Sell Your Mineral Rights in Martin County, TX
If you own mineral rights in Martin County, Texas, you're holding acreage in one of the most actively drilled counties in the entire Permian Basin — with over 6,100 producing wells and more than 222 million barrels of cumulative oil production to its name. Major operators like Diamondback and Chevron are actively working this county right now, which means your rights have real, present-day value. Before you sign anything or ignore that offer letter, it's worth understanding exactly what you have.
Est. per Acre
$2,000–$6,000
per net royalty acre
Active Wells
6,191+
Drilling Activity
Core Basin
Permian Basin
Primary Formation
Primary Resource
Oil
Commodity Type
What's Actually Happening in Martin County Right Now
Martin County sits squarely in the Midland Basin portion of the Permian, and it is genuinely one of the more active counties in West Texas — not a sleepy corner of the play. With 6,191 producing wells on record and operators like Diamondback E&P, Chevron, and Apache running active programs here, this is not speculative acreage. The Spraberry and Wolfcamp formations that underlie much of this county are among the most drilled targets in the country right now. If you've received an offer on your mineral rights — or a division order showing you're already in production — the market interest is real, and you should treat this as a serious financial decision before responding to anyone.
Martin County by the Numbers
6,191
wells
Producing Wells (State Regulator Data)
222,075,477
BBL
Cumulative Oil Production
542,439,555
MCF
Cumulative Gas Production
$2,000 – $6,000
per acre
Estimated Mineral Rights Value (Per Acre, Estimate Only)
Oil
Primary Commodity
Who's Operating in Martin County
Diamondback E&P LLC
FANGApache Corporation
APAChevron U.S.A. Inc.
CVXCOG Operating LLC
Civitas Permian Operating, LLC
CIVIDiscovery Operating, Inc.
What's in the Ground Under Martin County
Spraberry
The Spraberry is one of the primary targets across the Midland Basin and a major driver of activity in Martin County. It's a tight sandstone formation that has been producing oil here for decades and continues to attract horizontal drilling programs from large operators. If your minerals are in production, there's a reasonable chance Spraberry is part of the picture.
Wolfcamp
The Wolfcamp shale is the workhorse of the modern Permian and one of the most prolific oil formations in the United States. Horizontal Wolfcamp wells in the Midland Basin regularly produce strong initial rates, and operators are still actively developing multiple benches of this formation in Martin County. This is a big part of why mineral values here are meaningful.
Dean
The Dean formation is a sandstone target found in the Midland Basin that sometimes gets developed alongside the Spraberry and Wolfcamp. It's not as universally targeted as the Wolfcamp, but in certain parts of Martin County it adds additional pay zones that can increase the value of a mineral position — particularly if multiple formations can be developed from the same surface location.
How a Mineral Rights Sale Actually Works
You Get a Cash Offer
A buyer — either a mineral acquisition company or a private investor — makes you an offer for your net mineral acres or royalty interest. That number is based on existing production, well activity nearby, lease terms, and their read on future development. You're under no obligation to accept.
Title Is Reviewed
Before any deal closes, the buyer will run a title search on your interest through the Martin County Clerk's office in Stanton. This confirms you actually own what you think you own and clears up any chain-of-title issues. If there are heirship complications or old deeds that need to be sorted, this is when it surfaces.
You Sign a Deed
If you agree to sell, you'll sign a mineral deed — typically a Special Warranty Deed in Texas. This transfers your interest to the buyer. The deed gets recorded with the Martin County Clerk, and the buyer handles notifying operators and updating division orders.
You Receive Payment
Closings are usually done via wire transfer or cashier's check. Reputable buyers fund at or shortly after recording. The timeline from signed purchase agreement to funded closing is typically two to four weeks, depending on how clean your title is.
Partial Sales Are an Option
You don't have to sell everything. Some owners sell a portion of their interest — enough to get liquidity now — while retaining a stake in future upside. This can make sense if you want cash today but don't want to walk away from the play entirely.
What to Know About Owning Minerals in Martin County
Deeds Are Filed in Stanton
All mineral conveyances in Martin County are recorded with the County Clerk in Stanton, Texas. If you inherited these minerals, the deed or probate documents establishing your ownership should already be on file there. If they aren't, that's something to address before you sell — or a buyer will ask you to address it during title review.
Texas Has No Forced Pooling
Unlike many other oil-producing states, Texas does not have a forced pooling statute. Operators cannot force your interest into a production unit without your consent (or a prior lease agreement that allows it). This means your lease terms matter — and if you're unleased, an operator can technically drill without you and you'd only get your proportionate share of production after costs under a non-consent scenario. Understanding your lease status is important.
Texas Severance Tax
Texas levies a severance tax on oil production — currently 4.6% of market value at the wellhead for oil. This is deducted before you see your royalty check. It's not something you pay separately; your operator handles it and remits it to the state. But it does affect your net royalty income, so factor it in when evaluating offers.
Non-Participating Royalty Interests (NPRI)
Some Martin County mineral tracts have non-participating royalty interests carved out of them — meaning someone else may have a right to a share of your royalty even if you own the minerals and signed the lease. These show up in title searches and can reduce the value of your interest to a buyer. If you're unsure whether an NPRI burdens your tract, a title attorney can help you sort it out.
Heirship and Probate
A large number of inherited mineral interests in Texas were never formally probated. If you inherited minerals from a parent or grandparent and no deed was ever filed reflecting you as the owner, your title may be clouded. Texas allows Affidavits of Heirship as a practical fix in many cases, but buyers will want to see them recorded before closing.
Why Some Martin County Owners Are Selling Right Now
There's no single reason people sell mineral rights, and the honest answer is that selling isn't right for everyone. But here's what we're actually hearing from owners in Martin County right now. Some inherited these minerals from a parent or grandparent and didn't know they existed until a landman knocked on the door or a royalty check showed up — and for them, the question is whether to hold an asset they never planned for or convert it to something they can use. Others have been receiving royalty checks for years but are tired of the unpredictability: oil prices move, wells decline, and royalty income isn't something you can budget around the way you can a lump sum. Some owners are in the middle of estate planning and want to simplify what they're passing to their kids. And a meaningful number have looked at the current level of operator activity in the Permian — companies like Diamondback and Chevron aren't slowing down here — and decided this is a reasonable moment to take chips off the table at a strong price rather than wait on a commodity cycle they can't control. None of these are bad reasons. The right answer depends entirely on your situation.
Questions We Hear From Martin County Mineral Owners
I got an offer letter from a mineral buyer. Is it a lowball?
I'm already in production and getting royalty checks. Why would I sell?
What does 'net mineral acres' mean and how do I figure out what I own?
How long does it take to sell mineral rights?
Martin County has over 6,000 producing wells — does that mean my specific minerals are actually worth something?
Find Out What Your Martin County Minerals Are Actually Worth
Fill out the form and a real person — not an automated system — will reach out within one business day. We'll ask a few quick questions about your interest, look at what's happening with your specific acreage, and give you a straightforward valuation with no pressure and no obligation. If you've gotten an offer you're not sure about, we can help you figure out whether it's fair.
Get My Free ValuationData Sources
Production and operator figures for Martin 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
Martin County is part of the Permian Basin. See the full basin overview, operators, and counties we serve.
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