Van Zandt County, Texas
Van Zandt County lease offers: what is on record
State land, so a reference and not a price.
The record
Bonus, royalty and term in Van Zandt County
State Relinquishment Act leases
May 2024 to May 2024, State land
- Leases
- 1
- Median
- $500
- Bonus per acre, middle half
- Too few to give a range
- Royalty
- 12.5%
| Source | Leases | Bonus per acre, middle half | Median | Royalty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State Relinquishment Act leasesMay 2024 to May 2024, State land | 1 | Too few to give a range | $500 | 12.5% |
Figures are for Van Zandt 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | $500 (1 lease) | None |
Compare an offer
Where does your Van Zandt 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
Van Zandt 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 Van Zandt 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 Van Zandt County sold
The gross value of the oil and gas that Railroad Commission leases in Van Zandt 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.
- The median new lease in Van Zandt County had sold $162,794 by 36 months, less than the $20.5 million it takes here. That is the longest period in the record, and we do not guess past it.
| Months since first production | Median | Middle half |
|---|---|---|
| 12 months46 leases | $50,523 | $19,939 to $0.1M |
| 24 months42 leases | $0.1M | $48,411 to $0.3M |
| 36 months31 leases | $0.2M | $62,044 to $0.5M |
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 Van Zandt County’s lease record
OFFER A
- Your bonus of $5,000 an acre compares with $500 an acre in the one lease on record. That is too few to call a range.From One Relinquishment Act lease in Van Zandt County recorded by the General Land Office, 2024 (a surface owner leasing for the State: the closest public comparison to a private lease). A thin record.
- The lease's royalty of 3/16 compares with 1/8, the most common one in General Land Office leases for Van Zandt County. This rests on one lease.From the most common royalty in General Land Office leases for Van Zandt County. A thin record.
- The lease's first term of 3 years compares with a median of 3 years in Van Zandt County. This rests on one lease.From the median first term in General Land Office leases for Van Zandt County. A thin record.
OFFER B
- Your bonus of $4,000 an acre compares with $500 an acre in the one lease on record. That is too few to call a range.From One Relinquishment Act lease in Van Zandt County recorded by the General Land Office, 2024 (a surface owner leasing for the State: the closest public comparison to a private lease). A thin record.
- The lease's royalty of 1/4 compares with 1/8, the most common one in General Land Office leases for Van Zandt County. This rests on one lease.From the most common royalty in General Land Office leases for Van Zandt County. A thin record.
- The lease's first term of 3 years compares with a median of 3 years in Van Zandt County. This rests on one lease.From the median first term in General Land Office leases for Van Zandt County. A thin record.
Drilling
New drilling permits in Van Zandt County
25 permits, 0 horizontal.
- Aug 20261
- Jun 20261
- Apr 20263
- Mar 20262
- Feb 20262
- Dec 20251
- Nov 20251
- Oct 20252
- Aug 20253
- Jun 20251
- May 20252
- Mar 20254
| Issued | Operator, lease and type |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-11 | Basa Resources, Inc.CENTRAL VAN WOODBINE UNIT · Vertical |
| 2026-06-19 | Black Gold Industries Oprtng LLCROBINSON · Vertical |
| 2026-04-16 | Basa Resources, Inc.BLAKE, R. S. · Vertical |
| 2026-04-13 | Basa Resources, Inc.BLAKE, R. S. · Vertical |
| 2026-04-13 | Basa Resources, Inc.BLAKE, R. S. · Vertical |
| 2026-03-20 | Basa Resources, Inc.TUNNELL, I. P. 300 · Vertical |
| 2026-03-04 | Basa Resources, Inc.BLAKE, R. S. · Vertical |
| 2026-02-27 | Basa Resources, Inc.YORK, W. A. 13 · Vertical |
| 2026-02-19 | Basa Resources, Inc.BLAKE, R. S. · Vertical |
| 2025-12-02 | Basa Resources, Inc.MAXFIELD, A. G. 38 · Vertical |
Other counties
Lease figures in other counties
Related
Related
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FAQ
Questions people ask
What do oil and gas leases pay per acre in Van Zandt County, Texas?
Relinquishment Act leases: 1 lease, median bonus $500 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 Van Zandt County leases have?
The most common oil royalty in relinquishment act leases is 12.5 percent. A private lease sets its own royalty, and the words that figure it matter as much as the fraction.
Is drilling active in Van Zandt County?
The Railroad Commission issued 25 drilling permits in Van Zandt County in the last 24 months. 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.