(a) Except as otherwise expressly provided by a conveyance, contract, deed, reservation, exception, limitation, lease, or other binding obligation, the geothermal energy and associated resources below the surface of land are owned as real property by:
(1) the landowner; or
(2) if the surface estate and the mineral estate of the land have been severed, the owner of the surface estate of the land.
(b) Subject to the provisions of this chapter, the property rights described by this section entitle the owner of the geothermal energy and associated resources below the surface of land and the owner’s lessee, heir, or assignee to drill for and produce the geothermal energy and associated resources.

Terms Used In Texas Natural Resources Code 141.004

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
  • Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). Source: OCC
  • Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
  • Property: means real and personal property. See Texas Government Code 311.005
  • Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.

(c) This section does not:
(1) apply to minerals dissolved or otherwise contained in groundwater, including in hot brines; or
(2) change existing law regarding:
(A) oil, gas, or mineral extraction regardless of its heat or energy potential;
(B) the rights of the dominant and servient estates; or
(C) the ownership and use of groundwater.

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