Re: Land and Mineral Rights ownership


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Posted by Dan Lind on December 12, 2004 at 21:46:51 from 70.69.171.153 user captain.

In Reply to: Re: not ALL land is owned by somebody in the USA posted by Robert Dilley on December 09, 2004 at 20:39:41:

This is interesting because I own mineral rights in Alberta. The rules are written in favor of the oil/gas companies and so are the leases. But, things are changing quickly as we Freeholders get better organized. Right now I'm protected from wells on laterally adjacent sections pumping gas from under MY land, but not on diagonally adjacent sections. Just guess where two gas wells are! The next lease I sign will be different.

Who owns the mineral rights depends on many factors. There are 36 sections in a township (six miles by six miles). Orignally, c.1872 odd numbered sections, other than sections 11 and 29 which were reserved as school lands, were set aside to handle grants to railway companies and other needs. All even numbered sections, except for sections 8 and 26 which were Hudson's Bay land, were generally available for homesteads. Whether or not the mineral rights are owned by the government, or by Freeholders depends largely on when the land was homesteaded, and whether the original homesteader held on to these rights when selling the land.

The actual land owning farmers / ranchers don't do THAT badly. While they may protest, eventually the law requires them to allow access for drilling etc purposes, and for compensation. The rules for use of the land and eventual recovery are strict. I know many who have a nice holiday in Arizona each winter paid for by use of a few acres. (If they don't like how well the oil company has provided land recovery they don't sign acceptance, are paid compensation, and farm it anyway. Of course, no Alberta farmer would ever admit to making any money farming.)


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