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SW North Dakota | My post left out a important part about a lease if surface/mineral
owner are the same.
I got this information from someone at the NDIC DMR awhile back on the
issue.
The surface owner owns the rocks and pore space contained in them
by common law in TX and OK, and by statute in WY. Legislation to
provide the same is being proposed in ND to do the same.
Valuable minerals, such as oil and gas, located in the sub-surface
pore space are owned by the mineral owner.
Therefore the typical arrangement is for the surface owner to be
compensated for access to the subsurface pore space for salt water
disposal. Since no minerals are displaced or produced and the ground
water in the disposal zone has no value the mineral owners and state
get no compensation. If the mineral and surface owners are the same
the typical oil and gas lease provides for use of the surface and
sub-surface pore space for production operations including water
disposal at no cost to the operator
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Saltwater disposal wells
