If oil was discovered on a rancher's land that he has not previously conveyed the rights for, who owns the oil?

When oil is discovered on a rancher's land, the ownership of the oil typically falls to the rancher, provided that he has not previously conveyed the rights to another party. This principle stems from the concept of "subsurface rights," where landowners generally retain rights to the natural resources beneath the surface of their property. Unless the rancher has explicitly sold, leased, or otherwise transferred these rights to another individual, the rancher maintains ownership of the oil.

The other options, such as the tenant or government entities, do not apply in this situation because unless the tenant's lease specifically includes mineral rights, typically, those rights remain with the landlord, who is the rancher in this case. Additionally, government ownership does not apply unless there have been specific regulations or transfers in place to claim ownership over natural resources found on private land. Thus, the rancher retains ownership of the oil discovered on his property.