Before a single lease is signed or a well is permitted, there is the chain of title. It is the foundation of every oil and gas transaction in the Permian and Anadarko basins — and understanding it is non-negotiable for anyone working the land side of the business.
What Title Research Actually Is
Title research is the process of tracing ownership of a mineral interest back through recorded history — county deed records, probate files, court judgments, oil and gas leases, assignments, and more. The goal is to establish who owns what percentage of the minerals under a given tract today, and to confirm that ownership is clear enough to lease, acquire, or finance against.
The product of that research is a title runsheet — a chronological summary of every instrument affecting title to the property — followed by a title opinion prepared by a licensed attorney. The runsheet is the landman’s work. The opinion is the attorney’s conclusion. Both are essential.
Why It Gets Complicated
In West Texas and the Texas Panhandle, you are often dealing with mineral estates that have been severed from the surface for a century or more — fractured through probate, divided by deed, and partially conveyed through instruments that were never properly indexed. The Anadarko adds its own complexity: Oklahoma follows different rules for intestate succession, and tribal land interests in some areas require separate diligence entirely.
Common issues we encounter in both basins include missing heirs, improperly described tracts, conflicting conveyances, and out-of-state estates that were never probated locally. None of these are disqualifying — but each requires documentation and, often, curative work before you can close.
The Landman’s Role in This Process
A competent landman is not just pulling documents — they are reading them critically, tracking the flow of interests across decades, and flagging anything that breaks the chain or raises a question the attorney needs to address. Speed matters in competitive leasing environments, but accuracy matters more. A title problem discovered before closing is a negotiating point. One discovered after is a liability.
This is why experienced, basin-specific landwork makes a difference. Knowing the local courthouse systems, understanding regional recording practices, and having a feel for how title typically looks in a given county are things you develop over time in the field — not from a checklist.
We’ll continue this series with a look at runsheet structure and what makes a good one. In the meantime, if you have questions about a specific title situation in the Permian or Anadarko, we’re available.