Oil, gas, and mineral rights are subsurface property interests that are completely separate and legally distinct from surface rights. Pennsylvania law allows a property owner to sever the subsurface estate and sell, lease, or retain it while conveying the surface to someone else. When nothing has been done, the owner holds both the surface and subsurface as one unified estate. Once severed, each estate is independently owned, taxed, and transferable.
One critical rule controls everything: in Pennsylvania the mineral estate is dominant over the surface estate. A mineral owner, or their lessee, has the legal right to enter the property and use the surface to access and develop the subsurface resources, even without the surface owner’s consent. The surface owner must reasonably accommodate those operations under Pennsylvania’s Accommodation Doctrine.
Pennsylvania also follows the Dunham Rule. A general deed using broad language such as all mineral rights does not automatically transfer oil and gas rights unless those rights are expressly named. Courts interpret this narrowly, so it is important to confirm exactly which subsurface interests are or are not being conveyed.
Selling the Surface and Leasing the Subsurface
There are two common scenarios a client should understand.
Selling the surface while reserving the OGM rights: The seller conveys the surface to the buyer but keeps the subsurface estate. The reservation must appear in the deed under the Reservations from Conveyance section, and it should also be documented in the Agreement of Sale. In this case the buyer receives surface rights only, and title insurance is written as fee simple, surface estate only. The buyer must understand that the mineral owner retains the legal right to access the surface.
Leasing the OGM rights: A lease is not the same as a severance. The owner keeps title to the minerals but grants a company the right to explore and produce for a set period. Key lease terms a client should know include the bonus payment (upfront cash per acre at signing), the royalty rate (the owner’s share of production revenue, typically 12.5 percent to 25 percent), the primary term (the fixed period, commonly 3 to 5 years, during which drilling must begin), held by production (the lease continues indefinitely as long as a well produces), pooling or unitization (combining multiple tracts into one drilling unit), and post-production deductions (costs taken out of royalties for gathering, transport, and processing). If a property was previously leased, copies of those leases should be provided to the buyer and the title company.
What a Standard Title Search Shows
A standard title search confirms ownership and the chain of title, verifies the legal description, and identifies liens, mortgages, easements, and encumbrances of record. Pennsylvania practice for surface title is a 60 year search, which covers surface transactions adequately. On the OGM side, most standard title commitments contain a blanket mineral exception that simply excludes OGM coverage. In other words, a standard search tells you the surface picture is clear but generally does not map out who owns the subsurface or whether the minerals have been severed. It flags that an OGM issue may exist without resolving it.
What an OGM Title Search Involves
An OGM title search goes deeper into the subsurface estate. It examines the full deed chain for any prior severance, reservation, or exception of mineral rights, and it identifies and lists every recorded instrument affecting the minerals, including deeds, reservations, leases, royalty conveyances, surface use agreements, and estate transfers, rather than relying on the blanket exception. Because OGM severances in Pennsylvania trace back to the mid 1800s, a reliable OGM search must go back to the original patent or sovereignty rather than stopping at 60 years. It applies the Dunham Rule to older deeds that reference minerals without naming oil and gas, looks for right of entry and surface access language, checks whether older instruments with expired primary terms can be removed, and confirms whether the property is currently leased, producing, or has active pipelines or wellheads on or near it. Under PAR Form OGM, Paragraph 3(B), the buyer can elect to have this subsurface title search performed.
OGM Title Searchers in Pennsylvania
These firms handle OGM title work in Pennsylvania. I pulled their contacts from google.
Cornerstone Abstract and Settlement, offices in Coudersport and Wellsboro, covers North-Central PA with full OGM and surface searches. Coudersport 814-274-7233, Wellsboro 570-724-2731, info@cornerstonesettlement.com. President Michael Menard, PLS, 814-274-2210, mmenard@cornerstonesettlement.com.
Appalachian Basin Land Resources (ABLR), 227 North Main Street, Coudersport, PA 16915, serves Potter, McKean, Tioga, and surrounding counties with OGM title searching, GIS mapping, and certified appraisal. 814-887-9131 or 814-274-2210.
Penn-York Land Services has more than 30 years in oil and gas title services throughout the Appalachian Basin. 716-373-7200.
Action Title Research offers statewide PA coverage with more than 2 million completed searches and a 99.99 percent non-claim rate. 201-531-1663, info@actiontitleresearch.com, contact Chris Blum.
Steptoe and Johnson PLLC provides mineral title opinions, abstracts, and due diligence with 70 in-house abstractors across the Appalachian Basin. Pittsburgh office One PPG Place, Suite 3300, 412-504-8030. Mineral title and due diligence team leader Timothy McKeen, 304-231-0473, timothy.mckeen@steptoe-johnson.com.
Cost and Turnaround
A standard 60 year surface search generally runs $200 to $400. An OGM mineral search ranges from $1,000 to $5,000 or more depending on county, acreage, complexity, and how far back the chain has to go. Typical turnaround is 10 days to 6 months, . Always request a parcel specific quote before ordering.
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