Martin County
Martin County Mineral Rights
If you have oil, gas, or other mineral rights in Texas that you want to sell, now may be the time to do it. You will, of course, want to be sure that you sell your rights in a way that is most advantageous to you.
Using a mineral rights auction is among the best ways to sell mineral rights in Martin County because auctions typically allow people to get the highest possible value for their rights. Consider the auction option when you are ready to sell your mineral rights.
Auction Mineral Rights helps clients in Martin County and throughout Texas sell their mineral rights. You could quickly find a serious and qualified buyer capable of making a lump sum payment for your rights.
People have all sorts of reasons for wanting to sell their mineral rights. You may be thinking about your estate plan and what your beneficiaries will inherit, or maybe you are concerned about putting more money in your pocket right now, or perhaps you want to lessen your tax burden.
Whatever your reasons for selling mineral rights, just make sure that you are getting the best offer you can. Auction Mineral Rights will make that happen when you call (512) 698-2802 or contact us online to schedule a free and confidential consultation.
Texas Mineral Rights Laws
All real, or fixed, property within a taxing unit is taxable based on its appraised fair market value under Article VIII.1.b of the Texas Constitution and Texas Property Tax Code § 11.01. Mineral interests are classified as real property under Texas Property Tax Code § 1.04(2)(f), but a person is entitled to an exemption from taxation of a mineral interest they own under Texas Property Tax Code § 11.146(a) when the interest has a taxable value of less than $500.
Texas Property Tax Code § 11.146(b) establishes that the exemption applies to every taxing unit in which an individual owns a mineral interest. Every mineral interest in every taxing unit is aggregated to determine value.
January 1 of the year following the first production of the unit is when mineral interests become taxable. Your first tax bill for interest is sent in October of the same year.
The county appraisal district, a political subdivision of the state governed by a board of directors, appraises property for property tax purposes for each taxing unit that imposes property taxes on property in the appraisal district and determines the existence of taxable gas units. The district also determines the names and addresses of the owners of interests in those units, the value of those interests, as well as any exemptions that apply.
Martin County Appraisal District
The Martin County Appraisal District determines the market value of taxable properties and handles exemptions and special valuations authorized by the State of Texas and by local entities.
The Martin Appraisal District is located at:
308 S. St. Peter St.
Stanton, TX 79782
(432) 756-2823
Know that the value of a mineral interest is separate from the value of your home. Mineral interests deal with a portion of underground gas reservoirs extending far beyond the boundaries of the lots of homes, with most gas units having more than one well. Each gas well is considered separate property and the interest in every well has separate property tax accounts with every interest getting its own tax bill.
Railroad Commission of Texas
A mineral interest is a fractional ownership interest in an underground reservoir. The Railroad Commission (RRC) of Texas assigns the name of the unit and its identification number that a unit is identified by. The RRC has primary regulatory jurisdiction over the following:
- the oil and gas industry
- natural gas utilities
- natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline industry
- pipeline transporters
- the liquid petroleum gas industry
- coal and uranium surface mining operations
While the main RRC office is in Austin, the agency has other locations all over the state dedicated to oil and gas, pipeline safety, and alternative fuels safety.
As it relates to oil and gas division district boundaries, Martin County is situated in District 8. The office location for this district is:
Conoco Building
10 Desta Dr.
5th floor
Midland, TX 79704
(432) 684-5581
Pipeline safety is divided into seven regions with Martin County being in the West Texas region. The RRC pipeline safety office address is:
Conoco Building
10 Desta Dr.
5th floor
Midland, TX 79704
(512) 463-7058
Martin County is in District 1 when it comes to alternative fuels safety. The alternative fuels safety office address is:
Conoco Building
10 Desta Dr.
5th floor
Midland, TX 79704
(432) 570-5884
The RRC has three service audit locations in Austin, Houston, and Fort Worth.
Determining the Value of Your Mineral Interest
Any time a real property interest in oil or gas in place is appraised by a method taking into account the future income from the sale of oil or gas produced from the interest, Texas Property Tax Code § 23.175 requires the method to use the average price of the oil or gas from the interest for the preceding calendar year multiplied by a price adjustment factor. An appraiser cannot change the pricing methodology. The average price for the prior calendar year is calculated by dividing the sum of the monthly average prices by 12, but the average price for similar oil and gas from comparable interests during the month is used if there is no production.
The appraisal price used must reflect the price of similar leases for all months if a lease doesn’t produce for all 12 months of the previous year, regardless of which months the lease produced. Subsequent future year’s pricing is based on PPI Index data from 1982 to the most recent calendar year from the Bureau of Labor Statistics after the future first year price is calculated, and the Texas Comptroller Annual Gas Severance Tax Report and actual purchaser pricing are the sources for pricing.
The monthly average price for the preceding calendar year is multiplied by Price Adjustment Factor (PAF) for the price of the first year plus any calculated escalation or de‐escalation of pricing after the second through sixth years is based on U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. The PAF is equal to the percentage increase or decrease as established by the EIA in its Annual Energy Outlook.
The prior calendar year’s data is used to reappraise mineral interests every year by law. Even if total reserves decline, the market value may stay the same or increase in value. The price per MCF (1,000 cubic feet) increasing may be the cause of this.
Contact Auction Mineral Rights Today
Many people do not have any idea what their mineral rights actually are. If you are uncertain about any aspect of the possible implications of a mineral rights sale, then you want to be especially cautious not to just rush into a quick agreement presented to you.
Some people may present themselves to you as serious buyers but the terms of the deal they are presenting you with could end up being a significant loss for yourself. Do not leave any money on the table.
Auction Mineral Rights will get you a fair and full offer for your mineral rights because we can place your rights in auctions that are filled with scores of potential buyers. The increase in the amount of people considering your rights helps you command a much larger asking price and reap all of the rewards of a sale.
You also do not need to be concerned about your privacy when you work with Auction Mineral Rights because we will make sure that none of your personal information is exposed during the auction. Do not worry about having to settle for less than what you want because we can also make sure that your rights only sell when a minimum bid has been satisfied.
Be careful about how you proceed if somebody does make you an offer for your mineral rights. Even seemingly harmless discussions can have serious impact on your rights if you take certain actions.
For example, you may be presented with a check that you are instructed to deposit under the agreement that your mineral rights will be discussed in greater detail later. This is a trick designed to appeal to the people who are most desperate for money, but the catch is that the deposit will usually bind you to the sale of your mineral rights and not allow for any way to get out of the deal.
You deserve to get as much money as possible for the sale of your mineral rights. The Mineral Auction will work to get you the best offer as soon as you call (512) 698-2802 to take advantage of a free, no-obligation consultation.
