Active Acquisition State
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Texas produces more oil and gas than any other state in the country, and it is where we do the largest share of our deals. From the Permian Basin in West Texas to the Eagle Ford in South Texas and the Haynesville in East Texas, we actively buy mineral interests, royalty interests, NPRI, and ORRI across every producing county in the state. Texas has been the heart of the American oil industry since Spindletop in 1901, and the state continues to set production records thanks to advances in horizontal drilling and completion technology. Whether you own minerals under a producing well or hold an unleased tract in an active drilling area, we want to make you a fair offer.
Highlighted state with approximate basin locations shown in tan
The table below shows the top producing counties in Texas where we are most active, along with the primary operators and target formations in each area.
| County | Major Operators | Key Formations |
|---|---|---|
| Midland | Diamondback Energy, Pioneer (ExxonMobil), Fasken Oil | Wolfcamp, Spraberry, Dean |
| Martin | Pioneer (ExxonMobil), Diamondback Energy, Vital Energy | Wolfcamp, Spraberry |
| Howard | SM Energy, Surge Energy, Diamondback Energy | Wolfcamp, Spraberry |
| Glasscock | Pioneer (ExxonMobil), Vital Energy | Wolfcamp, Spraberry |
| Reeves | ConocoPhillips, Oxy, Apache (APA) | Wolfcamp, Bone Spring, Avalon |
| Loving | Oxy, Mentone Operating, ConocoPhillips | Wolfcamp, Bone Spring |
| Ward | ConocoPhillips, Oxy, Colgate Energy | Wolfcamp, Bone Spring, Delaware Sands |
| Karnes | EOG Resources, ConocoPhillips, Magnolia Oil & Gas | Eagle Ford |
| La Salle | EOG Resources, ConocoPhillips, Murphy Oil | Eagle Ford |
| DeWitt | ConocoPhillips, EOG Resources, Magnolia Oil & Gas | Eagle Ford |
| Dimmit | Baytex Energy, SM Energy, Chevron | Eagle Ford |
| Webb | SM Energy, EP Energy, Chesapeake Energy | Eagle Ford |
| Panola | Comstock Resources, Aethon Energy, Sabine Oil & Gas | Haynesville, Cotton Valley |
| Harrison | Rockcliff Energy, Aethon Energy, Comstock Resources | Haynesville, Cotton Valley |
We cover 181 Texas counties in total. Beyond the counties highlighted above, we also buy mineral rights in these 167 additional producing counties, listed in order of recent oil and gas activity:
Texas is home to the largest concentration of oil and gas operators in the country. In the Permian Basin, the major operators include Diamondback Energy, Pioneer Natural Resources (now part of ExxonMobil), ConocoPhillips, Oxy, and Apache (APA Corporation). The Eagle Ford is dominated by EOG Resources, ConocoPhillips (which absorbed Marathon Oil in late 2024), and Magnolia Oil & Gas. In the Haynesville, Comstock Resources, Aethon Energy, and Rockcliff Energy are the most active drillers. The presence of multiple active operators in each basin creates healthy competition for lease terms and means mineral owners in Texas typically have strong bargaining position when negotiating leases or considering a sale.
Operators ranked by the number of Texas counties where they hold the top active-well count. Counties where the operator runs the most active wells link through to the county detail page.
| Operator | Counties | Top Counties |
|---|---|---|
| Hilcorp Energy Company | 11 | Winkler, Robertson, Leon, Freestone, Zapata + 6 more |
| Scout Energy Management LLC | 6 | Crockett, Moore, Potter, Sherman, Hansford + 1 more |
| Occidental Permian LTD. | 5 | Yoakum, Ector, Gaines, Hockley, Hale |
| Magnolia Oil & Gas Operating LLC | 4 | Washington, Fayette, Lee, Grimes |
| Upp Operating LLC | 4 | Johnson, Sutton, Schleicher, Edwards |
| Basa Resources INC. | 4 | Rusk, Gregg, Stephens, Van Zandt |
| Diversified Production LLC | 4 | Upshur, Hood, Cherokee, Hill |
| ConocoPhillips | 3 | Reeves, Ward, Atascosa |
| Adamas Energy LLC | 3 | San Augustine, Angelina, Shelby |
| Wildfire Energy Operating LLC | 3 | Burleson, Brazos, Madison |
Texas lease terms are among the most favorable for mineral owners in the country. The standard royalty rate in Texas has effectively moved to 1/4 (25%) in most active areas, up from the historical 1/8 (12.5%) standard that still persists in some legacy leases. Texas's Mineral Interest Pooling Act (MIPA, Tex. Nat. Res. Code § 102) does permit compulsory pooling, but only under narrow circumstances and far less freely than the regimes in Oklahoma or North Dakota — MIPA orders are issued only a few dozen times a year statewide, and most production unitization happens through voluntary pooling clauses in modern leases rather than forced pooling. In practical terms, Texas mineral owners enjoy substantially more leverage than their counterparts in states with active compulsory-integration regimes. Pugh clauses are common in modern Texas leases and prevent operators from holding unleased depths or undeveloped acreage by production from a single well. Texas is not subject to the Dodd-Frank Act mineral rights disclosure requirements that apply in some other jurisdictions. There is no dormant mineral act in Texas, so severed mineral interests remain with the mineral owner indefinitely regardless of whether the surface has changed hands.
We buy all types of Texas mineral interests: fee simple mineral rights, royalty interests, non-participating royalty interests (NPRI), and overriding royalty interests (ORRI). Severed mineral estates are extremely common in Texas, and many owners hold interests that were carved out decades ago through reservation in a deed or by inheritance.
