Mineral rights in Nebraska are governed by Nebraska property and oil and gas law and regulated by the Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (NOGCC). Whether a severed interest can lapse from non-use, how oil and gas production is taxed, and how land is legally described all follow Nebraska-specific rules — set out below with the Nebraska authorities that govern them.
The NOGCC permits Nebraska wells and publishes the production records we check on every Nebraska evaluation. NOGCC.
Nebraska's dormancy provision is not self-executing. A surface owner must bring a suit in equity in the county where the land lies, praying for termination of the severed mineral interest. The interest is abandoned only if the record owner has not, within the twenty-three years immediately prior to the filing of the action, publicly exercised ownership — by a recorded instrument acquiring, selling, leasing, pooling, mortgaging, or transferring the interest; by drilling, producing, or using the subsurface; or by recording a verified claim of interest. Any such act extends the interest another twenty-three years. Note the lookback runs backward from the filing date, not from severance. The cure is cheap and permanent: record a verified claim of interest, or any lease or deed, in the county. (See Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 57-228 to 57-231.)
Statute directs the remitter to deduct these taxes from the amount due each interest owner before payment — so they come off your share pro rata:
The conservation mill levy floats and has moved repeatedly — it has been as high as 12.0 mills and as low as 5.0 — so verify the current rate before modeling. Confirm your own position with a CPA — this is published reference, not tax advice.
Nebraska defines real property for taxation to include mines, minerals, oil and gas wells, overriding royalty interests, and production payments with respect to oil or gas leases. A mineral interest severed from the surface remains real estate, may be listed on the tax rolls separately, and must be separately listed if the surface owner requests it. Assessment and collection are county functions.
Nebraska is a full rectangular-survey state off the Sixth Principal Meridian. Tracts, leases, units, and NOGCC filings are described by quarter-quarter, section, township, and range.
Oil and gas activity in Nebraska is concentrated in these plays and basins:
The facts above — who regulates, whether an idle interest can lapse, how production is taxed, and how land is described — are the Nebraska-specific rules that shape what you own and how it is protected. For the doctrines behind them see oil and gas law and the rule of capture; to compare states, see mineral rights by state. Buckhead Energy buys Nebraska mineral and royalty interests and prices them on the same regulator and production records described here. This is educational background, not legal advice; Nebraska oil and gas law is fact-specific, so consult a qualified Nebraska attorney about your interest.
Nebraska Mineral Rights & Counties
Oil & Gas Encyclopedia — all terms
Educational information only — not legal, tax, or investment advice. Consult a qualified attorney, CPA, or landman about your specific situation.
Buckhead Energy buys mineral and royalty interests in Nebraska — producing or non-producing — and prices them on the same public regulator and production records described here. Buckhead Energy is a direct buyer, not a broker: a free written offer, buyer-paid closing, and no commission.
Nebraska's dormancy provision is not self-executing. A surface owner must bring a suit in equity in the county where the land lies, praying for termination of the severed mineral interest.
Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The NOGCC permits Nebraska wells and publishes the production records we check on every Nebraska evaluation.
Statute directs the remitter to deduct these taxes from the amount due each interest owner before payment — so they come off your share pro rata:
Nebraska is a full rectangular-survey state off the Sixth Principal Meridian. Tracts, leases, units, and NOGCC filings are described by quarter-quarter, section, township, and range.
Buckhead Energy buys mineral and royalty interests across all 50 states and has completed acquisitions in 33 states. Buckhead Energy is a direct buyer, not a broker — we purchase mineral and royalty interests with our own capital. Buckhead Energy has been buying mineral and royalty interests since 2006. Buckhead Energy holds an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.
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