Direct buyer — no brokers, no middlemen, no fees
Yes — you can sell your New Mexico mineral rights, and American Royalty Buyers buys them directly: mineral rights, royalties, NPRI, ORRI, and non-operated working interests across 28 New Mexico counties, producing or non-producing, including inherited and fractional interests. A free, written, no-obligation valuation typically arrives within five business days — no brokers, no fees, no commissions.
American Royalty Buyers actively purchases mineral rights and royalties in New Mexico. Our team has extensive experience in the state's major energy basins and provides expert valuations.
Comparing companies that buy mineral rights? See how direct buyers, brokers, and royalty buyers differ before you accept any offer.
New Mexico mineral value is concentrated in the southeast, in the New Mexico half of the Delaware Basin — some of the most valuable oil acreage in the country. Eddy County sits over the core of the basin, where the Bone Spring, Wolfcamp, and Avalon (Leonard) intervals stack multiple oil-rich pay zones beneath a single tract, so one section can support many horizontal wells. Lea County — the top oil-producing county in the state — spans the eastern Delaware Basin, the Northwest Shelf, and the Central Basin Platform, a mix of deep-basin and shallower-shelf targets. This is where operators like Permian Resources, EOG Resources, Occidental, ExxonMobil, Devon, Mewbourne, Coterra, and Matador concentrate their drilling, while Chaves and Roosevelt counties sit on the margins, where value tapers with the geology.
What makes New Mexico different from the Texas side of the Permian is ownership. Southeast New Mexico is a checkerboard of federal (BLM), New Mexico State Trust, and private fee minerals — often within the same section. Federal minerals are leased by the Bureau of Land Management and state minerals by the New Mexico State Land Office, each on their own terms, while private fee minerals are yours to lease or sell. So the first thing that determines a New Mexico interest's value is whether your minerals are fee (privately owned) at all, and how your tract sits within the federal and state units around it — a distinction that rarely arises in the almost entirely private Texas Permian. Confirming what you actually own is step one, and a buyer prices the fee interest you hold, not the acreage around it.
For producing New Mexico minerals, value tracks royalty income adjusted for decline — Delaware Basin horizontals produce strongly early and taper, so a newer well and an older one on the same tract are worth different amounts. Two New Mexico specifics shape the net. First, taxes: New Mexico stacks an oil and gas severance tax with separate emergency-school, conservation, and ad valorem production taxes (NMSA 1978 §7-29-4), so the total production-tax drag on a royalty is meaningfully higher than on the Texas side — a difference a buyer nets out. Second, development is administered by the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division, which can compulsorily pool an unleased tract into a spacing unit after notice and hearing (NMSA 1978 §70-2-17), so an unleased owner in an active area is likely to be developed on the Division's terms rather than left out.
For non-producing New Mexico acreage, value reflects the probability and timing of drilling — highest in the Eddy and Lea core where operators hold the surrounding units and have permits and rigs nearby, and discounted on the margins. There is no single price per acre for New Mexico minerals: value depends on where in the basin your tract sits, whether it is fee, your net mineral acres, producing status, and oil and gas prices. ARB buys New Mexico mineral rights, royalties, NPRI, ORRI, and non-operated working interests directly, as a principal — producing or non-producing, including inherited and fractional interests. A free, written valuation shows the number and the reasoning behind it, with no fees, no commission, and no obligation to sell.
If you have inherited mineral rights in New Mexico, there is a deadline worth knowing before anything else: under N.M. Stat. § 45-3-108, a will generally must be admitted to probate within three years of the death. Heirs routinely discover inherited minerals long after a parent or grandparent dies — usually when a lease offer or a royalty check arrives — and by then the simplest route to clear title may have closed. If the death was recent, that is the reason not to set the paperwork aside.
New Mexico is a community property state, and that shapes who actually owns an inherited interest. Where there is no will, all of the community property passes to the surviving spouse (§ 45-2-102(B)); separate property passes entirely to the spouse only when there are no children, and otherwise one-fourth to the spouse and three-fourths to the children (§ 45-2-102(A)). Minerals acquired during a marriage are presumed community property under §§ 40-3-8(B) and 40-3-12(A), and that presumption overrides a recital in the deed calling the property separate — so the deed language alone does not settle it. It also reaches New Mexico minerals acquired during marriage by spouses who lived in another state, as quasi-community property (§ 40-3-8(C)).
