Clay City Consolidated Field Overview

Counties: Wayne, Clay, and Richland (Illinois)

Field: Clay City Consolidated

Production mechanism: continuous waterflood across the field complex

Operators: Multiple long-tenured private operators

Distinguishing feature: Illinois's largest cumulative oil field — over 100 million barrels

About the Clay City Consolidated Field

Multiple stripper operators run the historic Clay City Consolidated field — Illinois's largest cumulative oil field with more than 100 million barrels produced over the field's history. The field has been on continuous waterflood for decades and remains an active long-tail producer.

The Clay City Consolidated field is part of the broader Illinois Basin producing region — one of North America's longest-producing oil and gas regions, with continuous oil production recorded since the late 1800s. The field has the long-tail royalty cash flow profile that characterizes mature Illinois Basin operations: small monthly checks for many decades.

Producing Formations

The Clay City Consolidated field produces from one or more of these Mississippian-age Illinois Basin reservoirs:

Aux Vases Sandstone

Cypress Sandstone

McClosky Limestone

For deeper formation context see our Aux Vases Sandstone, Cypress Sandstone, McClosky Limestone, Salem Limestone, and Tar Springs Sandstone formation pages.

Mineral Interest Profile

Mineral interests on the Clay City Consolidated field typically take one of these forms:

Producing royalty interest — your tract's contribution to the field's monthly revenue, paid by the operator

Non-producing mineral interest — fee mineral ownership in a tract currently outside active producing zones

Overriding royalty interest (ORRI) — a royalty carved out of a working interest

Non-participating royalty interest (NPRI) — a royalty interest with no leasing or development rights

Many Clay City Consolidated field interests are inherited multiple generations deep, with original lease bonus paid in the early 1900s. Current Illinois Basin mineral owners frequently include heirs spread across multiple states. Indiana's 20-year Dormant Mineral Act creates particular urgency for absentee owners on cross-border fields.

Valuation Considerations

Direct buyers value Clay City Consolidated field mineral interests using a discounted cash flow approach with these key inputs:

Decline rate — typically 3-7% annual on long-life Illinois Basin waterflood fields

Remaining reserve life — often 15-30+ years on actively-maintained units

Operator quality — long-tenured Illinois Basin operators typically deliver predictable production

Discount rate — typically 9-13% for stable Illinois Basin waterflood cash flows

CCS / 45Q optionality — selected Illinois Basin acreage has Mt. Simon Sandstone CCS sequestration potential beneath the producing zones (Wabash Valley Resources hub area)

Selling Clay City Consolidated Field Mineral Rights

Buckhead Energy buys mineral rights and royalty interests on the Clay City Consolidated field. Out-of-state owners are common — many Illinois Basin interests are inherited multiple generations deep. We handle the entire process remotely: free written offer by email, deed signed before a notary in your state, recorded with the Wayne County clerk, and proceeds wired the day of recording.