Texas RRC Severance Query Retrieval Provenance Worksheet

Direct answer

Give one official Severance Query attempt a neutral ID. Record the official route, exact source-displayed criteria labels, controlled values, result and help navigation, access timestamp and timezone, source limitation, retained reference, and only located, not located, or unverified. The worksheet proves how the query was attempted, not what a severance record, category, reason, letter date, schedule label, operator, lease, or property relationship means.

Key takeaways

• Start from an official RRC Research Queries route and retain the complete Severance Query route chain.
• Copy each used criterion label and controlled value without turning it into a conclusion about compliance, production, property, or value.
• Keep query results, help pages, the Severance/Reconnect Process page, and other official record channels separate.
• Record source context and access time for each retrieval step.
• Use only located, not located, or unverified, then stop before legal, title, regulatory, operational, valuation, or transaction conclusions.

Public-record retrieval boundary. This article records one Texas RRC Severance Query retrieval attempt. It does not interpret a result, category, reason, letter date, schedule label, operator, district, lease number, well identifier, field, link, document, or source context. It does not establish severance status, legal effect, compliance, reconnection eligibility, production, property connection, title, ownership, acreage, tract or unit inclusion, lease effect, payee status, royalty share, decimal, payment responsibility, entitlement, cash flow, value, price, offer quality, or a transaction result. It does not provide legal, title, land, tax, accounting, appraisal, engineering, geological, environmental, regulatory, or financial advice. MRX may have an economic interest in a later transaction; when that applies, the buyer relationship is disclosed in writing before an agreement is signed.

A Texas RRC severance query retrieval worksheet answers one narrow question: exactly how was one official Severance Query attempted? Record the entry route, source-displayed criteria labels, controlled values, result and help navigation, retained reference, access timestamp, source limitation, and one bounded retrieval status.

Use only located, not located, or unverified. Those terms describe the retrieval attempt, not whether a displayed record is complete, current, applicable, or connected to private property. They do not decide compliance, reconnection, production, payment, value, or a transaction outcome.

Start with the named official route

The Railroad Commission of Texas Research Queries directory supplies the agency’s public-query context. The Oil & Gas Data Query main page names Severance Query among separate query routes. Preserve both complete addresses instead of writing only “RRC lookup.”

The RRC’s About Oil & Gas Data Queries page identifies Severance Query as a distinct public query slice. The current Severance Query, help contents, and How To pages supply the source-displayed query and help context. Preserve route identity and access time; a route name or visible screen label is not a conclusion about a particular record.

This worksheet owns one Severance Query attempt. It does not merge that route with a Wellbore, production, Oil Proration, Gas Proration, Inactive Well, H-10, Organization, P-4, drilling-permit, pooling-filing, Injection-Storage, or private lease-review route. For broader orientation, use Texas Railroad Commission: How to Use Public Records to Understand Your Mineral Rights.

Create an attempt header before searching

Give the attempt a neutral ID such as TX-SEV-RET-01. The ID labels a query session, not a property, lease, well, field, operator, finding, or transaction conclusion. Record the purpose, official entry routes, query-page label, access date and time, timezone, preparer role, worksheet version, and any source-stated coverage, update, access, display, or result-limit note.

Create a new attempt for a rerun. Do not overwrite a prior criteria snapshot or query-page state merely because the page, date, or displayed data changed. A later reviewer can compare attempts without treating either attempt as a conclusion about a private interest.

Capture each used criterion by its displayed label

The current Severance Query displays an Oil Wells, Gas Wells, or Both choice and criteria labeled District, Oil Lease No./Gas Well ID No., Field(s), Operator(s), Severance/Seal Cert. Ltr. Issued By, Severance/Seal Cert. Ltr. Reason, Certified Letter Date, Severance/Seal Letter Date, and Severance/Seal Category. It also displays a separate Current, Historical, or Both choice. Preserve the exact wording shown during the attempt instead of reconstructing labels from memory.

Each field is a locator, filter, or source-displayed category, not a conclusion. For every field used, record the displayed label, entry method, controlled value reference, format shown by the source, whether it was submitted, and any visible default, constraint, or warning. Record “unused” for fields not used. Keep actual lease, well, operator, date, and letter values out of a reusable public example.

Record only the navigation that occurred

Preserve the path as a sequence:

official directory → Oil & Gas Data Query main page → Severance Query → criteria submitted → query-page state → displayed help, result, or next route

For each step, record the displayed page or link label, controlled route reference, action taken, access time and timezone, whether the page loaded or changed, and the next step selected. If the session ended, exposed no requested reference, reached a source-stated limit, or a visible constraint prevented submission, preserve that event and use not located or unverified only for the narrow retrieval fact.

The Severance Query How To page identifies result columns labeled Operator Number, Operator Name, District, Lease Number, Lease Name, Field Name, and Field Number, and states a maximum of 10,000 records for a query result. Those are source labels and a source-stated interface limit. They do not establish the meaning, accuracy, completeness, legal effect, compliance status, production status, or property connection of an individual row.

