Texas Mineral Rights Value: What Buyers Pay and Why

What drives Texas mineral rights value

Most buyers of Texas mineral rights focus on the Permian Basin in West Texas, where horizontal wells produce oil along with associated gas and natural gas liquids. The Permian has several stacked zones, so operators can return to the same unit and drill more wells years after the first ones. That chance of future wells is a large part of what buyers pay for in counties like Midland, Martin, Howard, Reeves and Loving.

Drilling is still busy. The Railroad Commission of Texas approved 759 original drilling permits in September 2026, and 414 of them were in Districts 08 and 7C, the West Texas districts that cover most of the Midland and Delaware basins (RRC monthly drilling summary). In 2023, Texas produced 43% of the nation's crude oil and 27% of its natural gas gross withdrawals (EIA).

Well age matters as much as location. A horizontal well produces most of its oil in its first few years, then settles into a slower decline. Two owners with the same check today can get very different offers if one owns under wells drilled last year and the other under wells drilled in 2015. Well age is one reason Texas mineral rights value can differ so much between neighbors. Gas-weighted areas such as the Haynesville in East Texas also move with natural gas prices, while the Permian and Eagle Ford move mostly with oil.

What comes off a Texas royalty check before you're paid

Texas taxes oil at 4.6% of market value and natural gas at 7.5% of market value (Texas Comptroller; Railroad Commission of Texas). The operator or purchaser pays the tax to the state and takes your share out of your royalty, so it appears as a line on your check stub.

Your lease decides what else comes off. Some leases let the operator deduct gathering, compression, processing and transport costs; others forbid it. Buyers value what you actually receive, so mineral rights under a lease with no-deduction language can be worth more than the same decimal interest under a lease that allows deductions. Our guide on how to read a royalty check shows where each item appears.

Producing vs non-producing mineral rights in Texas

Producing mineral rights are priced on income. Non-producing mineral rights have no check to multiply, so buyers price them per net mineral acre: the acres in your tract times your share of the minerals. If you own a one-quarter interest under 80 acres, you own 20 net mineral acres.

What a Texas net mineral acre is worth depends on what's happening around it. For undrilled acreage, Texas mineral rights value is mostly a judgment about what the neighbors are doing. Buyers look at recent permits and completed wells on neighboring tracts, the lease bonus and royalty operators have been paying nearby, and whether your tract fits a likely horizontal unit. Acreage in the core of the Delaware or Midland Basin can draw strong competition. Acreage in a county with no recent permits may draw a low offer or none, because a buyer has no near-term income to count on.

How to estimate your Texas mineral rights value

Start with what you actually receive: your average monthly royalty over the last 6 to 12 months, after production taxes and any lease deductions. Texas buyers commonly price producing mineral rights at about 36 to 60 months of that income, stretch to 48 to 72 months when new wells are permitted or planned, and drop to 24 to 48 months for older, declining wells. That's a rule of thumb, not an appraisal.

Example with round numbers: you receive $1,500 a month from a Midland County unit, and the operator has filed permits for more wells in it. At 48 to 72 months, $1,500 × 48 to 72 = $72,000 to $108,000. If the same unit had only older wells and no new permits, 24 to 48 months would put it at $36,000 to $72,000. Our mineral rights value calculator runs the same math on your own check.

Use the result to judge offers, not to set a price. No single multiple settles Texas mineral rights value, because buyers forecast production, prices and future wells differently, and some give no credit at all for undrilled zones. Asking several buyers active in your county is how you find the one that pays for your future wells.

Next steps for Texas owners

Read more about selling mineral rights in Texas, including where buyers are active. To confirm what you own before you ask for prices, see how to search Texas mineral rights records. When you're ready, request offers from up to three buyers active in your county. Each one will put its own Texas mineral rights value on the same interest, which is why three offers tell you more than one. There's no cost and no obligation to sell.

Texas questions

Does the Texas severance tax come out of my royalty?

Yes. Texas production taxes are 4.6% of the market value of oil and 7.5% of the market value of gas. The operator or purchaser pays them to the state and deducts your share before you're paid, and buyers value your mineral rights on that net amount.

How often does Texas mineral rights value change?

Whenever oil or gas prices move, a new well comes online, a permit is filed or existing wells decline. An estimate built on last year's checks can be stale, so work from your last 6 to 12 months of royalty.

Why did offers go up after a permit was filed near my land?

A new permit means a new well is likely, and a horizontal well pays the most in its first years. Buyers can now count that income. They don't all count it the same way, so it's a good moment to compare several offers.

Is a Haynesville tract in East Texas valued like a Permian tract?

No. Haynesville wells produce mostly natural gas, so their value moves with gas prices and the 7.5% gas tax rate applies. Permian mineral rights value moves mostly with oil prices and the number of future wells a unit can hold.

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Last reviewed October 13, 2026.

Texas mineral rights value: what your minerals are worth