Buckhead Energy buys Colorado royalty interests, ORRIs, and NPRIs with our own capital — Niobrara and Codell checks in the DJ Basin, Piceance tight gas, San Juan coalbed methane. Free written offer, zero fees or commissions, closing in 30–45 days.
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Get Your Free Colorado Royalty OfferQuick Answer To sell oil and gas royalties in Colorado: gather your division orders and recent check stubs, request a written offer from a direct buyer, and close by notarized conveyance recorded in the county where the minerals sit. Colorado's severance tax is graduated on your total annual gross income from Colorado oil and gas rather than being a flat rate, and a large ad valorem tax credit plus a stripper-well exemption mean many smaller royalty owners owe little or nothing. Colorado has no dormant mineral statute, so your interest does not lapse from inactivity.
There is no single "best" royalty buyer for every Colorado owner, but four filters separate a serious buyer from an intermediary. Is the buyer using its own capital? If closing depends on them finding a third party, you are working with a broker. Will they put the offer and its reasoning in writing? Who pays title and closing costs? And do they understand Front Range split estate? A DJ Basin mineral interest under a subdivision has a very different development timeline from one under open ground, and permitting reform has changed how and when small tracts get drilled. Buckhead Energy is a direct buyer, buys with its own funds, and pays the title costs.
The classic royalty under a lease on your Colorado minerals — monthly checks from operator production, free of drilling and operating costs.
Carved out of the working interest — common for landmen, geologists, and dealmakers. ORRIs expire with their lease, which makes timing a real consideration. ORRI guide →
Royalty without executive rights or bonus — often inherited and misunderstood. Fully sellable. NPRI guide →
Producing or recently shut-in, whole or fractional, one well or many counties — including inherited interests still in an estate (we handle heirship).
In almost every state, your oil & gas royalty is set by your lease — not by statute. There is no government-set royalty rate for privately negotiated leases.
Since SB 19-181, a force-pooled owner is guaranteed a cost-free 13% royalty on a gas well or 16% on an oil well until the drillers recover their share of costs (the old flat 12.5% was raised).
Source: C.R.S. § 34-60-116(7)(c)(I)
Typical negotiated lease royalty (market convention, not law): Across the U.S., negotiated oil & gas leases have historically run from 1/8 (12.5%) at the low end to 1/4 (25%) in the most competitive plays, with 3/16 (18.75%) and 1/5 (20%) common in active basins. Your actual rate depends on the play, the operator, the competition for your acreage, and when you signed — not on any state rate.
Colorado does not set separate oil and gas rates. Both run through one bracket table applied to your <strong>total annual gross income</strong> from Colorado oil and gas:
Source: Colorado Dept. of Revenue — Severance Tax
Source: Colorado Dept. of Revenue — Severance Tax
Source: Colorado Dept. of Revenue — Severance Tax
Two large offsets apply: gross income from stripper-well production is subtracted before the schedule runs, and an ad valorem tax credit equal to 87.5% of net ad valorem tax often zeroes out a small owner's liability entirely. Operators withhold 1% of gross income disbursed. Because of the credit and exemption, the effective rate for a typical royalty owner is well below the headline. Confirm your own position with a CPA — this is published reference, not tax advice.
Producing oil and gas leaseholds are assessed as real property by the county at 87.5% of wellhead selling price for primary production. Only royalties paid to government entities and tribes are deducted in arriving at that value — private royalty is not — so your interest bears its share of the county burden, generally netted out of proceeds. Producers then recover 87.5% of that ad valorem tax as a severance tax credit.
A severed Colorado mineral interest does not lapse to the surface owner through non-use, and there is no notice-of-intent-to-preserve filing requirement. The realistic ways to lose severed Colorado minerals are adverse possession under color of title with payment of taxes — which requires affirmative acts by a claimant, not mere dormancy — or a tax sale.
Colorado is a rectangular-survey state. Interests are described by section, township, and range referenced to the Sixth Principal Meridian over most of the state, the New Mexico Principal Meridian in the south-central and southeast, or the Ute Principal Meridian in the west-central. Older Spanish and Mexican land grants in southern Colorado are described by grant name rather than by section.
The ECMC — renamed from the COGCC in 2023, so older division orders and title work still say "COGCC" — permits Colorado wells and holds the records we check on every Colorado evaluation.
The dominant oil basin — Niobrara and Codell under Weld County and the northern Front Range.
Gas-weighted northwest Colorado — Garfield, Rio Blanco, Mesa — producing Williams Fork and Mesaverde tight gas.
Southwest Colorado — Fruitland coalbed methane and Mancos gas, continuing into New Mexico.
Raton coalbed methane in Las Animas and Huerfano; sparsely developed Niobrara oil in Moffat and Routt.
We also buy Paradox Basin interests in the southwest corner and legacy conventional production anywhere in the state.
Active Colorado royalty counties include:
All Colorado counties we buy in → · Monthly Colorado drilling activity report →
Split estate slows development: Front Range growth means severed minerals frequently sit under homes and subdivisions. Owning minerals under a subdivision can mean waiting years — or indefinitely — for a well that pencils.
Niobrara decline is front-loaded: DJ Basin horizontals pay most of their royalties early. A strong current check reflects a well's first years rather than its average.
Regulatory timelines shifted: Colorado's permitting framework changed materially in recent years, which affects when and whether a small tract gets drilled. Selling converts that timing uncertainty into a fixed number.
Fractions split across heirs: Long-held family minerals in Weld and the western slope have divided across generations into small decimals.
Before you sell — or decide not to — read your own income stream like a buyer would: your royalty statement line by line, the full royalty calculation chain, and your trend over the last year. Run your own numbers with our royalty calculator, ground-truth prices against live WTI & Henry Hub benchmarks, and see who operates around you on the top Colorado operators leaderboard. The more you know, the better our conversation.
Gather your division orders, three to twelve months of check stubs, and your lease if you have it. Request a written offer from a direct buyer, review the purchase and sale agreement, then close by notarized conveyance recorded in the county where the minerals sit. Buckhead Energy handles and pays for the Colorado title work and typically closes within 30 to 45 days.
Colorado uses one graduated schedule for both oil and gas, applied to your total annual gross income from Colorado oil and gas: 2% under $25,000, rising in brackets to 5% above $300,000. Two offsets matter enormously — stripper-well income is subtracted before the schedule applies, and an ad valorem tax credit equal to 87.5% of net ad valorem tax frequently eliminates a small owner's liability. Operators withhold 1% of gross income disbursed.
No. Colorado has no dormant mineral act, so a severed interest does not lapse to the surface owner through non-use, and there is no preservation filing to make. The realistic risks are adverse possession under color of title with payment of taxes, or a tax sale — both of which require affirmative acts by someone else, not merely your inaction.
Yes. Partial conveyances are routine — many owners sell a fraction for liquidity and keep the rest. The deed simply describes the portion conveyed.
A royalty interest is the income stream only; mineral rights include the underlying ownership with leasing (executive) rights. Both are sellable. ORRIs (carved from leases, expiring with them) and NPRIs (royalty without bonus or executive rights) are royalty-type interests Buckhead purchases regularly.
Often, yes. Small persistent checks — especially from long-lived stripper wells — carry real present value, and administrative burden frequently outweighs modest income for scattered or inherited interests. A written offer prices the whole remaining stream at once.
This page is educational and is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Statutory rates are quoted from the linked issuing agency as of 2026-07-21 and can change by legislative action. Consult a qualified attorney and CPA about your own interest before selling.
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