Keep query state, result rows, and process guidance separate

Record the query-page state separately from any row: criteria echoed by the page, a displayed count or range, sort and page state, page access time, and any displayed message or limitation. Then preserve only labels actually observed. Matching names, numbers, dates, or categories are not a property connection and do not establish title, production, compliance, value, payment, or lease facts.

If a page exposes a result link, help page, document, or another official record channel, create a separate retrieval step. Record its originating attempt ID, link label, destination route, destination page label, newly displayed fields, access timestamp, controlled retained-reference location, and located/not located/unverified status.

The RRC’s Severance/Reconnect Process page is a separate explanatory source. A query row does not, by itself, decide how that process applies, whether a record is current, whether a requirement has been satisfied, or whether reconnection is available. Do not convert process guidance into a query-result conclusion.

Use only bounded retrieval statuses

• Located: the recorded official query exposed an identified result reference.
• Not located: the recorded attempt did not expose the sought result reference.
• Unverified: a label, identifier, route, or result appeared, but the narrow retrieval fact or relationship was not established.

Located does not mean connected, applicable, complete, accurate, current, compliant, reconnected, active, productive, paid, valuable, or legally effective. Not located does not mean nonexistent. Unverified preserves uncertainty without alleging an error, defect, or violation.

Blank Severance Query provenance worksheet

• Attempt ID: _________
• Purpose: public Severance Query retrieval only
• Official entry routes: _________
• Query-page label: _________
• Access date, time, and timezone: _________
• Oil Wells / Gas Wells / Both selection: _________
• Current / Historical / Both selection: _________
• Criterion labels and controlled values: _________
• Visible instruction or source context: _________
• Navigation path: _________
• Query-page criteria and state: _________
• Displayed range or source-stated limit: _________
• Sort, page, and page-size state: _________
• Result-column labels and controlled references: _________
• Displayed help or next-route path: _________
• Authorized retained-reference location: _________
• Retrieval status: located / not located / unverified
• Neutral next retrieval question: _________

Use one attempt per worksheet record. If a qualified reviewer later interprets a record, connects it to private property, or uses it for legal, title, land, regulatory, operational, production, valuation, or transaction work, preserve that as a separate output with its own author, date, sources, assumptions, and scope.

Turn gaps into neutral next questions

When the route or criteria do not expose a requested reference, ask a bounded retrieval question: Was the correct Oil Leases/Gas Wells/Both choice used? Was the displayed district or identifier format copied exactly? Was a filter omitted or applied? Did the page show a limit, warning, or access issue? Is a separate official route needed for a different record class?

Do not turn a gap into “no record exists,” “the property is clear,” “the well is compliant,” “the lease is producing,” or “the interest has no value.” Those are not retrieval statuses.

Final quality check

Before closing the worksheet, confirm that the exact official entry routes are named; every submitted criterion retains its source label and controlled value; any instruction, source context, or limitation is captured as shown; the navigation path records only steps that occurred; query state, rows, help, and process guidance remain separate; each status is only located, not located, or unverified; and no row interprets a result, category, reason, date, operator, lease, well, field, link, or property relationship.

A strong provenance worksheet is narrow by design. It lets an authorized reviewer understand and repeat the recorded Severance Query attempt. It does not decide what any result means.

Frequently asked questions

Does a located Severance Query result prove a lease, well, operator, field, or property has a particular legal, compliance, production, or economic status?

No. Located means only that the recorded official query exposed an identified result reference. It does not establish a property connection, ownership, title, lease effect, compliance, reconnection eligibility, production, payment status, value, or a transaction result.

Does not located mean that no severance record, lease, operator, well, field, or relationship exists?

No. Not located describes one attempt using stated criteria at a stated time. A criterion mismatch, interface state, source limitation, update, or separate official record channel may require another bounded retrieval step.

Can I publish a real identifier, result row, certified-letter reference, or screen capture in a reusable worksheet example?

No. Keep query-specific identifiers and actual results in an authorized controlled reference. A reusable example should use blank fields and should not publish property-specific, operational, or sensitive records.

Can this worksheet decide compliance, reconnection eligibility, production, mineral-rights value, payment, offer, title, lease, or transaction action?

No. It records query provenance only. It does not establish regulatory standing, legal effect, operating status, production, cash flow, price, value, payment entitlement, offer quality, or a transaction result.

Should I combine a Severance Query result with the Severance/Reconnect Process page or another RRC query?

No. Record each official route as a separate retrieval step with its own source context, access time, and bounded status. A shared label, date, identifier, operator, or lease number does not establish that separate sources have the same scope or meaning.

Sources

• Railroad Commission of Texas, Research Queries (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, About Oil & Gas Data Queries (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Oil & Gas Data Query Main Page (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Severance Query (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Severance Query Help Contents (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Severance Query How To (accessed 2026-08-24)
• Railroad Commission of Texas, Severance/Reconnect Process (accessed 2026-08-24)