The Mineral Rights Podcast: Mineral Rights | Royalties | Oil and Gas | Matt Sands

You inherited mineral rights from your grandfather. You live in a different state. Then you get divorced — does your spouse have a claim to those minerals? In this episode, we break down what actually happens to individually owned mineral rights during a divorce, state by state. We cover the difference between community property and equitable distribution states, why Texas and Louisiana treat the exact same royalty check in opposite ways, and why North Dakota doesn't automatically protect inherited minerals the way you'd expect. If you're the steward of a family mineral legacy, this one's worth your full attention. As always, links to resources mentioned on the show can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com . This information is being shared for educational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. For guidance specific to your situation, please consult with a qualified attorney.

This month's mailbag covers a little bit of everything — huge thanks to Phillip, Timothy, Jodi, Joey, Nick, Gretchen, Tom, and Bruce for sending in such thoughtful questions. From splitting water revenue with the state of Texas, to operators who've gone quiet, to why natural gas prices in Texas aren't reacting to overseas supply shocks, this episode is packed with practical answers for real situations mineral owners are facing today. Be sure to check out the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com for additional resources.

Oil prices that can't make up their mind, a tribe finally getting the green light to run its own energy business after a 20-year wait, and some of the biggest names in oil and gas quietly writing billion-dollar checks on a technology that doesn't even exist yet commercially, that's what's on the table this month. In this episode, Justin and I break down the Southern Ute Indian Tribe's landmark agreement with the Department of the Interior, dig into why oil keeps swinging up and down (and what that's doing to everything from your grocery bill to your royalty check), unpack why Chevron, Shell, Equinor, and other majors are betting big on nuclear fusion, and close out with the latest rig count numbers, which tell a more optimistic story than the weekly headline suggests. As always, links to the articles discussed in this episode can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com .

You threw the lease offer in a drawer, never signed, and mostly forgot about it — and then a check (or a bill) for a well showed up in your mailbox anyway. If that sounds impossible, you're not alone in thinking so, and you're also not alone in living through it. In most oil and gas states, refusing to sign a lease doesn't stop a well from getting drilled on the acreage under your minerals. Many states follow a process called statutory or forced pooling specifically so that one owner can't block an entire drilling unit, and that process comes with a real decision to make, on a real deadline, whether you ever picked up the phone or not. In this episode, we lay out the four choices that show up again and again once that process starts — lease, participate, do nothing, or protest — walk through how the math and deadlines differ in Colorado, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Texas, and give you a simple framework for figuring out which path actually fits your situation. If you've got a pooling notice sitting on your kitchen table right now, or you're just wondering what would happen if you said no, this is the episode that lays out the whole decision tree in one place. As always, links to the resources mentioned in this episode can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com .

Can an adopted grandchild inherit mineral rights the same way a biological grandchild can? Will your Permian Basin lease ever see a second bench developed, or is one horizontal target all you're going to get? And why does the number on your royalty check almost never match the production volume you pulled from the state's own database? This month's listener questions episode tackles all three, plus a practical walkthrough of how operators are stacking benches in the Permian and what that means for the long-term value of your minerals. Whether you're trying to untangle an inheritance question, decide between a working interest and a royalty interest, or just make sense of the numbers on your check, this episode is here to help you get you unstuck. As always, you can find links to additional resources mentioned in this episode in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com .

https://mineralrightspodcast.com/ A ballot fight in Erie, Colorado could unwind a $35 million mineral deal, an Arkansas court just handed royalty owners a win on post-production deductions, and oil prices are once again bouncing around based on whatever the headlines say about Iran that day. In this month's news episode, we break down what's really happening in Erie and why the outcome may matter less than residents think, then we unpack a ruling that reinforces one of the most important lessons in mineral ownership — your lease language rules everything. We'll also look at what a small but steady rise in the rig count tells us about where operators think prices are headed, and why you shouldn't put too much stock in President Trump's saber rattling about oil company price gouging. If you own minerals or royalties, this is your monthly download on what's changing and what it means for your bottom line. As always, links to the articles discussed can be found at mineralrightspodcast.com .

