A deed is a sale
A mineral deed conveys minerals, or a described fraction of them, to the buyer. Once it records in the county, reversing it is a title fight, not a polite email. That is why buyers send a deed in the first envelope: the “offer” is already formatted as a closing.
Forms you will see
- Mineral deed — typically executive rights, bonus, royalty, and delay rentals unless reserved.
- Royalty deed / NPRI — a slice of royalty without the right to lease. Still a sale of that slice.
- Warranty vs special warranty vs quitclaim — how much title trouble you promise to stand behind. Quitclaim is not “safer”; it can still move whatever you own.
- Assignment of overriding royalty — different from fee minerals; common in producing packages.
What you may be giving up
Future bonus on a new lease. Royalty on wells not yet permitted. Deeper formations the current lease never reached. Executive rights so someone else decides whether to lease. If the deed is silent on reservations, assume you keep little. Location still matters: a non-producing heir tract in one parish is not a Permian royalty mill — see locations.
The acreage on the letter is the buyer’s working number. It is not a title opinion. Inherited interests are often undivided fractions across a section. Signing “all my minerals in X County” can over-convey.
How to respond to a deed offer
Do not notarize their form to “start the conversation.” Ask, in writing, what net mineral acres they think you own, whether the interest is leased, and which wells or units they underwrote. Then use the holding reply and a review before any counter on price.