A lot of mineral owners contact us asking how much are mineral rights worth. This is a very common question we receive because mineral owners are curious. You aren’t alone! It’s important to note that finding the exact value is not possible until you sell mineral rights. Unlike the housing or stock market prices are not public record. However, we can help walk you through the basics of figuring out how much mineral rights are worth.
Be realistic about how much mineral rights are worth
At the most basic level, your mineral rights are worth what a buyer is willing to pay today for your property. We speak to a large number of mineral owners who refuse to accept that fact. Many mineral owners believe that their property “will be worth a lot” in the future and expect to be paid today for the future value of their property. Mineral rights are worth what a mineral rights buyer is willing to pay today and nothing more.
Consider the following. When you sell a home, you do not tell the potential buyer “this home will be worth way more in 20 years!”. Well of course it will! You hold it for 20 years and wait for it to go up in value. With mineral rights there is no guarantee that the property will go up in value or be worth what you hope/expect. You could wait your entire lifetime for a well to get drilled on your property and it never happens. If you want to sell mineral rights, realize that your mineral rights are worth what a buyer is willing to pay today for that property.
Estimating how much mineral rights are worth
While we can’t give you an exact number we can help you estimate the value of mineral rights. There are three different types of mineral rights you could own. How much mineral rights are worth is based on where your property is in the process. The basic process goes like this:
Non-Producing / Non Leased Mineral Rights —–> Leased Mineral Rights —–> Producing Mineral Rights
The value and demand for your property will go up depending on how far into the process you are. If you own mineral rights that are not producing royalties and not leased there will be little to no demand. If your property is currently leased there will be some demand. For producing mineral rights (you receive royalties) there will always be pretty strong demand.
Also, keep in mind that location plays a key role. If you are trying to sell mineral rights in Martin county Texas, you are going to see a lot more demand and value. With that in mind, let’s look at how much mineral rights are worth. Each type is valued differently.
Non-Producing / Non Leased – Little to no value. Only the best counties will have value. A recently expired lease is a good indication that you have something of value. If your property hasn’t been leased in the last 10+ years, your property is probably close to worthless in today’s market. You could be lucky to get a couple hundred per acre unless you have been leased in the last 5 years.
Leased Mineral Rights – Being leased is a good sign. It means that an operator is interested in drilling in your area. This indicates that royalties will be produced in the future which is where the money is. The value is going to be based on your lease. Assuming you are leased at a 15% to 20% royalty you will likely see a sale price of 2x to 3x the lease bonus amount. If you were leased for $2,500/acre expect to sell for $5,000 to $7,500/acre. This is a very rough guideline to how much mineral rights are worth for leased mineral rights.
Producing Mineral Rights – If you are getting royalties checks each month your property will be in demand. You will likely get multiple offers to sell oil and gas royalties. As a general rule of thumb, you can expect to sell oil and gas royalties for 4 years to 6 years times the average of your last 3 check stubs. To find out the value of oil and gas royalties simply enter the average monthly amount you receive in the box below:
Sell Mineral Rights for Maximum Value
Figuring out how much mineral rights are worth is the first step. If you want to sell mineral rights it’s important to do it the right way. To get maximum value you need to get multiple buyers competing for your property. When multiple mineral rights buyers compete it drives the price up. This competition ensures the best price for you.
If you want to sell mineral rights we recommend listing the property at US Mineral Exchange. You can avoid the hassle of locating buyers on your own, and more importantly, you will sell for a higher price. Getting your property in front of thousands of buyers will always get you a better price than contacting a few on your own. How much mineral rights are worth is highly dependent on getting exposure. That’s the reason we recommend listing at US Mineral Exchange. You’ll quickly get offers from multiple buyers if your property is leased or producing.
