Sell mineral rights in Florida

Where Florida mineral rights buyers are most active

Florida's oil history is short. Oil was discovered near Naples in 1943, output peaked at nearly 48 million barrels in 1978 with the development of the Jay Field in the Panhandle, and production has been under 3 million barrels a year since 2004 (EIA, 2026). The Jay field is still the largest producer: in the Florida DEP's 2025 well production data it reported about 472,000 barrels across Santa Rosa and Escambia counties, with the nearby Mt Carmel field in Santa Rosa County adding about 59,000 barrels (Florida DEP, 2025).

The Sunniland trend in the south is a string of small conventional fields in Collier, Hendry and Lee counties. In 2025 the West Felda field in Hendry County reported about 101,000 barrels, Raccoon Point in Collier County about 76,000, Bear Island in Collier about 45,000, Corkscrew in Collier about 23,000 and Mid-Felda in Hendry about 7,000, while the Sunniland and Lehigh Park fields reported no production (Florida DEP, 2025). Natural gas is tiny: almost all of it comes from the Jay field, most is reinjected into the oil zones, and only 5 to 15 percent of gross withdrawals are marketed (EIA, 2026). Florida mineral rights buyers therefore price oil royalties, not gas.

What buyers check before a Florida mineral rights offer

Mineral rights buyers use the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Oil and Gas Program, part of the Division of Water Resource Management, which permits drilling and production and keeps field offices near the producing fields in the northwest at Jay and in the south at Fort Myers. Its Interactive Map of Permitted Wells, permit database, and well and field production data by year let a buyer confirm your well, the operator and the monthly volumes before pricing Florida mineral rights.

Because the market is small, buyers look hard at the operator and the field's remaining life. Jay is a mature field that drove the state's 1978 production peak (EIA, 2026), and the Sunniland fields produce at low rates. For non-producing Florida mineral rights, a buyer checks whether the tract lies inside or next to a producing field. Drilling in Florida's state waters has been banned since 1989 (EIA, 2026), so offshore acreage has no near-term value to a mineral buyer.

Florida mineral rights records and ownership

The clerk of the circuit court is the recorder of all instruments required or authorized to be recorded in the county (Florida Statutes 28.222), so deeds, mineral deeds and oil and gas leases are recorded with the county clerk's official records. Buyers run title through those records before they price Florida mineral rights.

If you inherited severed minerals, record the probate order or a certified death certificate and affidavit with the clerk so the chain of title reaches you. An oil and gas attorney can confirm what fraction of the minerals you hold under a given tract, which matters because many Florida tracts carry fractional royalty interests rather than full Florida mineral rights.

Selling Florida mineral rights: taxes and closing

Florida's oil production tax is 8 percent of gross value for ordinary oil, 5 percent for small well oil, and a tiered 1 to 9 percent for tertiary and mature field recovery oil depending on price (Florida Statutes 211.02), and the gas production tax starts from a base rate of 17.1 cents per thousand cubic feet adjusted each year (Florida Statutes 211.025). Those taxes are taken before royalties are paid. Ask a tax professional how the sale itself will be taxed and whether a stepped-up basis on inherited mineral rights reduces the gain.

To sell mineral rights in Florida, gather the recorded deed or probate record, any lease and recent royalty statements. Mineral rights buyers verify the well names against DEP production data. Closing is a mineral deed recorded with the county clerk, payment, and a transfer order so the operator pays the new owner. With few buyers in the state, several written mineral rights offers matter more here than anywhere else.

How to get offers for Florida mineral rights

Tell us your county and what you own. We send your request to up to 3 buyers who purchase in that part of Florida. They review the public records and contact you with offers, and you choose whether to sell, sell part, or keep.

Last reviewed October 13, 2026. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Facts come from the official sources listed above; confirm anything that matters to your sale with a qualified professional.