Mineral Management Books
Knowledge is power - use it to maximize your mineral rights
Managing Mineral Management
There are generally three types of mineral owners:
- Those who are were well trained by a previous generation of experienced mineral managers
- Those who inherited minerals and are "drinking from a firehose" as they learn about managing mineral rights
- Those who passively manage their minerals, not knowing much about what they own and as a result, may be leaving money on the table.
Don't be that third mineral owner. Owning the country's natural resources is a really special thing. After all, the United States is the only country whose citizens own a majority of the mineral rights.
If you've just inherited mineral rights (or are just now taking an interest), these are the quickest ways to get up to speed on managing your mineral rights:
If you've just inherited mineral rights (or are just now taking an interest), these are the quickest ways to get up to speed on managing your mineral rights:
- Join NARO and attend a conference
- Join the Mineral Rights Forum. It's full of helpful and knowledgeable people who are usually happy to answer questions.
- Read books about mineral management
The following books are about the oil and gas industry or about managing mineral rights. They are tremendously helpful, both t
NARO's CMM Review Guide
Certified Mineral Management Review
This is the workbook for the companion live CMM review Course. This manual offers practice exams, and is a comprehensive review for the material and will prepare CMM candidates to take exams 1, 2 and 3.
There are two mineral management paths (source: NARO):
Associate – Associate Level Certification is designed for the individual who wishes to increase his/her base of knowledge in managing personal or family mineral properties. The individual may not receive monetary compensation except for managing personal or family mineral interests.
Professional – Professional Level Certification is designed for the individual who is currently, or plans to be involved in any aspect of managing, administration or development of oil and gas properties. Trust officers, landmen and attorneys can benefit from this level.
There are two mineral management paths (source: NARO):
Associate – Associate Level Certification is designed for the individual who wishes to increase his/her base of knowledge in managing personal or family mineral properties. The individual may not receive monetary compensation except for managing personal or family mineral interests.
Professional – Professional Level Certification is designed for the individual who is currently, or plans to be involved in any aspect of managing, administration or development of oil and gas properties. Trust officers, landmen and attorneys can benefit from this level.
Look Before You Lease
A simple guide to oil and gas leases
Basics of leasing from the small mineral owner’s perspective, by former NARO Chairman, and founder Jim Stafford. This book pre-dates the fracking boom so it feels a bit out of date, but the material is still relevant.
Oil and Gas Law in a Nutshell
A detailed look at oil and gas leases
This text provides authoritative coverage of the legal rules that govern the development of privately owned mineral rights, which often also apply to government-owned resources. It covers topics such as the nature, protection, and conveyance of oil and gas rights, leasing, and taxation.
NARO's Great Texas Lease Mark-up Handbook
Texas specific oil and gas lease information
Although not intended as a substitute for professional legal advice, this handbook provides exceptionally helpful pointers and a better understanding of how to read, interpret and amend language found in many of the 200 or more so-called "standard" printed lease forms in Texas.
The Spindletop Gusher
We buy producing minerals from most of the oil and gas producing states.
A short book that tells the story of the first Texas oil wells and how they changed the world.
The Boom
How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World
A definitive narrative history, The Boom follows the twists and turns in the development and adoption of this radical technology. It is a thrilling journey filled with colorful characters: the green-minded Texas oilman who created the first modern frack; a bare-knuckled Oklahoman natural gas empire-builder who gave the world an enormous new supply of energy and was brought down by his own success and excesses; an environmental leader whose embrace of fracking brought an end to his public career; and an aging fracking pioneer who is now trying to save the industry from itself.
The Quest
Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World
A master storyteller as well as a leading energy expert, Daniel Yergin continues the riveting story begun in his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, The Prize. In The Quest, Yergin shows us how energy is an engine of global political and economic change and conflict, in a story that spans the energies on which our civilization has been built and the new energies that are competing to replace them.
The Quest tells the inside stories, tackles the tough questions, and reveals surprising insights about coal, electricity, and natural gas. He explains how climate change became a great issue and leads readers through the rebirth of renewable energies, energy independence, and the return of the electric car. Epic in scope and never more timely, The Quest vividly reveals the decisions, technologies, and individuals that are shaping our future.
The Quest tells the inside stories, tackles the tough questions, and reveals surprising insights about coal, electricity, and natural gas. He explains how climate change became a great issue and leads readers through the rebirth of renewable energies, energy independence, and the return of the electric car. Epic in scope and never more timely, The Quest vividly reveals the decisions, technologies, and individuals that are shaping our future.
The Prize
The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power
Deemed “the best history of oil ever written” by Business Week and with more than 300,000 copies in print, Daniel Yergin’s Pulitzer Prize-winning account of the global pursuit of oil, money, and power has been extensively updated to address the current energy crisis.
