner when estates are severed, unless specifically conveyed or reserved. While this establishes who owns the heat, it does not extinguish the rights of mineral owners.
- The Mineral Estate Dominant Servitude: In Texas and many Western states, the mineral estate remains dominant. Mineral owners and their oil and gas lessees hold an implied easement to use as much of the surface and subsurface as reasonably necessary to develop oil and gas.
- The Accommodation Doctrine: Geothermal developers must coordinate surface facilities with existing and prospective mineral operators under the accommodation doctrine, ensuring drill pads and pipelines do not unreasonable interfere with oil and gas operations.
- Operational Coordination Agreements: Negotiating concurrent surface use agreements and subsurface depth severances with active oil and gas operators on the tract prevents costly disputes.
Federal, state, and private land regimes
Site control procedures vary significantly based on land jurisdiction:
- Private Land: Direct negotiations with landowners and mineral owners. Faster execution, but requires meticulous courthouse title examination to confirm complete ownership.
- Federal Lands (BLM): Regulated under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 and 43 CFR Part 3200. BLM manages competitive geothermal lease sales. Lessees must complete NEPA environmental reviews before surface disturbance.
- State Lands: State General Land Offices (such as Texas GLO or New Mexico State Land Office) administer separate state geothermal leasing dockets.
What to send to initiate project scoping
When contacting Our Landmen LLC for a title examination or site assembly project, having the following starting parameters accelerates scoping:
- Target Geography: County, state, and nearest municipality.
- Acreage Boundaries: Section/township/range coordinates, Texas survey abstract numbers, or GIS shapefiles/KML boundaries.
- Subsurface Target: Approximate target depth and whether you plan an open-fracture EGS doublet or a closed-loop wellbore system.
- Development Timeline: Expected drilling schedule, option period requirements, and financing milestones.