Hi, I was wondering if someone could tell me what NMA stands for! Thank you
Net mineral acre
If you own a 1% interest in a 640 gross acre tract, you have 6.4 NMA. Etc
Net Mineral Acres. Legal description will cover all the gross acres under which you own an interest - such as all of Section 5 containing 640 acres. If you own 1/20 minerals, then your NMA is 640 gross acres X 1/20 interest = 32 NMA.
NMA = Net Mineral Acres
Thank you everyone, I only own 20 surface acres. No minerals.
If you only own the surface and no minerals, then your NMA=zero.
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Thank you very much 
New Mexico Lea County. I am still trying to get a grasp on this. For instance I own mineral rights for 160 surface acres, which is two 80 acre portions connected to each other, but the horizontal well is two sections long. on only 80 acres (adjoining but not identically leased to the producing acreage.) So how is the NMA calculated?
Don,
You own what you own. Its got nothing to do with any wells. If you own all of the 160 acres, you have 160 NMA. Half, 80 NMA. 1/20th, 8 NMA.
If you want to figure out your decimal in said horizontal well, that’s a different story. Not a hard story, but a different one.
Thanks, that was helpful. Here is the area I referenced earlier, my mineral rights are in the red shaded area. Am I correct to assume that ONLY section 18 has anything to do with the two wells (four more are permitted currently) or is section 7 considered a separate accounting?
Yes, you are correct. Only Sec 18 has anything to do with the two existing Tap Rock Black Marlin wells.
In fact, only the eastern half of your Sec 18 has anything to do with the two existing wells. Those wells are dedicated to a 320 acre strip that is 2 miles long and 1/4 mile wide down the Eastern edge of Sec 18 and 19. IMO, it’s helpful to know what acreage is dedicated to wells so you know how much of your acreage is dedicated to those wells, so you can make sense of what % you should/are getting paid.
You can go to NMOCD and look at a plat in the well file or else look up the acreage description in the permitting section. See some info below that may be helpful, may be confusing. But essentially you should own equal interests in four 320 acre strips. Two going north into Ameredev Par Three territory, two going south into Tap Rock Black Marlin unit. The E/2 of Sec 6/7 and Sec 18/19 respectively. These existing wells are in one of those 320 acre strips.
It looks like Tap Rock has started drilling more Black Marlin wells. And Ameredev submitted permit applications to the Feds for sections 6/7. So things should be looking up longer term.
Thank you so much NMoilboy, that post has cleared up more brain fog than I had thought possible, and has given me a far better understanding of all this. Only one question remains: I think I read that here are FOUR more wells permitted on my acreage, but it would appear that four more wells may not even fit in that space. What am I missing here? Thanks again for the help!
Keep in mind that horizontal wells are drilled at different depths and formations. So one well can be “stacked” basically directly above another well - such as one in shallower Bone Spring formation and another in deeper Wolfcamp formation. This works as long as there is sufficient distance between the horizontal wellbores. In many areas, the Wolfcamp has multiple zones, often referred to as Wolfcmp A, Wolfcamp B, etc. With development, operators find that some zones are more productive than other zones. And finally, the filing of a permit does not guarantee that a well will be drilled. States limit the permit to a set time period for drilling or the permit expires. New Mexico permits are valid for a year and can be extended for a limited time in some circumstances.
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That indeed clears up a lot of questions, thanks so much! I would imagine the permits would indicate bore depth or target formations. Tap Rock has indicated to me that they have already started getting ready for wells in my area. As a dummy about such things, I have been receiving offers for my mineral rights in section 7 which is directly north of the producing section 18. I am guessing that operators are showing some interest in that area.