Core Capabilities
Landman services for engineered geothermal.
We build the factual land package required by developers, project finance lenders, and legal counsel for deep geothermal energy projects.
1. Site control and acreage assembly
Securing ground for an engineered geothermal system (EGS) or closed-loop installation requires a coordinated set of real property instruments. We negotiate and prepare:
- Exploration Options: Granting developers a defined period to evaluate subsurface data and conduct geophysical surveys prior to long-term lease commitments.
- Surface Leases: Dedicated parcels (typically 5 to 15 acres) for drilling operations, heat exchangers, binary cycle power generation units, and maintenance facilities.
- Subsurface Flow Easements: Subsurface access agreements covering the lateral circulation extent in the target crystalline rock formations.
- Surface Use Agreements (SUA): Detailed contracts setting operational guidelines, setback distances, access road maintenance, and agricultural accommodation.
- Corridor Rights-of-Way (ROW): Easements for private access roads, fresh or brackish water supply lines, and electrical interconnect lines.
2. Courthouse title examination and severance audits
In hot rock exploration, determining who owns the heat is the foundational legal question. We trace title records from the sovereign patent to the present day in county clerk deed records:
- Patent-to-Present Runsheets: Chronological schedules of every recorded conveyance, deed, mineral deed, mortgage, release, and probate proceeding affecting the tract.
- Mineral Severance Audit: Examining specific granting clauses and reservations to identify whether the mineral estate has been severed from the surface estate.
- Statutory Ownership Mapping: Applying applicable state statutory frameworks, such as Texas Natural Resources Code Section 141.004(a), which establishes that severed geothermal resources belong to the surface owner unless expressly conveyed.
- Encumbrance and Pipeline Review: Identifying prior existing pipelines, utility easements, and surface mortgages that require subordination or accommodation.
3. Counterparty outreach and negotiation
Geothermal projects require respectful, transparent communication with multiple stakeholders. We locate and engage:
- Surface Landowners: Explaining geothermal operational footprints, drilling duration, water usage parameters, and royalty/rental structures.
- Severed Mineral Owners: Facilitating communication to respect the mineral estate dominant servitude and avoid surface use conflicts under the accommodation doctrine.
- Adjacent Property Holders: Securing subsurface boundary agreements and drainage waivers where circulation loops approach lease lines.
4. Public wellbore records inventory
Existing regulatory filings provide critical subsurface clues for project planners. We compile public records from state agency dockets (such as the Texas Railroad Commission or New Mexico EMNRD):
- Form W-1 drilling applications and Form W-2 completion reports.
- Historical casing and cementing records to evaluate wellbore integrity.
- Directional survey records and bottom-hole location filings.
- Plugging reports (Form W-3) and plugging liability status for idle wells.
Clear boundary of scope
Our Landmen LLC provides landman title examination, courthouse research, public regulatory compilation, and lease negotiation services. We are not attorneys and do not issue formal legal title opinions; legal title opinions are issued separately by retained project title counsel. We are not reservoir engineers, geologists, or drilling contractors.