Sell Your New Mexico Mineral Rights
We buy oil and gas royalties and mineral rights in New Mexico and throughout the United States.
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New Mexico Mineral Rights
A brief overview of oil and gas activity
In New Mexico, oil and gas development is primarily in the southeast and the northwest. There are two main basins: the Permian, located in the southeast, and the San Juan Basin, located in the northwest. The San Juan basin is an older, conventional oil field with vertical wells producing wet gas. The Permian Basin was once an older oilfield, but the fracking boom brought it back roaring to life. Today, the Permian Basin is filled with long, fracked horizontal wells that generate vast quantities of oil and gas.
The Permian Basin generates far more oil and gas than the San Juan Basin because there are multiple stacked shale formations.
The Permian is arguably the best area in the entire United States to own mineral rights!
Top New Mexico Oil & Gas Counties
Where is Oil Produced in New Mexico?
New Mexico’s Lea and Eddy Counties, by far, produce the most oil and gas. These counties are located in the Delaware Basin, which is the heart of the Permian Basin and contains multiple producing formations.
Of course, not all of Lea or Eddy county contains oil and gas. The Permian Basin only extends into the southern half of Eddy and Lea counties. There is little to no development potential in the northern parts of the counties or the rest of NM except the San Juan and Rio Arriba Counties.
Ban On Drilling on Federal Lands
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) manages the surface and mineral rights for a lot of land in the Southeastern part of New Mexico. Therefore, mineral owners may find that their interest has been pooled or unitized with federal leases and may be vulnerable to a federal ban on oil and gas drilling.
Locating Your New Mexico Mineral Rights
It’s easy to locate your New Mexico mineral rights on a map. The New Mexico Oil Conservation Division provides an easy-to-use interactive map with information about NM oil and gas wells, including information about which areas and leases are managed by the BLM.
Finding Your Legal Description
To locate your mineral rights, you will need to know your legal description (section, township, range). You can find this information on your deed or your oil and gas lease (or memo of lease). Both of these should be filed with the county’s deed records.
Where We Buy Mineral Rights
We buy producing and non-producing oil and gas royalties and mineral rights throughout New Mexico (and other states).
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Eddy and Lea Counties produce the vast majority of oil and gas, but there is also a reasonable amount of gas produced in San Juan and Rio Arriba Counties.
How We Value Mineral Rights
There are many factors that play into the value of mineral rights. These include location, producing vs. non-producing properties, current oil and gas prices, well production figures, lease terms, and even the operator of the well or wells. We also look at the risks of buying and owning minerals that you are interested in selling.
Location
Minerals in the hottest shale plays are more valuable than those in older fields with conventional wells.
Producing vs. Non-Producing
Producing minerals are often worth more than non-producing minerals because they are generating revenue.
Oil & Gas Prices
When oil and gas prices drop, revenue drops, and sometimes operators are unable to continue operating the well.
Production
Highly productive wells (and off-set wells) can increase the value of your minerals.
Lease Terms
Favorable lease terms (such as a 25% royalty reservation) positively impact the value of the leased minerals.
Operator
A small number of operators are unethical, and their reputation automatically devalues your minerals.
Why Sell?
Why People Sell Their Mineral Rights
I am putting my affairs in order. I don’t want to burden my kids with the hassle of transferring ownership and managing small mineral rights. When my sister passed away, my niece and nephew had to hire an attorney to help them with the minerals. I don’t want my kids to go through that.
I inherited my mineral rights so they were sentimental, but I don’t really want to bother with managing them and filing extra tax returns. I decided to sell and use the money as a down payment on my house.
I had no idea how fast the oil production would decline. My checks are only 20% of what they were a few years ago. I should have sold my mineral rights when the wells were brand new and still generating huge royalties.
My oil wells have been producing for decades and the reserves are almost depleted. Once the wells are plugged, the value will be significantly lower. I’d rather cash out now.
I inherited mineral rights, but don’t want to be involved with fracking and fossil fuels. I would prefer to support renewable energy and do my part to reverse climate change.