What is the difference between Net Mineral Acres and Net Royalty acres

Oil and Gas Leasing Help
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Is there a difference, and are they both legal definitions in an oil and gas transaction (sale or lease)?

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Here is the answer from one of our excellent contributors who is not longer with us.
Net mineral acres are your net acres described out of a specific tract of land. Net royalty acres are the acres normalized to a 1/8th royalty. Many buyers use that number.

For example, 10 net mineral acres at 1/8th royalty = 10 net royalty acres. 10 net mineral acres at 1/4 royalty = 20 net royalty acres.

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I recently received a lease offer. The cover letter states 160 gross acres AND 0.0033667 net acres. I’m at 16.67% or 1/6. What the heck does that tiny fractional sliver get me? It looks out of place, a typo. The actual signed lease that’s been recorded never mentions the net mineral acres. It reads undivided. Please explain it to me guys. It shows exhibit b excluded older wells then exhibit A the new wells that just started producing in March. There’s 3. In Utah. I’m still waiting on division orders and to see exactly what my nri ends up. Please tell me my net acres aren’t what I listed above. Thanks again

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Depending upon the title history of your acreage, you could have that small amount. The leases list a gross acreage of a tract of land. The net acres can be much smaller if they have been passed down through multiple generations with lots of heirs in each generation. The 16.67% is the royalty amount on the lease. The Division Order is based upon a formula that includes the net mineral acres, the drilling spacing unit, the royalty and perhaps a tract factor. You can ask the DO analyst for the equation that was used to calculate your decimal for the checks. You can also nicely ask for a copy of the division order title opinion paragraphs that relate to your acres so that you can put it in your records.

The word “undivided” means that you own a certain percentage of the gross acres. If the word “divided” was used, that was usually to indicate a particular geographic portion of the gross acres-usually the farmhouse, garden and/barn.

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