Ever wonder about the possibilities of finding oil and gas in your back yard? Well, this is something that has fascinated many homeowners across America, and they have responded in many different ways. The most common way, if they are convinced they have an oil reserve in their backyard, is to go down to the local town hall and establish the right to the property. If it is their property, they then get excited and start to think about building their own oil exploration company. Of course, this is not always as simple as it seems, and the true picture involves a little more red tape than that. However, there are still vast, untapped reserves of oil somewhere in the world, and it isn’t too far-fetched an idea to imagine that these reserves are right underneath your houseplants.
The crucial issue here is something called ‘mineral rights’. This is a plain and simple way of working out if you have the rights to anything underneath your tarmac. It does mean that often companies win out over small residential would-be oil farmers, but even if they do, you can still get a fair chance at keeping some of the profits.
The homeowner does not automatically have rights over any minerals found underneath their property. This is a bitter pill for some homeowners to swallow, but it makes perfect sense when you consider the extent to which some of these reserves do travel underground. Instead, there are some other options that make it less painful for anyone who is lucky enough to find oil underground and under their own home.
If you do by chance find such a bonanza, you need to speak to a lawyer very quickly. Once the lawyer has taken on your case, you will then be able to feel more confident talking about the issue.
The lawyer will be able to provide you with all of the information you need to get the best outcome out of the case. They will advise you of the compromises you may have to make to gain any profit from the whole experience. For example, they can help you earn royalties for the oil mining that takes place. If a company strikes oil in your backyard, for example, you can then claim some money earned as profit by that same company. It does need thinking about, and if you are in any way justified to think that there is a sea of oil under your house, consider looking more long-term with royalties.
Thinking long-term, the government is not taking off chunks of your backyard because they feel like it. Instead, they are often trying to procure and sell off oil fields to wealthy companies so that these companies can help to advance the green energy debate. The county needs to be 100% energy independent in the coming years, and having no need to rely on any other countries for the energy that it uses will be a big advantage to the feeling of independence it needs as we reach the early stages the twentieth century.