Permian owner file
Sell Mineral Rights in Reagan County, TX/NM
Reagan County is where the Permian Basin got its start in 1923, and 100 years later it's still one of the more consistently drilled parts of the Midland side of the play.
Every geology class we ever sat through mentioned Santa Rita No. 1 — the well that blew in southwest of Big Lake and told the world there was oil under all this ranchland. That history matters for more than trivia; it means Reagan County has more decades of continuous drilling, more legacy leases, and more layered title than almost anywhere else on the Midland side of the basin.
It also means a good chunk of the county's minerals sit under University Lands acreage — the Permanent University Fund tracts that stretch across several counties here — which changes the leasing and development picture on adjacent private minerals. If you own a fractional interest near Big Lake or out toward the county lines, we'll tell you plainly whether you're next to that University Lands activity or sitting on something quieter.
Big Lake and a century of Spraberry production
Big Lake is the county seat and sits close to where it all started. The Spraberry Trend covers most of the county, and while the original vertical wells from the mid-20th century have mostly declined to stripper-well volumes, the same rock has been redrilled horizontally over the last 15 years with far better recovery. That means it's not unusual to find a family whose grandparents leased this ground in the 1950s now watching a brand-new horizontal well go in on the same section.
That layering — old vertical held-by-production leases sitting under newer horizontal development — is one of the more common title situations we run into in Reagan County, and it's exactly the kind of thing that needs a careful read before anyone quotes you a number.
University Lands as a neighbor, not necessarily your owner
A lot of people hear 'University Lands' and assume it means the state owns everything out here. It doesn't — University Lands controls specific tracts under the Permanent University Fund, and plenty of private mineral ownership sits right alongside it, often on the same section or adjacent ones. What matters for you is that operators drilling university acreage frequently hold leases on the neighboring private minerals too, which tends to keep private tracts in Reagan County in the development conversation rather than forgotten.
If your family's minerals border University Lands acreage, that's usually a good sign for activity level, even if the university tract itself gets more press.
Spacing units and why one lease can cover a lot of family
Modern horizontal spacing units in Reagan County commonly run a mile or more, pooling multiple original tracts and, often, multiple original mineral owners into a single unit. If your family's original allotment was 160 or 320 acres, there's a decent chance it's now part of a much larger unit alongside neighbors you've never met, all sharing production from wells that may not even sit on your specific acres.
That's normal under Texas pooling and doesn't reduce your ownership — you're paid your proportionate share regardless of where the wellbore physically sits — but it does mean your royalty statement can look confusing if you're not used to reading unit decimal interests. We're glad to walk through yours line by line before you decide anything.
What clean and messy title look like here
Because so much of this county's mineral ownership dates back to the original ranching families and early-1900s land patents, clean title is the exception more than the rule. Multiple generations of heirs, undivided interests split six or eight ways, and the occasional missing probate record are common. The county clerk in Big Lake holds the records, and a competent landman can usually reconstruct a chain even when your own paperwork is thin.
None of that should stop you from asking what your interest is worth. Bring what you have — a division order, an old lease, even just a royalty check stub with an owner number on it — and we'll figure out the rest from the courthouse records.
Is Reagan County still an active area for new drilling, or is it mostly old wells?
Both. There's a long tail of legacy vertical Spraberry production, but the same formations have been actively redrilled horizontally over the past decade, particularly on and near University Lands acreage. We check current permitting on your specific section rather than assuming based on the county's age as a producing area.
your mineral interest borders University Lands. Does that affect its value?
It can help. Operators developing University Lands tracts often hold leases on adjoining private minerals, which tends to keep those private interests in active development plans rather than sitting idle. We look at what's happening on and around your specific tract before quoting a number.
Why is your royalty check from a Reagan County well smaller than you expected given how big the unit is?
Modern spacing units often pool a mile or more of acreage across many original owners, so your check reflects your proportionate decimal interest in the unit, not the whole well's production. We can walk through your division order and explain exactly how your share was calculated.
What if you only have a fraction of a fraction — is it even worth selling?
Often yes. Small fractional interests are common in Reagan County given how many generations of heirs some tracts have passed through, and buyers regularly purchase these smaller pieces. It's usually more trouble to keep tracking a tiny scattered interest than to convert it to a lump sum.
How do you value a Reagan County interest that's next to a working University Lands rig but not on it?
We look at the unit your tract is actually pooled into, the wells producing from that unit, decline history, and current activity nearby, rather than proximity to a rig you can see from the road. Two adjacent tracts can carry very different values depending on which unit each is pooled into.