Lease vs sale
If you sign a mineral deed, the minerals (or that fraction) are gone. If you sign a lease, you still own the minerals subject to the lease. Bonus is paid to get the lease; royalty is your share of production if they drill and the well pays. Mixing a “purchase” letter with a lease form is a common confusion when both arrive in one week. More on the category lives on mineral deeds.
The numbers people notice
| Term | What to check |
|---|---|
| Bonus | Paid per net mineral acre, often after title. Confirm NMA they will pay on. |
| NMA | Gross mineral acres × your undivided fraction. The letter’s NMA is their worksheet, not title. |
| Royalty | Fraction or percent. Cost-free language, post-production deductions, and whether it applies to all products. |
| Primary term | Years they can hold without production. Options to extend are extra consideration. |
| Pooling / unit | How large a unit they can form and whether your tract can be diluted. |
| Pugh / depth | Whether undeveloped depths or acreage release when only part of the tract is producing. |
| Proportionate reduction | Whether bonus and royalty shrink if you do not own 100% of the minerals in the caption. |
| HBP / contiguous property | Whether a well, shut-in payment, or production on adjoining leased acres keeps the whole lease alive. |
| Shut-ins | Whether a well that is not selling still holds the lease by shut-in royalty or constructive production. |
Location still drives the draft
Haynesville, Permian, and Appalachia letters do not share one “standard royalty.” Use what to expect by basin and read Royalty, then send the printed form with the county — not just the Bonus line. Surface-use, indemnity, and warranty clauses are easy to miss when the envelope looks like a check.
How to respond
You can acknowledge the offer without signing. Ask for a redline or a term sheet (Bonus, Royalty, Primary term, Pooling / unit, Pugh / depth, HBP / contiguous property, Shut-ins) in writing. If a landman wants to “meet at the bank with a notary,” that is a close, not a discussion. How to respond and get an offer exist so the first signature is not on their pad. Large landowners who need title, curative, or right-of-way — not just a second number — can reach a landman in our network.