I think this view is quite US-centric as in fact most countries in the world do not include mineral rights with the land ownership (and yet, minerals are explored everywhere, not just US, meaning imo that profit motive is alive and well when you need to buy licences on top of the land, it’s just priced in differently). From Claude:
In a relatively small number of countries, private landowners own mineral rights (including oil) under their property. The United States is the most notable example, where private mineral rights are common through the concept of “mineral estate.” Even in the US though, there are some limitations and government regulations on extraction.
The vast majority of countries follow the “state ownership” model, where subsurface minerals including oil are owned by the government regardless of who owns the surface land. This includes:
Most of Europe (including UK, France, Germany)
Russia
China
Most Middle Eastern countries
Most African nations
Most Latin American countries
Canada (where the provinces generally own mineral rights)
Mexico (where oil specifically is constitutionally defined as state property)
Australia (where states own mineral rights)
Even in countries that technically allow private mineral ownership, state-owned companies often have exclusive rights to develop oil resources (like Saudi Aramco in Saudi Arabia or PEMEX in Mexico).
The US system of widespread private mineral rights is quite unique globally. There are a few other countries that have limited forms of private mineral rights, but none with the same extensive private ownership system as the US.
I think this view is quite US-centric as in fact most countries in the world do not include mineral rights with the land ownership (and yet, minerals are explored everywhere, not just US, meaning imo that profit motive is alive and well when you need to buy licences on top of the land, it’s just priced in differently). From Claude: