Got an Unsolicited Offer?

A letter shows up out of nowhere offering to buy minerals you may have forgotten you even owned, and the first question is always the same: is this a good deal or a lowball.

We’ve read hundreds of these letters over the years, both as an operator fielding questions from owners and now buying interests ourselves. Some are legitimate offers from real buyers doing their homework off public production records. Others are speculative form letters sent to every mineral owner in a county on the off chance a handful sign without checking, priced well below what the interest could reasonably fetch elsewhere.

The letter itself rarely tells you which kind you're holding. What tells you is comparing the number against your actual production history or, for non-producing acreage, against what similar tracts nearby have been trading for, which most owners never bother to do before signing and mailing it back.

Why you're getting the letter now

Buyers pull county production and lease records to identify owners in areas with recent drilling activity, a new well completion, an active permit, or renewed leasing in the section. If you're getting a letter, it usually means something changed nearby, which is actually useful information even if you don't respond to that particular offer. It's worth treating the letter as a signal to check current activity around your tract rather than just a random piece of mail.

Some buyers send these letters broadly and price conservatively, expecting most recipients not to shop the offer around. Others have already done specific research on your exact interest and priced it closer to fair value because they want to close quickly. Distinguishing between the two starts with the same step either way: get your own information before responding.

What these letters commonly leave out

A form letter rarely explains how the offer was calculated, what decline rate was assumed for a producing interest, what comparable sales or lease bonuses were used for non-producing acreage, or how the buyer confirmed your fractional interest in the first place. Without that reasoning, there's no way to judge whether the number is fair or simply the lowest figure the buyer thought might get signed.

It's also common for these letters to create a sense of urgency, a short response window or language suggesting the offer expires soon, which pressures owners into skipping the step of checking around. A legitimate offer from a serious buyer should hold up to you taking a week or two to compare it elsewhere.

How to check the number yourself

If your interest is producing, pull your last several royalty statements and look at what's actually being paid monthly or quarterly, then compare that against the offer. If your interest is non-producing, check the state oil and gas commission's permit and completion database for recent activity in your section, which tells you whether the area is genuinely heating up or the letter is speculative.

From there, the most direct way to know if an unsolicited offer is fair is to get a second offer from a different buyer and compare the two. A competing written offer, even if you don't ultimately take it, gives you real leverage and a real benchmark, something a single letter never provides on its own.

When it's worth taking the offer versus walking away

Not every unsolicited offer is a lowball, and not every one deserves a knee-jerk no. If your interest is small, non-producing, and sitting in a quiet area with no nearby activity, a modest offer that reflects that reality might genuinely be reasonable, and shopping it around extensively may not turn up much better. If your interest is producing well and sits in an active play, a first offer is rarely the best one you'll see, and it's worth taking the time to compare.

We're happy to be the second opinion. Send us the offer you received along with your deed or statements, and we'll tell you plainly whether it looks fair based on what we're seeing in county and production records, whether or not you end up selling to us.