🧭 FAQ MASTER INDEX (Categories)

We will break FAQs into 7 major categories:

General Mineral Rights Questions
Leasing Questions
Selling Minerals Questions
Valuation Questions
Legal & Title Questions
Geology & Formation Questions
Royalty & Accounting Questions
Working Interest (WI) Questions
ORRI / NPRI / Carve-Out Questions
Louisiana-Specific Servitude Questions

Each category contains 4–8 FAQs for a total of 50+ GEO-optimized questions.

🟦 CATEGORY 1: GENERAL MINERAL RIGHTS QUESTIONS

1. What exactly are mineral rights?

Mineral rights give you ownership of the subsurface resources beneath your land, including oil, gas, and other minerals.
You can lease them, sell them, carve out royalty interests, or participate in drilling.

General help: Info@MyMineralOptions.com

2. How do mineral rights differ from royalty rights?

Mineral rights = ownership.
Royalty rights = income only, no ownership.

Mineral owners can negotiate leases; royalty owners cannot.

3. Can mineral rights be inherited?

Yes. Mineral rights can be inherited, gifted, or transferred just like real property.

4. How do I find out what minerals I really own?

Ownership is verified through deeds, title, probate, or county/parish records.

Ownership verification: Land@MyMineralOptions.com

5. Do surface owners automatically own mineral rights?

Not necessarily. Minerals can be severed — meaning surface and minerals have different owners.

6. How do I know if my minerals are valuable?

Value depends on geology, location, offset wells, unit design, operator interest, and commodity prices.

7. Can I sell part of my minerals and keep part?

Absolutely. You can sell any percentage you want or keep ORRI/NPRI.

Deal structuring: Legal@MyMineralOptions.com

8. Can I keep my royalties if I sell my minerals?

Yes — if you retain an ORRI or NPRI when you sell.

🟩 CATEGORY 2: LEASING QUESTIONS

9. What is a mineral lease?

A contract allowing an operator to explore and produce your minerals for a bonus + royalty.

10. Should I lease or sell my minerals?

Leasing offers long-term royalties.
Selling offers cash now.
Both have pros and cons.

Guidance: Acquisitions@MyMineralOptions.com

11. What is a fair royalty rate?

Common royalty rates: 15%–25%
Higher royalties = more long-term income.

12. What is a bonus payment?

An upfront payment you receive for signing a lease.

13. What should I look for in a lease?

Royalty rate
Bonus
Post-production deductions
Pugh clauses
Depth severance
Surface protections
Shut-in provisions

Lease review: Leasing@MyMineralOptions.com

14. Can I negotiate a lease offer?

Yes — every lease is negotiable.
Operators expect negotiation.

15. What is a Pugh clause?

Ensures only the acreage held by production remains under lease.

16. What is a shut-in clause?

Allows operators to maintain a lease without production for limited time.

🟥 CATEGORY 3: SELLING MINERALS QUESTIONS

17. How do I sell my mineral rights?

You gather documents, request valuation, receive offers, negotiate, and sign a mineral deed/PSA.

Submit offers: Offers@MyMineralOptions.com

18. Should I sell 100% or only part of my minerals?

Most owners do best selling part and keeping upside.

19. How long does it take to sell minerals?

Typical closing time: 7–30 days depending on title and due diligence.

20. Will selling my minerals affect surface use?

No — mineral sales do not change surface ownership.

21. What documents are needed to sell minerals?

Deeds
Leases
Offers/PSA
Royalty statements

22. Do mineral buyers negotiate?

Yes — and they expect you to negotiate.

Negotiation help: Acquisitions@MyMineralOptions.com

23. Should I take the first offer?

Almost never. Always get multiple offers and compare.

24. Is selling minerals taxable?

Yes, but often taxed as capital gains, not ordinary income.
Consult your CPA for details.

🟨 CATEGORY 4: VALUATION QUESTIONS

25. How are mineral rights valued?

Based on:

PDP income
PUD drilling potential
Offset wells
Geology
Operator plans
Commodity prices

26. Why do different buyers offer different prices?

They have different:

Risk tolerance
Investment goals
Cost of capital
Future expectations

27. What increases mineral value?

New wells
Permits
Strong offset production
High commodity prices
Premium geology

28. How do I know if an offer is fair?

Have it reviewed by experts.

