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Sell Oil & Gas Royalties in New York

Buckhead Energy buys New York royalty interests, ORRIs, and NPRIs with our own capital — legacy Medina and Queenston shallow gas in the western counties and Allegany-area oil. 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 New York Royalty Offer

Quick Answer To sell oil and gas royalties in New York: 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. Be clear-eyed about the market. New York prohibits high-volume hydraulic fracturing statewide, so the Marcellus and Utica acreage that would otherwise carry royalty value cannot be developed by the method that would make it economic. What remains is a shrinking legacy business of shallow vertical wells. New York imposes no severance tax, capturing producing value through local property tax instead — assessed in the producer's name, not yours.

What to look for in a New York royalty buyer

There is no single "best" royalty buyer for every New York 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 engage with a closed market at all? Many buyers decline New York outright. Buckhead Energy is a direct buyer, buys with its own funds, pays the title costs, and will give you a straight answer about what a New York interest is realistically worth.

How to compare mineral and royalty buyers →

Every Type of New York Royalty Interest, Purchased Directly

Royalty Interests (RI)

The classic royalty under a lease on your New York 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 New York royalty different

What royalty do you get in New York?

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%) — lowest lease in the unit, never less than 1/8

A force-integrated owner who doesn't elect otherwise is guaranteed a cost-free royalty equal to the lowest lease royalty in the spacing unit, but never less than 1/8 (12.5%).

Source: N.Y. Env. Conserv. Law § 23-0901(3)(a)(3)

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.

New York assesses producing property in the producer's name

New York uses a uniform statewide valuation for producing oil and gas properties. Producing properties are assessed separately from all other interests, on a separate subsection of the assessment roll, and are assessed <strong>in the name of the producer</strong> rather than the royalty owner. The assessor multiplies a state-certified unit of production value by the economic unit's production for the year by the latest state equalization rate.

Metes and bounds

New York is one of the original states and was never subdivided under the rectangular survey. Descriptions are metes and bounds, frequently referencing colonial-era and early state frameworks — military tracts, patents, the Holland Land Company purchase, and township and lot numbering in western New York — rather than township, range, and section.

Not sure what you own? Use the ownership flowchart →

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Mineral Resources (NYSDEC)

DEC permits New York wells and administers the statewide prohibition on high-volume hydraulic fracturing. It also administers gas storage leases, which are a separate and often more durable income stream than production royalty.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, Division of Mineral Resources →

Where we buy royalties in New York

Legacy Medina and Queenston shallow gas

The bulk of New York's remaining gas production — low-rate, long-lived vertical wells concentrated in Chautauqua, Erie, Cattaraugus, and neighboring counties.

Allegany oil field

Essentially all of New York's oil, in Allegany and Cattaraugus counties — shallow, stripper-rate, much of it under waterflood.

Trenton–Black River trend

A fault-related carbonate gas play that drove a drilling episode in the late 1990s and 2000s, now largely in decline.

Marcellus and Utica

Geologically prospective across the Southern Tier but commercially unavailable — high-volume hydraulic fracturing is prohibited statewide.

Active New York royalty counties include:

ChautauquaSteubenCattaraugusAlleganyErieSenecaChenangoChemungGeneseeCayugaMadisonWyoming

All New York counties we buy in →

Why New York royalty owners sell

The upside is closed off by law: The statewide prohibition on high-volume hydraulic fracturing means the shale resource under New York acreage cannot be developed. Whatever optionality a similar tract would carry in Pennsylvania does not exist here.

A shrinking legacy business: Permitting activity is minimal and statewide production is a small fraction of what neighboring states produce. Most royalty checks are correspondingly small.

How selling your New York 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 NYSDEC records on every New York 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 New York 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

Does New York have a severance tax on oil and gas?

No. New York imposes no wellhead severance or production tax, capturing producing oil and gas value through the local real property tax instead. Note that New York's petroleum business tax is a tax on petroleum products moved by distributors — it is not a wellhead severance tax and should not be confused with one.

Can I still develop Marcellus gas under my New York land?

Not by the method that would make it economic. New York prohibits high-volume hydraulic fracturing statewide following a multi-year environmental review, and the prohibition was later extended to carbon-dioxide-based fracturing. Southern Tier acreage remains geologically prospective but commercially unavailable, which is the central fact in valuing a New York mineral position.

Who is assessed for property tax on New York producing oil and gas?

The producer. Under New York's Real Property Tax Law, producing oil and gas properties are assessed separately from other interests on their own subsection of the assessment roll and are assessed in the name of the producer rather than the royalty owner, using a state-certified unit of production value.

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. Consult a qualified attorney and CPA about your own interest before selling.

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