A 20-acre industrial tract can turn into 13 usable acres once every pipeline, lease road, and easement lands on the drawing. Buyers run into this more often than they expect. The land looks wide open from the highway, but decades of Permian Basin oil and gas activity run across it and underneath it.
A due diligence survey shows what you’re really buying before money changes hands. It maps boundaries, access, improvements, and recorded rights that limit how the site can be used. Order it early, read it closely, and tie it to your site plan before closing.
Why Pipeline Corridors Complicate Industrial Property Due Diligence
Pipeline corridors limit where you can build, pave, grade, or park heavy equipment. Most pipelines sit inside easements that give the operator the right to reach, maintain, and sometimes replace the line. Building over or near one usually needs the operator’s approval, and some operators set strict rules for crossings.
The harder part is what stays hidden. Many tracts around carry several lines from different eras, and some are inactive or poorly documented. Above-ground markers help, but they don’t always show exact locations or depths.
A survey team pulls together recorded easements, field evidence like markers and valves, and public sources such as Texas Railroad Commission pipeline maps. Those maps are a good starting point, though they aren’t precise enough for design. Buried lines may also need a utility locating service or information from the operator.
Mapping Lease Roads, Access, and Site Improvements
Lease roads are the caliche roads built to reach well pads, tank batteries, and pipeline facilities. Many exist under oil and gas lease rights instead of a separate recorded easement. That makes them easy to miss in a title search, even when trucks use them every day.
A due diligence survey should locate every road on the ground and compare it to the records. Ask your surveyor to map:
- Lease roads, gates, and cattle guards
- Well pads, tank batteries, and related equipment
- Pipeline markers, risers, and valve sites
- Existing buildings, yards, fencing, and power lines
- Points where the property touches a public road
Legal access is the key question. The road you drive in on may not be one you have a recorded right to use. Confirm the property reaches a public road through frontage or a recorded easement, and ask your title company to review it.
Reviewing Easements That Affect the Usable Site Area
An easement is a right someone else holds to use part of your land for a set purpose. On industrial tracts, common ones cover pipelines, power lines, roads, and drainage. Each one can shrink the area you can build on or limit how you use it.
Width matters, and so does wording. Some easements describe an exact strip, such as a set number of feet on each side of a line. Others are blanket easements that cover the whole tract with no defined location, which can make lenders and buyers uneasy.
The surveyor plots each recorded easement that can be located from its description. On an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey, the surveyor also comments on items in the title commitment and notes which ones affect the property. In Texas, mineral owners and operators may also hold rights to use the surface, so have a real estate or oil and gas attorney review the documents themselves.
Connecting Survey Findings to Industrial Site Planning
Survey findings shape the site plan from day one. Once easements and roads are on the drawing, your engineer can see the true buildable area and the best spots for buildings, yards, and truck routes. Large trucks need wide turns, and a single pipeline crossing can change where a driveway goes.
Ask for a topographic survey if you’ll grade, pave, or build. Much of the land around looks flat, but small slopes decide where stormwater goes during heavy storms. Grading inside a pipeline easement may also need operator approval, so the topo and easement lines belong on one drawing.
Plan for buffers too. Some operators, lenders, or local rules may call for distance between buildings and active lines or facilities. These requirements vary, so check with the operator, the city or county, and your engineer before you lock in a layout.
Using Due Diligence Survey Data Before Closing
A due diligence survey gives you time to act on what you learn. If it shows a lease road cutting through the planned yard or an easement eating up frontage, you can raise it during the inspection period. Depending on your contract and your attorney’s advice, you may negotiate price, ask for releases, or walk away.
Start early. Title commitments and recorded documents take time to gather, and crews may need to walk large tracts with limited access. If your closing date or lender approval depends on the survey, settle the scope and schedule in the first days of the contract.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a due diligence survey for industrial property?
A due diligence survey is a survey ordered before a purchase to show a property’s boundaries, access, improvements, and recorded rights. For industrial land, it often takes the form of an ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey. It helps buyers and lenders spot problems that affect value or use. The exact scope depends on the buyer, lender, and title company.
Will the survey show buried pipelines?
A survey shows visible evidence like markers, valves, and risers, plus easements that can be located from recorded documents. Exact buried locations and depths often require a utility locating service or data from the operator. Texas 811 can mark member facilities before digging, but that marking is separate from a survey. Ask your surveyor how buried lines will be handled in the scope.
Can I build over a pipeline easement?
In most cases, you’ll need the operator’s consent, and some easements don’t allow buildings at all. Many easements limit structures, heavy equipment, or grade changes within the easement area. The terms depend on the specific easement document. Have an attorney review it and contact the operator before planning anything in that strip.
Do lease roads have to stay open after I buy the land?
That depends on the lease, any recorded agreements, and the operator’s rights. Some roads may need to stay open as long as the lease is active. Others may be moved by agreement with the operator. An oil and gas attorney can review the documents and explain your options.
How long does a due diligence survey take on a large industrial tract?
Timing depends on acreage, terrain, access, and how many title documents need review. Large tracts with many easements take longer than small urban lots. Survey demand in the Permian Basin also rises and falls with oil field activity, which can affect crew schedules. Share your contract dates early so the surveyor can give you a realistic timeline.
Land Surveyors are professionals who txke precise measurements to determine the size and boundaries of a piece of real estate. While this is a simplistic definition, boundary surveying is one of the most common types of surveying related to home and land owners. If you fall into the following categories, please click on the appropriate link for more information on that subject:
