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Sell Oil & Gas Royalties in Nebraska

Buckhead Energy buys Nebraska royalty interests, ORRIs, and NPRIs with our own capital — southwest Nebraska and Panhandle conventional production, including small legacy stripper interests. 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 Nebraska Royalty Offer

Quick Answer To sell oil and gas royalties in Nebraska: 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. Nebraska is a small, declining conventional state — most private positions here are legacy stripper interests generating modest monthly checks. Severance is 3% (2% on stripper oil) plus a floating conservation mill levy, and statute directs the remitter to deduct it from your share before paying you. Nebraska has a 23-year dormancy period, but it only bites if a surface owner actually files suit.

What to look for in a Nebraska royalty buyer

There is no single "best" royalty buyer for every Nebraska owner, but the filters are the same everywhere: is the buyer using its own capital, will they put the offer and its reasoning in writing, who pays title and closing costs, and will they quote an interest this size at all? Many buyers will not look at a small Nebraska stripper royalty. Buckhead Energy is a direct buyer, buys with its own funds, pays the title costs, and will review small interests other buyers decline.

How to compare mineral and royalty buyers →

Every Type of Nebraska Royalty Interest, Purchased Directly

Royalty Interests (RI)

The classic royalty under a lease on your Nebraska 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 Nebraska royalty different

What royalty do you get in Nebraska?

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.

If you don't lease (force-pooling floor) 1/8 (12.5%)

The statute treats an unleased pooled owner as a 1/8 lessor, so you keep a cost-free 1/8 (12.5%) royalty; the 7/8 shares only after the operator recovers costs plus a steep risk penalty.

Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 57-909(2)

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.

Nebraska: 3%, plus a floating conservation levy

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:

Crude oil (non-stripper) and natural gas 3% of value

Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 57-703

Crude oil from stripper properties 2% of value

Source: Neb. Rev. Stat. § 57-703

Conservation tax (mill levy) 7.0 mills, current period

Source: Nebraska DOR Form 61

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 taxes mineral interests as real property

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: 23 years, but only if someone sues

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 <strong>immediately prior to the filing of the action</strong>, 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.

Statute: Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 57-228 to 57-231

Estimate a dormancy deadline →

Section-township-range

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.

Not sure what you own? Use the ownership flowchart →

Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (NOGCC)

The NOGCC permits Nebraska wells and publishes the production records we check on every Nebraska evaluation.

Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission →

Where we buy royalties in Nebraska

Southwest Nebraska

Hitchcock, Dundy, Red Willow, and neighboring counties — now the largest share of state output, on the Denver Basin northeast flank and Cambridge Arch trend.

Denver-Julesburg Basin, Panhandle

Kimball, Cheyenne, Banner, Morrill, Scotts Bluff, and Sioux — long-lived, heavily depleted conventional production on the shelf edge of the DJ, with no horizontal Niobrara program of consequence on the Nebraska side.

Forest City Basin

Richardson County in the far southeast — small but persistent.

Active Nebraska royalty counties include:

HitchcockDundyKimballRed WillowCheyenneBannerRichardsonPhelpsHarlanMorrillFranklinHayes

All Nebraska counties we buy in →

Why Nebraska royalty owners sell

A small and declining state: Nebraska output has been falling for years and the largest producing county is well off its own peak. Most private positions are legacy stripper interests.

Two deductions on a modest check: The 3% severance and the floating conservation levy both come off your share pro rata by statute.

How selling your Nebraska 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 NOGCC records on every Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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. The more you know, the better our conversation.

Frequently asked questions

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

Only if a surface owner files suit. Nebraska's twenty-three-year dormancy is not self-executing — it requires a suit in equity, and the lookback runs backward from the filing date. The interest survives if the record owner performed any qualifying public act of ownership in that window, and any such act extends it another twenty-three years. Recording a verified claim of interest is a cheap, permanent cure.

How much is Nebraska severance tax on royalties?

Three percent of value on non-stripper oil and on natural gas, and two percent on oil from stripper properties, plus a floating conservation mill levy currently at 7.0 mills. Statute directs the remitter to deduct both from the amount due each interest owner before payment, so they come off your royalty pro rata.

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.

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Find out what your Nebraska royalties command

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