Sell Your Mineral Rights in Howard County, TX
If you own mineral rights in Howard County, Texas, you're sitting on acreage that has produced over 141 million barrels of oil — and operators like Diamondback and HighPeak Energy are still actively drilling here. The market for mineral rights in this part of the Permian is real and competitive right now, and it's worth knowing what yours are actually worth before you make any decisions.
Est. per Acre
$1,500–$6,000
per net royalty acre
Active Wells
4,961+
Drilling Activity
Core Basin
Permian Basin
Primary Formation
Primary Resource
Oil
Commodity Type
What's Happening in Howard County Right Now
Howard County sits in the heart of the Midland Basin portion of the Permian, and it's one of the more active counties in the region — nearly 5,000 producing wells and more than 141 million cumulative barrels of oil tell that story clearly. Operators including Diamondback, HighPeak Energy, and Apache are not just holding acreage here; they're actively developing it. If you've received an unsolicited offer from an operator or a minerals buyer in the last few months, that's not a coincidence — it's a reflection of how much interest there is in this county right now. Before you accept anything or sign anything, it's worth taking a beat to understand what the market actually looks like.
Howard County by the Numbers
4,961
wells
Producing Wells (State Regulator Data)
141,310,724
barrels
Cumulative Oil Production
370,092,308
MCF
Cumulative Gas Production
$1,500 – $6,000
per NMA
Estimated Mineral Value Range (per net mineral acre, estimate only)
Oil
Primary Commodity
Who's Operating in Howard County
Diamondback E&P LLC
FANGChevron U.S.A. Inc.
CVXApache Corporation
APAHighPeak Energy Holdings, LLC
HPKCrescent Energy Operating, LLC
CRGYCitation Oil & Gas Corp.
What's in the Ground
Spraberry
The Spraberry is one of the primary targets in this part of the Midland Basin and has been producing in Howard County for decades. It's a stacked system of tight sandstones and siltstones, and modern horizontal drilling has made it significantly more productive than early vertical development suggested. When operators talk about 'stacked pay' in Howard County, the Spraberry is usually part of that conversation.
Wolfcamp
The Wolfcamp shale is arguably the most sought-after formation in the Permian right now. It underlies much of Howard County at depths generally ranging from around 7,000 to 10,000 feet, and it has been the primary driver of the horizontal drilling boom here. Multiple benches — A, B, and C — provide operators with a layered opportunity that makes acreage more valuable than a single-zone play.
Dean
The Dean Sandstone sits between the Spraberry and Wolfcamp and is an additional zone that operators in Howard County have targeted in multi-zone completion programs. It's not universally productive across every parcel, but where it is present and productive it adds another layer of value to the mineral stack. Knowing which formations underlie your specific acreage matters — and it's knowable.
How a Mineral Rights Sale Actually Works
You Request a Valuation (or Someone Contacts You)
Either you reach out to get a sense of what your minerals are worth, or a buyer comes to you with an offer. Either way, the first step is understanding what you have — how many net mineral acres, what formations are present, whether there are producing wells, and what the royalty interest looks like.
You Get an Offer
A buyer will present an offer based on current production (if any), nearby drilling activity, formation quality, and comparable sales in the area. In Howard County right now, offers for acreage with active production or near active drilling can be meaningful. You're under no obligation to accept, and you can shop offers.
Title Review
Once you accept an offer, the buyer typically conducts a title review — going through the chain of title at the Howard County Clerk's office in Big Spring to confirm you own what you think you own. This is standard and protects both parties. If there are title issues (common with inherited minerals), they're usually solvable, but it can take time.
Closing and Payment
After title is confirmed, you sign a mineral deed, it gets recorded with the Howard County Clerk, and you receive payment. Closings are typically done via wire transfer or check. The whole process from offer to close usually runs 30 to 60 days, though complicated title situations can extend that.
What You're Selling (and What You're Not)
When you sell mineral rights, you're conveying your ownership of the minerals in the ground and your right to future royalties from production. You're not selling surface rights. The deed will specify what exactly is being conveyed, and you should read it carefully — or have an attorney read it — before you sign.
What to Know About Howard County Specifically
Recording With the Howard County Clerk
All mineral deeds in Texas must be recorded with the county clerk in the county where the minerals are located. For Howard County, that's the Howard County Clerk's office in Big Spring, Texas. Recording establishes your ownership in the public record and protects against competing claims. If you inherited minerals and they've never been properly probated or transferred, that gap in the chain of title needs to be addressed before you can sell.
Texas Has No Forced Pooling
Unlike states such as Oklahoma or North Dakota, Texas does not have a forced pooling statute. That means an operator cannot force your acreage into a drilling unit without your agreement. However, if you have a lease in place, the pooling clause within your lease governs whether your acreage can be pooled. Review your lease terms before assuming you have control over this.
Severance Tax in Texas
Texas imposes a severance tax on oil production — currently 4.6% of market value for oil and 7.5% for gas. This is typically deducted from your royalty payments before you receive them. It's not something you pay separately; it comes out at the operator level. Just be aware it affects your net check.
Non-Participating Royalty Interests (NPRIs)
Howard County has a long history of mineral ownership fragmentation, and it's not uncommon to find Non-Participating Royalty Interests carved out of the mineral estate. An NPRI gives someone the right to a fraction of royalties without any right to lease or execute. If your title search reveals an NPRI burdening your acreage, it will affect value — how much depends on the size of the interest and whether it's currently producing.
Division Orders and Your Royalty Stream
If you're already receiving royalty checks, you've been sent a division order — a document from the operator stating their calculation of your ownership interest. You should verify that this matches your deed before signing. Mistakes happen, and once you sign a division order, correcting it is harder. If you're unsure what you own, this is a good starting point for figuring it out.
Why Some Howard County Owners Are Selling Now
There's no single right answer here — it depends entirely on your situation. But here's what we hear from people who do decide to sell. Some inherited minerals from a parent or grandparent and are receiving small royalty checks from a fractional interest — the administrative burden of tracking the income, dealing with operators, and managing the tax reporting doesn't match the amount they're getting. Selling converts that into a lump sum they can actually use. Others have watched the Permian cycle through boom and bust before, and with operators like Diamondback and HighPeak actively drilling in Howard County right now, they feel like the market is as good as it's likely to get in the near term. Locking in a sale price removes the uncertainty of what oil prices do over the next five or ten years. And some people are simply simplifying their estates — making it easier for their heirs rather than leaving a fractional mineral interest that will need to be re-probated and re-titled when the time comes. None of these reasons are wrong. The question is whether selling makes sense for you specifically, and that depends on what you own, what it's worth today, and what you'd do with the proceeds.
Questions We Hear From Howard County Owners
I got an unsolicited offer in the mail for my Howard County minerals. Is it a fair price?
I inherited a small interest from my grandmother. Is it even worth selling?
HighPeak Energy has been drilling near my land. Does that affect my mineral value?
What formations are actually under my Howard County land?
How long does it take to sell mineral rights in Howard County?
Find Out What Your Howard County Minerals Are Worth
Fill out the form and a real person will reach out — usually within one business day. There's no obligation, no pressure, and no cost to get a valuation. We'll tell you honestly what we think your minerals are worth and what the market looks like right now in Howard County. If selling makes sense for you, we'll walk you through it. If it doesn't, we'll tell you that too.
Get My Free ValuationData Sources
Production and operator figures for Howard County are drawn from U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-Year), Wikipedia, and DrillingEdge (state regulator production data). Per-acre values are estimates and not an offer.
Other Permian Basin Counties
Howard County is part of the Permian Basin. See the full basin overview, operators, and counties we serve.
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