Courtland Kilpatrick

This transcript has been edited for clarity, readability, and flow. Minor adjustments have been made to remove filler words and improve structure while preserving the original meaning and intent of the conversation.

Henry Harrison:
I want to welcome Courtland Kilpatrick to the show today. This is Entrepreneurs, Business and Finance. Courtland is a good friend of mine and has become one over the last five years. We met through business about five years ago. Thank you for coming on the show.

Courtland Kilpatrick:
Yeah, it’s crazy that it’s already been five years. That doesn’t seem possible.

Henry Harrison:
I know. I think we’ve both aged a little in those five years.

Courtland Kilpatrick:
No kidding. I think I had just had my first son when you and I met, so that really puts it in perspective. It’s definitely been five years or more.

Henry Harrison:
It’s been a good five years. There are always challenges, but it’s been a good run.

We work together, and we first met through business. You’re an expert in many things related to oil and gas, but especially in mineral properties and mineral rights.

I think that was a deliberate choice because you really like that space. Drilling has a lot of moving parts—contractors, logistics, complexity—while royalties, although not simple, don’t require as much operational infrastructure.

So let me start with this: what first interested you in mineral properties?

Courtland Kilpatrick:
A little background first—I didn’t start out in minerals. I started out in title, running title.

What I saw in mineral properties was something very similar to what I like about real estate. It’s owning a tangible asset—something someone is willing to pay you for simply because you own it.

When I first started running title and taking leases, I was working for Chesapeake. That’s where my interest really started.

I would go to individuals on behalf of Chesapeake, and I realized that simply because they owned minerals under their land, I could show up with what was essentially a blank check to negotiate.

These people didn’t have to do anything, and yet they could receive $20,000, $30,000, even $130,000 checks with zero liability.

A Fortune 500 company had to come to them and say, “You own something we need, and we have to pay you for it.”

That really fascinated me.

Henry Harrison:
You’ve clearly always had a passion for it.

At a high level, a company like Chesapeake leases property from someone who owns the mineral rights. That lease gives them the right to drill, and the owner receives royalties if production occurs.

It wouldn’t make sense for a company to drill on your property without compensating you—just like someone would pay to use your land for farming or ranching.

Can you explain how mineral rights can be separated from surface ownership?

Courtland Kilpatrick:
Sure. For simplicity, think of two categories: surface ownership and mineral ownership.

If someone owns “full title,” they own both the surface and the minerals beneath it.

But those can be separated. For example, let’s say someone owns a family farm. If they sell the minerals, they still own the land above ground, but the buyer now owns the minerals below.

That buyer can then lease those minerals to an oil and gas company and receive royalties.

That’s the basic structure.

What makes it unique is that, as far as I understand, the United States is one of the only places where individuals can own minerals this way.

Henry Harrison:
That’s right. And once minerals are separated, title becomes very complicated.

There isn’t a simple system where you can instantly see who owns everything. That’s part of why you became such an expert.

So how do you actually determine ownership?

Courtland Kilpatrick:
That’s where it gets complicated. Every state is different.

Let’s use Oklahoma as an example.

Think of land as a giant puzzle. At one point, all of it belonged to the federal government. Over time, parcels were granted to individuals.

From the original grant—called a patent—you trace ownership forward.

Over time, ownership becomes fragmented. A single 160-acre tract could end up being owned by hundreds of people due to:

• Inheritance

• Sales

• Divorces

• Wills

• Deeds

To determine ownership, a landman builds a “runsheet,” which lists every document affecting the property from the original patent to today.

From that, a mineral ownership report is created, showing exactly who owns what interest.

Henry Harrison:
And “running title” sounds simple, but it’s not. It takes real expertise to interpret all those documents.

Courtland Kilpatrick:
Exactly. There are legal rules and clauses that can affect ownership—things like:

• Mother Hubbard clauses

• Favored nations clauses

• The Duhig rule

So while the concept is simple, the execution is very complex.

Henry Harrison:
And even today, you still need courthouse work. Not everything is digitized.

Courtland Kilpatrick:
Absolutely.

In West Virginia, I once waited three days just to access records because there were only a few machines available.

So yes, those stories are very real.

Henry Harrison:
There’s never a dull moment.

And of course, there’s opportunity—people may sell minerals for many reasons: estate planning, divorce, or simply wanting liquidity.

Before we wrap up, though, I want to touch on something else I really respect about you—your military service.

You were inspired to enlist during college, served in Iraq, and then returned to complete your education and career. Would you share that story?

Courtland Kilpatrick:
Sure.

I probably wouldn’t have joined without a couple of people I respected deeply.

I had originally planned to attend TCU but took a full-ride scholarship elsewhere first. Later I transferred to TCU.

My first semester there was when 9/11 happened. That had a huge impact.

Eventually, I took some time off and found myself back at the family ranch. One day I saw a general on TV talking about how our generation wasn’t stepping up.

That stuck with me. I thought, “I’m able-bodied, I’m not tied down—why not serve?”

So I went to a recruiter. I met a World War II veteran who shared his experience, and that solidified my decision.

I deployed to Iraq and arrived in Baghdad on Christmas Eve 2005. We stayed for about a year.

We lost people, including our captain and interpreter.

I was injured by a mortar explosion about 20 feet away, which caused significant hearing loss in my left ear.

But overall, I consider myself fortunate.

The experience gave me discipline, maturity, and perspective that I didn’t have before.

Henry Harrison:
That’s an incredible story and a powerful way to end.

Thank you for sharing it—and thank you for your service.

I appreciate you taking the time to be on the show.

Courtland Kilpatrick:
Absolutely. I appreciate it.