One New Mexico rule matters more than any other when you go to sell: under N.M. Stat. § 40-3-13(A), both spouses must join in any transfer, mortgage, or lease of community real property — mineral deeds and oil and gas leases included — and a conveyance signed by only one spouse is void. If an inherited interest is community property and only one spouse signs, the sale does not merely carry a defect; it fails. Have a New Mexico attorney or title professional confirm the character of the interest before anyone signs. New Mexico also recognizes transfer-on-death deeds, so some inherited minerals pass outside probate entirely.
Inherited minerals receive a stepped-up cost basis — their fair market value on the date of the previous owner’s death rather than what that owner originally paid — which matters when you sell, because capital gains are measured against the stepped-up figure. See ARB’s guide to the stepped-up basis on inherited minerals and the complete guide to inherited mineral rights. This is general information about New Mexico law and federal tax treatment, not legal or tax advice; confirm the statutes cited are current with a New Mexico attorney.
American Royalty Buyers buys inherited New Mexico mineral rights and royalties directly — producing or non-producing, in Lea and Eddy counties and across the state, including the small, fractional, and complex-title interests estates so often leave behind. Whether you keep or sell, a free written valuation gives you the number the decision needs.
Selling New Mexico mineral rights means dealing with one of three kinds of buyer. A direct buyer like American Royalty Buyers commits its own capital and takes title — one written offer, one closing, no fee. A broker shops your interest to third-party buyers for a commission out of your proceeds. A marketplace forwards bids from a pool of buyers, with a platform margin over each bidder’s. Knowing which one you are dealing with is the first step toward a fair result.
Nearly all New Mexico mineral value is in the Delaware Basin of the Permian, under Eddy and Lea counties — some of the most sought-after acreage in the country. It is deeply stacked: the Bone Spring and multiple Wolfcamp benches, with the Avalon above, can all sit under one tract. Ask any buyer which benches are developed and undeveloped beneath your acreage, whether you sit in the active core, and how remaining locations factor in — with pay this thick, a number that ignores the stack understates the interest.
A direct buyer is the simplest path to a transparent net and a fast close. A marketplace’s headline bid is quoted after the platform and each bidder have removed their margins, so it is not the full value of your minerals. A direct buyer’s written offer is exactly what you are paid, and the close does not hinge on a third party. ARB explains the reasoning behind its number so you can benchmark any other offer; the companies that buy mineral rights directory shows how the field is structured.
American Royalty Buyers is a direct buyer of New Mexico mineral rights and royalties — Delaware Basin and statewide, producing or non-producing, including inherited and fractional interests. No broker, no commission, no fee. A free, written, no-obligation valuation shows what your New Mexico interest is worth and the reasoning behind it.
The Oil Conservation Division (OCD), within EMNRD, permits wells and enforces oil and gas rules; the Oil Conservation Commission handles rulemaking and review. NM Oil Conservation Division (NMSA §70-2-4)
New Mexico’s Oil and Gas Severance Tax is 3.75% of taxable value (1.875% for qualified enhanced-recovery oil); separate school, conservation, and ad valorem production taxes stack on the same production, so the all-in burden is materially higher (roughly 8%). NMSA 1978 §7-29-4
New Mexico has compulsory pooling: where owners have not agreed, the OCD pools the spacing unit after notice and hearing on just and reasonable terms, with a non-consent risk charge capped at 200% of that owner’s share of drilling and completion costs. NMSA 1978 §70-2-17
No dormant-mineral act. Severed mineral interests are durable, heritable real property that does not lapse for non-use; unclaimed royalty payments are handled under the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, which does not extinguish the mineral estate. No dormant minerals act; cf. NMSA ch. 7, art. 8A (unclaimed property)
General information sourced to statute, not legal advice; laws change, so confirm current New Mexico law with the linked source or a qualified attorney.
The most active and in-demand New Mexico counties where ARB buys mineral rights and royalties.
The most active permit filers in New Mexico (trailing 90 days, as of August 25, 2026). Your royalty check often arrives under a payor name that differs from the operator — the aliases below are the names to look for on your stub. Receiving checks from one of these? Get a free valuation.
Royalty checks tied to EOG Resources-operated New Mexico wells commonly arrive under: EOG Resources, Inc..
Royalty checks tied to ExxonMobil-operated New Mexico wells commonly arrive under: XTO Energy, Pioneer Natural Resources, Exxon Mobil Corporation.
Royalty checks tied to Permian Resources-operated New Mexico wells commonly arrive under: Permian Resources Operating LLC, Centennial Resource Development, Colgate Energy.