If you own oil and gas minerals, you already know the drill: you own what's under your land, someone leases it, and you get a royalty check. Did you know there is an entirely separate side to mineral rights on federal lands and that has to do with mining claims. In this episode, we sit down with attorney and Utah landman Justin Rammell of Rammell Law, PLLC, to break down how mining claims actually work, why a "valid claim" doesn't mean someone can start digging tomorrow, and all that you need to know about lithium rights. Be sure to check out the video of this interview (link will be posted when available). As always, links to the resources mentioned in this episode can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com

If you've ever sent an email to an operator's owner relations department and waited weeks for a reply — or gotten nothing at all — you're not alone, and it's not personal. In this episode, we break down exactly why so many owner requests stall out, and more importantly, what to do about it. We walk through how owner relations departments are actually organized, the specific information you need to include every single time you reach out, a simple method for diagnosing your problem before you ever hit send, and what to do when a normal request needs to become something more formal. If you've ever felt like you were shouting into the void, this episode gives you a repeatable process to get real answers instead. As always, links to the resources mentioned in this episode can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com .

Only two things in life are guaranteed: death and taxes. Mineral rights don't get an exception. A listener wrote in about a tiny, recurring property tax bill on non-producing minerals in Kansas and asked the question: what actually happens if I just don't pay it? We answered their question in MRP 340: Listener Questions July 2026 and that question prompted this episode, because the honest answer is that property tax on minerals is complicated — and getting it wrong can, in the wrong state, actually cost you the minerals themselves. Be sure to check out the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com for links to the resources mentioned in this episode.

Getting that first royalty check feels like the finish line. You cashed it, the operator knows your name, and as far as you're concerned, the minerals are yours. But the truth is: an operator paying you and you actually owning marketable or clean title to your minerals are two completely different things, decided by two completely different standards. One is about an operator managing its own risk. The other is the legal bar a buyer, a bank, or a court will actually hold you to. In this episode, we dig into that gap — what it means, why it exists, and what you can (and can't) do about it with some commonly used shortcuts. As always, more information (including links to the resources mentioned in this episode can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com ).

In this month's listener Q&A episode, we tackle a run of "what's really happening with my minerals" questions from across the country: whether a century-old Montana formation still has any life left in it, how to gauge future drilling near existing wells in Louisiana, how to spot a planned refrac before it happens (plus a tangled century-old inheritance dispute out of the Haynesville), how to avoid getting lowballed by unsolicited purchase offers, what to check when a new Texas well starts sending royalty checks, how to research undeveloped minerals in New Mexico, and the potential issues that could arise if you decide to skip paying property taxes on your non-producing mineral rights. Whether you're trying to figure out what your minerals are worth, confirm you're being paid correctly, or just protect what you've inherited, this episode has something for you. As before, many of the questions in this episode are covered in more depth in my Mineral Management Basics online course , including how to read a legal description, perform a title search, identify nearby oil and gas activity, and determine whether you should be getting paid on a well. Thanks again to everyone who left a review or who submitted a listener question! If you have a question about your minerals or royalties, you can send it to feedback@mineralrightspodcast.com !

This month has been a roller coaster ride in the oil and gas world, and mineral owners have a front row seat. A Colorado town just sold off its own mineral rights in a fight that split its council right down the middle, oil prices have been yo-yoing on every twist in the Iran situation, in an obvious political move, President Trump is picking a fight with the same oil companies he courted for campaign donations, and the Interior Department quietly rolled back a set of Biden-era drilling rules that could reshape how quickly federal leases move. We break down these stories, and discuss why "the news" and "your bottom line" are more connected than most owners realize. Let's get into it. As always, links to the articles discussed can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com .

Most mineral owners know they "own mineral rights" — but what does that actually mean? Did you know that property ownership isn't a single thing; it's a collection of separate, stackable, and separable rights that attorneys and landmen refer to as the "bundle of sticks." In this episode, we break down everything you need to know about the different types of property rights — from the broad concept of who owns what on the surface to a detailed look at the five distinct rights that make up the mineral estate itself. If you've ever wondered why you're receiving a royalty check but didn't sign a lease, why you can sell your interest while your cousin holds onto theirs, or what exactly an NPRI owner does and doesn't get to do — this episode covers it all. Whether you've just inherited minerals or have been a mineral owner for years, understanding which "sticks" are in your bundle is foundational to making smart decisions about your property. As always the links to the resources mentioned in this episode can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com .

