I inherited some mineral rights but not land. There are three tracts looks like a total of 140 acres some has not been drilled and there are homes on it now. What was once drilled years ago is plugged. I was told that it’s worthless. How does one calculate net acres if there’s no production and some never been drilled?
Welcome to the forum.
You have to go back to the title documents. They may have a gross description of 140 acres, but additional language that says you have a 1/4th interest or something like that based upon how many heirs there were. Your net acres are a percentage of the gross and has nothing to do with whether a well was drilled or not.
If a well had been productive, then the Division Order decimal interest is different calculation. It is a calculation based upon net acreage, the spacing of well, and perforations in the well.
Depending upon where you are, your mineral interest may or may not have future value. That is a separate question.
A net acre calculation is your percentage ownership of the tract multiplied by the gross acres of the tract.