Royalty checks tied to Devon Energy-operated New Mexico wells commonly arrive under: Devon Energy Production Company.
Royalty checks tied to Occidental Petroleum-operated New Mexico wells commonly arrive under: OXY USA Inc., Occidental Permian, Anadarko Petroleum.
Royalty checks tied to Matador Resources-operated New Mexico wells commonly arrive under: Matador Production Company, Matador Resources Company.
Full payor-name directory · Find your operator from your check stub
Yes. American Royalty Buyers is a direct buyer of New Mexico mineral rights, royalties, NPRI, ORRI, and non-operated working interests — producing or non-producing, including inherited or complex title. ARB actively buys in 28 New Mexico counties, including Chaves County, Eddy County, Lea County, Roosevelt County.
Submit your information through our valuation form or call (817) 778-9532. ARB delivers a written, no-obligation offer — typically within five business days — handles all title and closing work at no cost to you, and pays by wire at closing. There are no fees or commissions.
It depends on your net mineral acres, whether the acreage is producing, the formations and operators beneath it, and current commodity prices — there is no single per-acre price. The reliable way to learn your number is a free, no-obligation valuation built from your specific New Mexico acreage, which ARB provides with the reasoning explained.
No. ARB is a direct buyer — there are no fees, commissions, or deductions. The offer amount is what you receive, and ARB covers title research, curative work, and closing costs.
From inquiry to closing typically takes four to six weeks. You receive a no-obligation offer within about five business days, then ARB handles title and curative work before funding your lump-sum payment by wire.
Do not sign or return anything right away. First, confirm exactly what you own — your net mineral acres, royalty decimal, and which wells or units are involved. Second, verify the buyer: check whether they are a direct buyer or a broker who intends to flip the deal, and read the purchase agreement for the effective date and any deductions. Third, get at least one competing written offer so you have something to measure the first one against. Unsolicited offers on New Mexico minerals are often opening bids rather than best-and-final, and a second valuation from American Royalty Buyers is free and carries no obligation to sell.
Gather the last royalty check stub, the division order, and any deed or probate paperwork that mentions minerals, then establish record title in your name. Because New Mexico is a community property state, the threshold question is whether the interest is community or separate — that determines who inherited it and, critically, who must sign to sell it. Under N.M. Stat. § 40-3-13(A) a conveyance of community real property signed by only one spouse is void. A New Mexico attorney should confirm the character of the interest; this is not legal advice.
Generally yes. N.M. Stat. § 45-3-108 requires a will to be admitted to probate within three years of the death. Heirs often learn about inherited minerals long after that window opens — a lease offer or a royalty check is the usual trigger — so if the death was recent it is worth acting rather than filing the paperwork away. If three years have already passed, a New Mexico attorney can explain which routes to clear title remain. Confirm the current statute with counsel.
It depends on whether the acreage is producing, your net mineral acres, the county, and nearby operator activity — not on the size of the estate. Lea and Eddy counties sit in the core of the Delaware Basin and behave very differently from acreage elsewhere in the state. Producing interests are valued on royalty income adjusted for decline; non-producing interests per net mineral acre. American Royalty Buyers provides a free written valuation of your specific interest rather than publishing an average.
New Mexico mineral rights are bought by direct buyers who purchase with their own capital and take title (American Royalty Buyers is one), brokers who shop your interest for a commission, and marketplaces that pass through bids from a pool of buyers. A direct buyer is one offer and one closing with no fee; the others add a paid intermediary. ARB buys New Mexico minerals directly across the Delaware Basin and statewide, with a free, no-obligation valuation.
A broker does not buy your New Mexico minerals — they market the interest to third-party buyers for a commission from your proceeds, reducing your net and tying the sale to an end buyer. A direct buyer like American Royalty Buyers buys with its own capital and takes title: one written offer, no commission, and ARB covers the title and closing. If a clean net and a fast close matter most, the direct buyer is usually the simpler route.
Submit your details through the valuation form or call (817) 778-9532, and include any check stub, division order, or lease. ARB reviews your net mineral acres, the Delaware Basin benches and operators under your acreage, and current prices, then delivers a free, written, no-obligation cash offer — typically within five business days, with the reasoning explained and no obligation to sell.
Unsolicited letters and calls offering to buy New Mexico mineral rights are common, and the first number is rarely the best one. Before you sign anything: read the offer carefully, confirm exactly what you own, verify who the buyer is, and get a second written offer to compare against. ARB will give you one at no cost and with no obligation to sell.