Culberson County, Texas
Culberson County lease offers: what is on record
State land, so a reference and not a price.
The record
Bonus, royalty and term in Culberson County
State Relinquishment Act leases
Jun 2023 to Mar 2026, State land
- Leases
- 8
- Median
- $2,500
- Bonus per acre, middle half
- $1,000 to $3,000
- Royalty
- 12.5%
State sealed-bid sales
Apr 2022 to May 2026, State land
- Leases
- 2
- Median
- $3,153
- Bonus per acre, middle half
- Too few to give a range
- Royalty
- 25%
| Source | Leases | Bonus per acre, middle half | Median | Royalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Relinquishment Act leasesJun 2023 to Mar 2026, State land | 8 | $1,000 to $3,000 | $2,500 | 12.5% |
| State sealed-bid salesApr 2022 to May 2026, State land | 2 | Too few to give a range | $3,153 | 25% |
Figures are for Culberson County. State figures come from the General Land Office's past bid sales. Shared offers are moderated and shown only as a range of at least three offers from at least three people. The State leases State land, so its prices are a reference, not what a private owner will be offered.
| Year | Relinquishment Act leases | State sealed-bid sales |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $1,050 (2 leases) | $3,156 (1 lease) |
| 2025 | $3,000 (4 leases) | None |
| 2024 | $1,000 (1 lease) | None |
| 2023 | $1,000 (1 lease) | None |
| 2022 | None | $3,150 (1 lease) |
| 2020 | $600 (1 lease) | None |
| 2019 | $163 (2 leases) | None |
| 2018 | $607 (2 leases) | $11,176 (3 leases) |
Compare an offer
Where does your Culberson County offer fall?
Two or three offers
Bigger bonus or bigger royalty?
Your land
The same land for every offer. Then fill in each offer below.
County
Culberson County, Texas
Your share of the tract's mineral acres. Half the minerals under 20 acres is 10.
We start at 1,280. Use the size in the offer or a division order if you know it.
OFFERA
Paid once, when you sign.
As the offer writes it: 1/4, 3/16, 25% or 0.25.
How long the lease lasts if nothing is drilled.
- BONUS AT SIGNING
- $50,000(most up front)$5,000 × 10 net acres
- YOUR SHARE OF THE UNIT
- 0.0014648418.75% royalty × 10 ÷ 1,280 unit acres
- TERM
- 3 years.
OFFERB
Paid once, when you sign.
As the offer writes it: 1/4, 3/16, 25% or 0.25.
How long the lease lasts if nothing is drilled.
- BONUS AT SIGNING
- $40,000$4,000 × 10 net acres
- YOUR SHARE OF THE UNIT
- 0.00195313(highest royalty)25% royalty × 10 ÷ 1,280 unit acres
- TERM
- 3 years, plus 2 more if the company uses its option ($10,000, left out).
Have a third offer?
Option payments
Left out: we do not assume the company extends the lease. The company decides whether to use an option, so leaving it out is the cautious comparison.
A worked example. Put in the offers you have.
The break-even
Offer A pays $10,000 more up front, but offer B pays you more once the wells in the unit sell over $20.5 million of oil and gas in all.
That is about 270,000 barrels of oil at $75.87, the average WTI price of the last 12 months (through August 2026).
Offer B catches up at $20.5 million of sales.
Middle half of new leases in Culberson CountyMedianBreak-evenEstimate, not a prediction for your land
THE WORKING
- Bonus, offer A$5,000 × 10 net acres
- $50,000
- Bonus, offer B$4,000 × 10 net acres
- $40,000
- Bonus difference, B minus AOffer A pays more up front
- −$10,000
- Your share, offer A
- 0.00146484
- Your share, offer B
- 0.00195313
- Share difference, B minus A
- +0.00048828
- Break-even gross sales$10,000 ÷ 0.00048828
- $20,480,000
- Average WTI oil price, last 12 monthsThrough August 2026
- $75.87
- The break-even in barrels of oilBreak-even ÷ average price
- 269,938 bbl
What this comparison assumes
- Both offers cover the same land in the same unit, so the same wells and the same sales.
- A dollar of royalty in ten years counts the same as a dollar of bonus today.
- Royalty is figured on gross sales, before severance tax and any costs the lease lets the company take out.
- Option payments are left out: we do not assume the company extends the lease.
- The first term is shown but not used. It does not tell us when, or whether, a well is drilled.
- Your net acres do not move the break-even. The unit’s size does: a unit twice as big doubles it.
Estimate · about the county, not your land
What new leases in Culberson County sold
The gross value of the oil and gas that Railroad Commission leases in Culberson County sold in their first 12, 24 and 36 months of production, for leases that started producing in the last six years. It tells you about leases in the county. It is not a prediction for your land or for when, or whether, a well is drilled on it.
- At the median new lease in Culberson County, offer B would catch up with offer A about 18 months after first production.
| Months since first production | Median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|
| 12 months604 leases | $16.1M | $11.6M to $22.0M |
| 24 months423 leases | $25.4M | $18.3M to $32.7M |
| 36 months279 leases | $31.0M | $22.7M to $40.6M |
M means million dollars. The middle half runs from the lower quarter to the upper quarter: a quarter of the leases sold less, a quarter sold more. Half sold more than the median and half less.
How this estimate is made
- A Railroad Commission lease stands in for a unit. It is not your unit, and its wells are not your wells.
- Months count from the first month the lease shows production in the record we hold, which may not be its very first.
- A lease counts only when every month of the period was reported.
