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Sell Oil & Gas Royalties in Mississippi

Buckhead Energy buys Mississippi royalty interests, ORRIs, and NPRIs with our own capital — Interior Salt Basin oil, Selma Chalk gas, and Smackover production. Free written offer, zero fees or commissions, closing in 30–45 days.

19 years buying royalties · A+ BBB · funds wired at closing

Get Your Free Mississippi Royalty Offer

Quick Answer To sell oil and gas royalties in Mississippi: 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. Mississippi taxes both oil and gas at 6% of value at the point of production, with reduced rates for enhanced recovery and a temporary 1.3% horizontal-well rate. Two owner-friendly features stand out: producing mineral and royalty interests are exempt from all ad valorem tax, and Mississippi has no dormant mineral act — the legislature has repeatedly declined to create one.

What to look for in a Mississippi royalty buyer

There is no single "best" royalty buyer for every Mississippi owner, but four filters separate a serious buyer from an intermediary. Is the buyer using its own capital? Will they put the offer and its reasoning in writing? Who pays title and closing costs? And if your checks are suspended, does the buyer know what you are owed? Mississippi law entitles royalty owners to interest on proceeds not disbursed within 120 days of first sale, at a statutory rate that must be displayed on the disbursement document. That is real money a buyer should be accounting for. Buckhead Energy is a direct buyer, buys with its own funds, and pays the title costs.

How to compare mineral and royalty buyers →

Every Type of Mississippi Royalty Interest, Purchased Directly

Royalty Interests (RI)

The classic royalty under a lease on your Mississippi minerals — monthly checks from operator production, free of drilling and operating costs.

Overriding Royalties (ORRI)

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 →

Non-Participating (NPRI)

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).

What makes a Mississippi royalty different

What royalty do you get in Mississippi?

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.

A truly unleased Mississippi owner has no royalty floor — they are force-integrated as a cost-bearing party charged 250–300% of well costs (the 300% tier for severed minerals) until payout. The 3/16 in the statute protects only owners who are already leased.

Source: Miss. Code § 53-3-7(2)(g)

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.

Mississippi: 6%, with reductions for enhanced and horizontal recovery

Crude oil 6% of value at the point of production

Source: Miss. Code Ann. § 27-25-503

Natural gas 6% of value at the point of production

Source: Miss. Code Ann. § 27-25-703

Horizontal wells (temporary) 1.3% for 30 months from first sale or until payout

Source: Miss. Code Ann. § 27-25-503

Oil produced by carbon-dioxide enhanced recovery delivered by pipeline, and other Board-approved enhanced recovery, is reduced to 3%. The 1.3% horizontal rate is scheduled to sunset — the enabling provision is repealed from and after July 1, 2028, though wells producing before that date keep the rate. A separate State Oil and Gas Board maintenance charge also applies, and royalty owners are liable for their proportionate share. Confirm your own position with a CPA — this is published reference, not tax advice.

Producing minerals are exempt from all ad valorem tax

Mississippi statute exempts all oil and gas produced, all leases in production including mineral rights in producing properties, and all oil or gas under the ground on producing properties from every state, county, municipal, levee, road, school, and other district ad valorem tax — and provides that no additional assessment may be added to the surface value because oil lies beneath it. A parallel provision covers gas and carbon dioxide. Do not carry Texas-style annual county mineral assessment expectations into Mississippi.

Mississippi has no dormant mineral act

A severed Mississippi mineral interest does not lapse for non-use, and the legislature has repeatedly declined to change that. A 2024 bill to revert mineral estates to the surface owner after ten years of non-production died in committee, as did identical predecessors in 2013 and 2021. Mississippi also has no marketable record title act — a 2019 bill died in committee and in any event carved out mineral interests. Do not confuse this with the statute allowing cancellation of the record of an expired lease, which is a record-clearing tool, or with unclaimed property law, which escheats undelivered proceeds rather than the mineral estate.

See which states do have a dormancy deadline →

Section-township-range — across five meridians

Mississippi is a rectangular-survey state but is governed by more principal meridians than any other, which is a real source of title error: the Choctaw Meridian near Jackson, the Chickasaw Meridian in north Mississippi, the Washington Meridian in the southwestern Natchez district, and the St. Stephens Meridian in the Pearl River district. Drilling units are described in aliquot terms — the regular governmental quarter-quarter section for oil, the regular governmental half section for gas. Irregular metes-and-bounds tracts exist inside the Washington Meridian net where Spanish and British private land claims were confirmed as numbered irregular tracts.