If a landman representing an oil and gas company just knocked on your door and offered to buy a piece of your land for a compressor station, what should you do? The check sounds good — maybe even great. But before you sign anything, there's a lot more to think through than just the dollar amount. In this episode, we dig into one of the less-discussed situations a landowner can face: being approached to permanently sell surface land for industrial oil and gas infrastructure. From understanding what a compressor station actually is, to navigating the tax implications of a sale versus a lease, to making sure the protections you negotiate actually survive if the company sells the property to someone else — this episode walks you through the key questions to ask and the mistakes to avoid. As always, links to the resources mentioned in this episode can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com .

In this month's listener Q&A episode, we answer an interesting mix of questions: from assessing a mining prospect on inherited land in Alabama, to a Texas mineral owner caught in the middle of a confusing pooling-versus-allocation dispute with their operator, to one of the most common (and heartbreaking) situations we hear about — a widow trying to untangle mineral ownership across three states after her husband's passing. Whether you're dealing with unclaimed property, figuring out what your minerals are worth, or just trying to get organized before the worst happens, this episode has something for you. As always, links to the resources mentioned in this episode can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com .

If you've filled up your gas tank lately, you already know something big is happening in energy markets — and it doesn't look like it's going away anytime soon. The ongoing conflict in the Middle East has shut down roughly 14% of the world's oil supply through the Strait of Hormuz, sending oil and gas prices on a roller coaster ride that has the Federal Reserve worried about inflation, analysts predicting $3+ gas prices through the end of the decade, and even major OPEC members quietly making moves to protect their own interests. For mineral and royalty owners, higher oil prices are a double edged sword. While it can mean stronger royalty checks in the short term, higher gas prices and the trickle down effect into higher prices for just about everything can offset those gains. In this month's news episode, Justin and I break down what's actually happening, cut through the noise, and talk through what it all means for you as a mineral owner. As always, links to the articles discussed can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com .

Most mineral owners are sitting on tools that could save them hours of time, catch payment errors they'd never find on their own, and make them far more informed at every step of owning minerals and royalties — and they don't even know it. In this episode, we cover easy, free things you can do right now using tools like ChatGPT and Claude to streamline your mineral management. We also pull back the curtain on the more advanced ways the industry is already using AI to streamline title work, track drilling activity, and audit royalty payments. The key theme running through all of it: AI is an amplifier, not a replacement. The more you understand about your minerals, the more you can get out of these tools. Get my free AI Prompt Guide for Mineral Owners to turn a pile of old deeds into a clean, organized mineral rights inventory — even if you have no technical background and no idea where to start. As always, the links to the resources mentioned in this episode can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com .

When most people hear "geothermal energy," they think of Iceland, Yellowstone, or hot springs — places where the earth's heat is practically boiling up through the ground on its own. For decades, that image was essentially correct: traditional geothermal power only worked where nature had already done the hard work. But a wave of new technology borrowed directly from the oil and gas industry is changing everything. In this episode, we discuss the rapid advances in Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) — what they are, how far the technology has come since we first covered this topic in 2022, and most importantly, what the legal ownership picture looks like for mineral rights owners as this new energy source begins to scale up. As always, links to the resources mentioned in this episode can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com

In this episode, we answer questions submitted by Sara, David, Kevin, Tom, Bradley, and Linda. Topics range from decoding an unsolicited purchase offer to calculating decimal interest for allocation wells crossing multiple units in the East Texas Haynesville, to recovering unclaimed royalties for a deceased parent's estate. Whether you're brand new to mineral ownership or a seasoned buyer, there's something here for you. As always, links to the resources mentioned in this episode can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com .

In this month's news episode, we break down four major developments shaking up global energy markets in May 2026. From the UAE's sudden departure from OPEC to a widening gap between paper and physical oil prices, the episode covers what these fast-moving events mean for royalty owners who are trying to make sense of their income outlook. We also discuss the Trump administration's meeting with major oil executives, a temporary waiver of the century-old Jones Act, and what the latest rig count data tells us about where the industry is actually headed. As always, links to the articles coverd in this episode can be found in the show notes at mineralrightspodcast.com .