- Volumes the operator reported moving, priced at each month's WTI oil and Henry Hub gas prices. Some of those volumes are not sales, so this is a gross value, not money anyone received.
- One Mcf of gas is counted as one MMBtu.
- Before taxes and costs, with no discounting.
- Between 12, 24 and 36 months we draw a straight line from one median to the next.
- The leases counted at 12, 24 and 36 months are not all the same leases.
- We say nothing about when drilling starts or when a well first produces.
SourceRailroad Commission production reports, priced at the EIA’s monthly WTI and Henry Hub averages; worked out Oct 4, 2026.
Each offer against Culberson County’s lease record
OFFER A
- Your bonus of $5,000 an acre is above the middle half of those leases: $1,000 to $3,000 an acre, median $2,500.From 8 Relinquishment Act leases in Culberson County recorded by the General Land Office, 2023 to 2026 (a surface owner leasing for the State: the closest public comparison to a private lease).
- Your bonus of $5,000 an acre compares with $3,152 and $3,155 an acre in the two leases on record. That is too few to call a range.From 2 State-land leases the General Land Office sold by sealed bid in Culberson County, 2022 to 2026 (competitive bids on State land). A thin record.
- The lease's royalty of 3/16 compares with 1/8, the most common one in General Land Office leases for Culberson County.From the most common royalty in General Land Office leases for Culberson County.
- The lease's first term of 3 years compares with a median of 3 years in Culberson County.From the median first term in General Land Office leases for Culberson County.
OFFER B
- Your bonus of $4,000 an acre is above the middle half of those leases: $1,000 to $3,000 an acre, median $2,500.From 8 Relinquishment Act leases in Culberson County recorded by the General Land Office, 2023 to 2026 (a surface owner leasing for the State: the closest public comparison to a private lease).
- Your bonus of $4,000 an acre compares with $3,152 and $3,155 an acre in the two leases on record. That is too few to call a range.From 2 State-land leases the General Land Office sold by sealed bid in Culberson County, 2022 to 2026 (competitive bids on State land). A thin record.
- The lease's royalty of 1/4 compares with 1/8, the most common one in General Land Office leases for Culberson County.From the most common royalty in General Land Office leases for Culberson County.
- The lease's first term of 3 years compares with a median of 3 years in Culberson County.From the median first term in General Land Office leases for Culberson County.
Drilling
New drilling permits in Culberson County
289 permits, 271 horizontal.
- Aug 202610
- Jul 20262
- Jun 20265
- May 202611
- Apr 202610
- Mar 20269
- Feb 202621
- Jan 202617
- Dec 20259
- Nov 202511
- Oct 20258
- Sep 202515
| Issued | Operator, lease and type |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-19 | Coterra Energy Operating Co.STATE MAGE 21-4 B · Horizontal |
| 2026-08-19 | Coterra Energy Operating Co.STATE MAGE 21-4 A · Horizontal |
| 2026-08-14 | Coterra Energy Operating Co.STATE LUCKY DEBONAIR UNIT · Horizontal |
| 2026-08-14 | Coterra Energy Operating Co.STATE LUCKY DEBONAIR UNIT · Horizontal |
| 2026-08-14 | Coterra Energy Operating Co.STATE LUCKY DEBONAIR UNIT · Horizontal |
| 2026-08-14 | Coterra Energy Operating Co.STATE LUCKY DEBONAIR UNIT · Horizontal |
| 2026-08-14 | Coterra Energy Operating Co.STATE LUCKY DEBONAIR UNIT · Horizontal |
| 2026-08-14 | Coterra Energy Operating Co.STATE LUCKY DEBONAIR UNIT · Horizontal |
| 2026-08-14 | Coterra Energy Operating Co.STATE LUCKY DEBONAIR UNIT · Horizontal |
| 2026-08-14 | Coterra Energy Operating Co.STATE LUCKY DEBONAIR UNIT · Horizontal |
Other counties
Lease figures in other counties
Related
Related
- ToolIs this lease offer good?Bonus and royalty against the county, and a scan of the lease's clauses.
- ToolIs this buyout offer fair?The offer as months of your income, what the acres mean, and the questions to ask.
- ToolTexas well watchPermit, completion, first production and when the first check is due.
- ToolRoyalty calculatorVolume, price and decimal to an estimated check.
- Texas dataTexas lease lookupFind your lease by name, RRC number or county.
- Texas dataTexas oil and gas atlas254 counties, every lease, operator and field.
FAQ
Questions people ask
What do oil and gas leases pay per acre in Culberson County, Texas?
Relinquishment Act leases: 8 leases, median bonus $2,500 per acre (middle half $1,000 to $3,000). State sealed-bid sales: 2 leases, median bonus $3,153 per acre. These are State land sales and shared offers, a reference for a private offer and not a promise of one.
What royalty do Culberson County leases have?
The most common oil royalty in relinquishment act leases is 12.5 percent. The most common oil royalty in state sealed-bid sales is 25 percent. A private lease sets its own royalty, and the words that figure it matter as much as the fraction.
Is drilling active in Culberson County?
The Railroad Commission issued 289 drilling permits in Culberson County in the last 24 months, 271 of them for horizontal wells. A permit is permission to drill, not a well.
How do I know if my offer is good?
Compare its bonus, royalty and first term with the figures on this page, then scan the lease itself for the clauses that decide what you are paid: how costs are treated, what land is released after the first term, and any option to extend. The offer check on this page does the first part with no account.
Got a lease in front of you?
The scan quotes the sentence of your lease behind every flag.
Sources
Primary sources, opened on 29 September 2026. Statute text is the current version on statutes.capitol.texas.gov.