Leasing and Development of Split Estate  

When the surface rights to a piece of land and the subsurface rights (such as the rights to develop minerals) are owned by different parties, the mineral rights often take precedence over other rights.  The BLM’s split-estate policy commonly applies to situations where the surface rights are in private ownership and the rights to development of the mineral resources are publicly held and managed by the Federal Government. 

A variety of mixed estate situations can occur, because most wells are drilled directionally thousands of feet below the surface in targeted geological formations and often proceed for a mile, two, or sometimes even 3 miles underground.  To read more about the BLM policy on Directional Drilling into Federal Mineral Estate from Well Pads on Non Federal Locations read Permanent Instruction Memorandum No. 2018-014.

The Oil and Gas Gold Book and the BLM's approval of operations regulations at 43 CFR 3171 provide guidance for surface management.  The BLM must fulfill the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the Endangered Species Act (ESA), and other applicable laws regarding protection of surface resources.