GLO | Energy Resources

Introduction to Energy Resources

As one of its first acts, the Texas Congress established the General Land Office (GLO) to determine land ownership in the wake of independence from Mexico in 1836. One of its primary responsibilities today is leasing the state's vast land holdings for energy and mineral development. The proceeds of these leasing activities are deposited into the state's Permanent School Fund (PSF), created to help finance public primary and secondary education in Texas. Since 1854, the PSF has grown through periodic GLO deposits and investments, totaling roughly $7.7 billion, to a market value of more than $25 billion (as of February, 2007), one of the world's largest endowment funds for education.

State lands dedicated to the PSF include 13.3 million acres, approximately 65 percent of the state land and mineral rights that the GLO manages. Roughly four million acres of that portfolio are submerged lands, including the bays, lakes, islands, bayous, and the Gulf of Mexico out to the Three Marine League Line (10.3570 statute miles). Several other land classes exist: the beds of navigable rivers and creeks account for approximately 1 million acres; State Fee lands include 873,815 acres; Relinquishment Act lands account for 6,326,361 acres; and Free Royalty acreage totals 826,656.

The GLO also manages an in-kind oil and natural gas program, as well as a state electric power program. In addition to their benefits to the PSF, these programs provide gas and electricity to state agencies and public school districts at a discounted cost. The GLO markets other Texas resources, such as wind and geothermal power. This sustainable energy is an area where the GLO is turning natural resources into money for public education.

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	Introduction to Energy Resources As one of its first acts, the Texas Congress established the General Land Office (GLO) to determine land ownership in the wake of independence from Mexico in 1836. One of its primary responsibilities today is leasing the state's vast land holdings for energy and mineral development. The proceeds of these leasing activities are deposited into the state's Permanent School Fund (PSF), created to help finance public primary and secondary education in Texas. Since 1854, the PSF has grown through periodic GLO deposits and investments, totaling roughly $7.7 billion, to a market value of more than $25 billion (as of February, 2007), one of the world's largest endowment funds for education. State lands dedicated to the PSF include 13.3 million acres, approximately 65 percent of the state land and mineral rights that the GLO manages. Roughly four million acres of that portfolio are submerged lands, including the bays, lakes, islands, bayous, and the Gulf of Mexico out to the Three Marine League Line (10.3570 statute miles). Several other land classes exist: the beds of navigable rivers and creeks account for approximately 1 million acres; State Fee lands include 873,815 acres; Relinquishment Act lands account for 6,326,361 acres; and Free Royalty acreage totals 826,656. The GLO also manages an in-kind oil and natural gas program, as well as a state electric power program. In addition to their benefits to the PSF, these programs provide gas and electricity to state agencies and public school districts at a discounted cost. The GLO markets other Texas resources, such as wind and geothermal power. This sustainable energy is an area where the GLO is turning natural resources into money for public education.
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