Mineral Rights Questions,
Answered Straight

Value depends on your basin, nearby drilling activity, the type of interest you own, your net acreage, and whether the property is producing. Producing minerals in active areas generally command the strongest pricing, while non-producing acreage is valued on the probability of future development. An online estimator can give you a directional range in minutes, but a firm offer requires title verification and well-level engineering analysis.

Buyers apply different commodity price assumptions, discount rates, and development forecasts, so two legitimate offers can differ meaningfully. Some buyers also deliberately open low, expecting that owners will not compare bids. Asking each buyer to explain the assumptions behind their number is one of the fastest ways to separate serious offers from opportunistic ones.

In most cases, yes — competing bids are the most reliable way to discover what the market will actually pay. Reputable buyers expect comparison shopping and will not pressure you with artificial deadlines. Be cautious of any buyer who insists you sign before you have had time to seek other bids or professional advice.

Your monthly royalty is driven by your decimal interest — generally your net acres divided by the drilling unit’s acres, multiplied by your lease royalty rate — applied to the well’s production revenue. Checks fluctuate with production volumes and commodity prices, and many leases allow post-production costs to be deducted. Reviewing your division order and lease language together shows exactly how your payment is built.

You submit your property details through our confidential evaluation portal, and our internal engineering and land team completes a preliminary title and geological review within 24 hours. A senior acquisition specialist then presents a formal, no-obligation offer or leasing strategy and walks you through the assumptions behind it. There is no cost and no commitment at any point in the evaluation.

Most transactions close within a few weeks of an accepted offer, with the timeline driven primarily by title verification. Complex chains of title, unprobated estates, or interests spread across multiple counties can extend the process. A buyer with an in-house title team can usually resolve curative issues faster than one who outsources the work.

The most useful documents are your deed or other conveyance records, any existing lease, and — if the property is producing — recent check stubs or division orders showing your decimal interest. If you inherited the minerals, probate records or an affidavit of heirship help establish ownership. Incomplete records are not a dealbreaker; a capable buyer’s title team can reconstruct much of the chain from county records.

With a reputable buyer, you receive the full purchase price at closing — typically by wire transfer or certified funds — when you deliver the signed and notarized deed. Be cautious of sight drafts or bank drafts that give the buyer 30 or more banking days to fund after you have signed; that structure shifts all the risk to you. Payment terms should be spelled out in the purchase agreement before you sign anything.

Mineral ownership is established by the deed records in the county where the property is located, so the county courthouse or its online records portal is the place to start. Because minerals are often severed from the surface, owning the land does not necessarily mean you own the minerals beneath it — and vice versa. A landman or title attorney can run the chain of title if the records are unclear.

Severance means the mineral estate has been split from the surface estate and can be owned, sold, or leased separately. In most oil and gas states the mineral estate is dominant, which gives a mineral lessee reasonable rights to use the surface for development. This is why you can own and profit from minerals beneath land you have never set foot on.

A division order states the decimal interest the operator believes you own in a producing well and authorizes payment accordingly. Verify the decimal against your own records before signing — errors are more common than most owners expect. In most states a standard division order does not amend your lease, but never sign one that purports to change lease terms; when in doubt, have an oil and gas attorney review it.