Not sure which type you own? Start with our mineral rights glossary for plain-English definitions of MI, RI, NPRI, and ORRI.
Texas has some of the most well-developed mineral law in the country. The dominant mineral estate doctrine gives mineral owners the right to use the surface as reasonably necessary to explore and produce minerals. The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) regulates all oil and gas activity in the state and maintains a comprehensive well database that we use during our evaluation process. Texas also has a strong tradition of severed mineral ownership — it is common for the mineral estate to have been separated from the surface estate many decades ago, creating standalone mineral interests that trade independently. If you own mineral rights inherited from a family member or bought separately from the surface, we can almost certainly help.
Texas mineral owners occasionally run into questions about severance-tax treatment, dormant mineral statutes, and non-participating royalty interests. These topics rarely drive a transaction, but understanding them helps you read a division order or evaluate an offer. The summaries below are starting points — verify against current statute text before relying on them.
Oil: 4.6% of market value at the wellhead. Natural gas: 7.5% of market value. Condensate: 4.6%. Marginal-well and high-cost-gas reductions are available under Tax Code §202.057 and §201.057.
Texas has no state ad valorem property tax on minerals at the state level, but counties impose ad valorem mineral property tax on producing interests assessed annually by the county appraisal district.
Statutory citation: Tex. Tax Code §§201.052, 202.051
Texas has no dormant mineral act and no general statutory mechanism by which an unused mineral interest reverts to the surface owner. Mineral title is preserved indefinitely once severed by deed or reservation. Adverse possession of severed minerals is extremely difficult — the surface owner's possession of the surface generally does not run against the mineral owner. Title cleanup is typically achieved through quiet-title actions or affidavits of heirship rather than statutory lapse.
Texas recognizes the non-participating royalty interest (NPRI) as a separate, cost-free real property interest carved from the royalty estate. NPRIs do not bear lease bonus, do not have executive (leasing) rights, and do not bear post-production costs unless the conveying instrument expressly says so — but the Heritage Resources line of cases (Heritage v. NationsBank, 1996; Burlington Resources v. Texas Crude Energy, 2017; Bluestone v. Randle, 2020) has narrowed how clearly cost-free language must be drafted to actually achieve cost-free treatment in practice.
Need plain-English definitions? See our mineral rights glossary.
Yes, but in a narrow form. Texas's Mineral Interest Pooling Act (MIPA, Tex. Nat. Res. Code § 102) allows compulsory pooling only after voluntary pooling has been attempted and refused, and the operator must offer terms at least as favorable as the average of executed leases in the field. MIPA is invoked rarely — only a few dozen orders are issued statewide each year, compared with thousands of compulsory-pooling orders in Oklahoma. A non-consenting unleased owner under MIPA receives a 1/8 royalty plus a 100% risk penalty on the remaining 7/8 working interest. In practical terms, most Texas mineral owners are never compelled to participate in a drilling unit without their consent, and Texas owners enjoy substantially more leverage than counterparts in active compulsory-integration states. See our /sell-mineral-rights/forced-pooling#texas section for the full MIPA framework.
The effective standard royalty rate in active Texas drilling areas has moved to 1/4 (25%), though some legacy leases still carry the historical 1/8 (12.5%) rate. In highly competitive areas like the core Permian Basin, royalty rates of 25% are the norm, and some mineral owners with strong bargaining positions negotiate even higher. When we evaluate your mineral rights for purchase, we account for the royalty rate on any existing lease as a key factor in our valuation.
The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) is the state agency that regulates all oil and gas drilling, production, and pipeline activity in Texas. The RRC issues drilling permits, sets allowable production rates, enforces well spacing rules, and maintains the production records we use to evaluate mineral tracts. The RRC does not regulate mineral ownership or sales — those are governed by Texas property law and the courts. You do not need RRC approval to sell your mineral rights.
Absolutely. Severed mineral rights — where the mineral estate has been separated from the surface estate — are extremely common in Texas and trade routinely. Many of the mineral interests we purchase are severed estates that were reserved in a deed decades ago or passed down through inheritance. You own the minerals outright and can sell them without permission from the surface owner. A title search and mineral deed are all that is needed to transfer ownership.
Selling mineral rights in Texas is treated as a sale of a capital asset by the IRS. If you have held the minerals for more than one year, the gain is taxed at long-term capital gains rates, which are typically lower than ordinary income rates. Texas has no state income tax, so there is no state-level capital gains tax on the sale. You should consult with a tax advisor for guidance specific to your situation, but the combination of federal capital gains treatment and no state income tax makes Texas one of the most tax-efficient states in which to sell mineral rights.
We can typically close on Texas mineral rights in 30 to 45 days from the date you accept our offer. The timeline depends on the complexity of the title — a clean, single-owner tract with a clear chain of title can close in as little as three weeks, while inherited interests with multiple heirs or fractional ownership may take slightly longer. We handle all title work, deed preparation, and recording at our expense.
Learn more about the basins active in Texas:
If you live in one of the major Texas metros and own or inherited mineral interests anywhere in the state, the pages below cover the local mechanics specific to selling from your area.
Many Texasmineral and royalty interests are held by heirs who live elsewhere. If that's you, our metro pages address the inheritance, ancillary-probate, and tax mechanics specific to your home state:
See all mineral rights FAQ.
State-specific guides covering the legal mechanics that come up most often for owners considering a sale.