Not sure what you own? Use the ownership flowchart →

Mississippi State Oil and Gas Board (MSOGB)

The State Oil and Gas Board permits Mississippi wells, approves enhanced-recovery and horizontal rate reductions, and publishes the production records we check on every Mississippi evaluation.

Mississippi State Oil and Gas Board →

Where we buy royalties in Mississippi

Mississippi Interior Salt Basin

Southwest and south-central Mississippi — the dominant province, with Lower Tuscaloosa by far the most common producing formation, plus Smackover, Hosston, Cotton Valley, and Wilcox.

Smackover trend

Upper Jurassic carbonate production across the Interior Salt Basin — Tinsley in Yazoo County, Loring in Madison, Bienville Forrest in Smith.

Selma Chalk

The Rankin and Hinds county gas engine, including the Jackson Field, extending into Madison and Yazoo.

Tuscaloosa Marine Shale

Extends into the southwest corner — Amite, Pike, and Wilkinson counties — with limited activity since 2016.

Note that the Jurassic Haynesville Formation produces conventionally in the Interior Salt Basin (Smith, Jones, Scott, Jasper) — this is a different thing from the Haynesville Shale play of northwest Louisiana and east Texas.

Active Mississippi royalty counties include:

JasperJonesWayneSmithYazooAdamsRankinMadisonJefferson DavisLamarCovingtonLincoln

All Mississippi counties we buy in → · Monthly Mississippi drilling activity report →

Why Mississippi royalty owners sell

Suspended checks accrue interest: Mississippi entitles royalty owners to interest on proceeds not disbursed within 120 days of first sale, with the rate required on the disbursement document, plus a lien on production. If your checks are in suspense, establish what you are owed before you do anything else.

No property tax drag: Producing Mississippi minerals carry no ad valorem bill, so the interest is cheap to hold — which makes the decision to sell purely about the value of the remaining stream.

Mature conventional decline: Most Mississippi production is long-lived conventional oil and gas well past peak. Selling prices the whole remaining stream at once.

How selling your Mississippi royalties works

1
Send the basics. Division orders, 3–12 months of check stubs, and your lease if handy — the five documents that sharpen any offer. Missing some? We research county and MSOGB records on every Mississippi evaluation.
2
Get a written offer. We model each well's production and decline, verify your decimal, apply current prices, and explain the reasoning — never a take-it-or-leave-it number.
3
Review the agreement. The purchase and sale agreement states exactly what's conveyed, the effective date, and who pays costs (we do).
4
Close and get paid. Notarized conveyance recorded in the Mississippi county where the minerals sit, funds wired at closing — typically 30–45 days from acceptance.

Know what your checks are telling you

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 Mississippi operators leaderboard. The more you know, the better our conversation.

Frequently asked questions

How do I sell oil and gas royalties in Mississippi?

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 Mississippi title work and typically closes within 30 to 45 days.

Do I pay property tax on Mississippi mineral rights?

Not on producing interests. Mississippi statute exempts oil and gas produced, leases in production including mineral rights in producing properties, and oil or gas under producing properties from all state, county, municipal, levee, road, school, and district ad valorem taxes — and bars any additional assessment on the surface because of the minerals below.

Can I lose my Mississippi mineral rights if I do nothing?

No. Mississippi has no dormant mineral act and no marketable record title act. Bills to make severed minerals revert to the surface owner after ten years of non-production have been introduced repeatedly — in 2013, 2021, and 2024 — and each died in committee.

My Mississippi royalty checks are suspended — what am I owed?

Mississippi law makes purchasers of production liable for interest on royalty proceeds not disbursed within 120 days of first sale, at the greater of eight percent per annum or two percent above the federal discount rate, with the rate required to be displayed on the disbursement document. Owners also have a lien on production for undisbursed proceeds after the same period. Note the rate drops where title is genuinely unmarketable, so a claimed title defect is worth examining.

Can I sell just part of my royalties?

Yes. Partial conveyances are routine — many owners sell a fraction for liquidity and keep the rest. The deed simply describes the portion conveyed.

What is the difference between selling royalties and selling mineral rights?

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.

Are small royalty checks worth selling?

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.

Sell royalties — national overview · Compare Mississippi to another state · Mississippi mineral rights · Sell minerals in Mississippi

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