§ 64.091.Receiver for Mineral Interests Owned by Nonresident or Absentee

A receivership created for one purpose, and the statute states it in the first line.

"The purpose of this section is to encourage the exploration and development of mineral resources."

The problem is fractional ownership. Mineral interests divide across generations until a tract has dozens of owners, some untraceable — and a single owner who cannot be found can prevent a lease covering the whole.

The receiver signs for the owner who cannot be found.

The defendant must fit a narrow description: a person whose residence or identity is unknown or a nonresident, who has not paid taxes on the interest or rendered it for taxes during the five-year period immediately preceding the filing.

The tax condition is the real safeguard. An owner who has been paying taxes is engaged with the interest and is outside the section, however far away they live.

The plaintiff must allege by verified petition and prove a diligent but unsuccessful effort to locate the defendant and that they will suffer substantial damage or injury unless the receiver is appointed.

Notice is by publication, the county judge or any county resident may be appointed, and neither the applicant nor the receiver posts bond — a deliberate departure from the chapter’s general requirement, keeping the procedure cheap.

The receiver’s powers are specific: execute mineral leases, assign leasehold interests, and enter unitization agreements authorized by the Railroad Commission, with pooling limited to 160 acres for an oil well or 640 for a gas well plus 10 percent.

The absent owner’s money is protected throughout. Consideration is paid to the clerk before the instrument is executed, applied to costs, and the balance retained for the owner, with later payments impounded in the court’s registry.

The receivership continues until the owner or their successors appear to claim the interest, which is the section’s answer to an owner who returns.