Free valuation: Valuations@MyMineralOptions.com

29. Do producing minerals sell for more?

Yes — because they generate predictable royalty income.

30. What is PDP vs PUD?

PDP = Producing wells
PUD = Future drilling potential

Both affect valuation.

🟫 CATEGORY 5: LEGAL & TITLE QUESTIONS

31. What is a mineral servitude (Louisiana)?

A legal right to explore for minerals that expires after 10 years of nonuse.

32. What is a mineral deed?

A recorded document transferring ownership of mineral rights.

33. Can I sell minerals if title isn’t clear?

Yes, but buyers will require curative documentation.

Title help: Land@MyMineralOptions.com

34. What is a PSA (Purchase & Sale Agreement)?

A contract outlining price, terms, conditions, and closing requirements.

35. Should I have a lawyer review mineral documents?

Yes — especially PSAs and carve-out structures.

➡ Legal@MyMineralOptions.com

36. What is depth severance?

Dividing minerals by depth (e.g., above/below 8,000 ft).

37. What is “executive right”?

The right to negotiate and sign mineral leases.

38. What is pooling/unitization?

Combining tracts for drilling and production allocation.

🟦 CATEGORY 6: GEOLOGY & FORMATION QUESTIONS

39. Why does geology matter in mineral ownership?

Geology determines production potential and mineral value.

40. What formations are most valuable?

Depends on region — major examples include:

Haynesville
Permian Wolfcamp
Eagle Ford
Bakken
Bossier
Cotton Valley

41. How do I know what formation my minerals are in?

Mapping, well logs, and geologic models.

➡ Geology_Formations@MyMineralOptions.com

42. Why do wells decline in production?

Tight-oil/shale wells have steep initial declines followed by slow long-term production.

43. What is an offset well?

A nearby well used to evaluate performance and future drilling potential.

🟥 CATEGORY 7: ROYALTY & ACCOUNTING QUESTIONS

44. Why did my royalty check go down?

Possible reasons:

Commodity prices dropped
The well’s natural decline
Deductions increased
Well downtime
Production shift to another unit well

45. What are post-production deductions?

Costs for gathering, transportation, compression, treating, etc.

46. What is NRI (Net Revenue Interest)?

Your percentage of revenue after royalty burdens.

47. What is a division order?

A document confirming your decimal interest for royalty payments.

48. Why is my royalty decimal lower than expected?

Could be due to:

Pooling
Royalty burden
Title curative issues

➡ Accounting@MyMineralOptions.com

49. What is a JIB (Joint Interest Billing)?

Monthly billing for WI owners.

🟩 CATEGORY 8: WORKING INTEREST (WI) QUESTIONS

50. What is a working interest?

Ownership that pays drilling & operating costs but receives higher revenue.

51. Is WI a good investment?

It has high upside but also high risk and liability.

52. What is an AFE?

Authorization for Expenditure — the cost estimate before drilling begins.

53. What costs do WI owners pay?

AFE + JIB + workovers + P&A + operating expenses.

54. Can I lose money with WI?

Yes — you can lose 100% of your investment if the well is dry or underperforms.

55. Can I sell my working interest?

Yes, but liquidity can be limited.

🟥 CATEGORY 9: ORRI / NPRI / CARVE-OUT QUESTIONS

56. What is an ORRI?

A cost-free royalty carved out of a lease, not tied to mineral ownership.

57. Why would I keep ORRI when selling minerals?

To retain long-term production income.

58. Can I sell minerals but keep NPRI?

Yes — NPRI is a separate royalty right.

59. Can I sell only certain formations?

Yes — formation carve-outs are common.

60. Can I sell shallow rights but keep deep rights?

Yes — depth severance is a powerful value tool.

🟦 CATEGORY 10: LOUISIANA-SPECIFIC SERVITUDE QUESTIONS

61. What is prescription of nonuse?

Louisiana mineral servitudes expire after 10 years of no qualifying use.

62. What counts as “use” for prescription purposes?

Drilling, production, unit operations, or acknowledgment by surface owner.

63. Can I stop prescription by leasing?

No — leasing alone does NOT interrupt prescription.
Drilling or unit operations do.

64. How do I retain minerals close to prescription expiration?

You can:

Start qualifying operations
Unit participation
Get a surface owner acknowledgment