Sell Mineral Rights in West Virginia
Sell mineral rights in West Virginia by asking buyers for written offers before you sign anything. West Virginia produced about 15 million barrels of crude oil and about 3.6 trillion cubic feet of marketed natural gas in 2025, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Most activity centers on the Marcellus and Utica shales, and we take your interest to buyers at no cost to you.
Request offers Free to ask, with no upfront fee and no obligation to sell.
What shapes an offer for West Virginia minerals
Buyers price each tract on its own wells and the wells around it, so the Marcellus and Utica shales of the Appalachian Basin are priced differently.
Well and production records are kept by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Oil and Gas, and your deed is recorded with the county where the land sits.
West Virginia rules to know before you sell
West Virginia has no statute that ends a mineral interest for nonuse. Do Mineral Rights Expire in West Virginia (opens in a new tab) gives the statute and its conditions.
On forced pooling, for deep wells (drilled below the top of the uppermost member of the Onondaga Group) the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, on an operator's application and after notice and hearing, must pool all tracts and interests in a drilling unit on just and reasonable terms, though drilling may not start on an unleased owner's tract without written consent (22C-9-7).
West Virginia taxes oil and gas at 5 percent of gross value, with the low volume well rate reduced to 0 percent for 2026 and 2027 and the smallest wells exempt.
West Virginia taxes royalty income through its personal income tax. Oil and Gas Severance Tax by State (opens in a new tab) compares every state.
One request. Buyers compete in writing. You call the shots.
Keep a recent check stub or the lease handy if you have one; it helps buyers price an offer, but you can ask without either. Nothing goes to a buyer until we have talked with you. If a buyer has already written to you, tell us; that letter becomes the number every other offer has to beat.
Free for families. You never pay us a dime.
Asking for an offer costs you nothing, and there is no fee when you sell. Usually we buy the interest ourselves, and the offer says so. We may resell it, and that is how we are paid; it never changes the price you agreed.
Your money moves through a licensed title company, escrow agent or closing attorney, never through our hands. Every written offer names its buyer.
Common questions
How do I sell mineral rights in West Virginia?
Send the county, your interest, and a recent check stub or lease if you have one. Buyers who are interested send written offers, you choose one or none, and you close through a licensed closing or title company.
Can West Virginia take my minerals if they sit unused?
West Virginia has no statute that ends a mineral interest for nonuse. Read the rule and its sources (opens in a new tab).
Where is oil and gas activity in West Virginia?
Oil and gas activity in the state centers on the Appalachian Basin.
What is a non-participating royalty interest (NPRI)?
A non-participating royalty interest pays a share of production but carries no leasing right and no bonus. It sells like a producing royalty, priced on the income it returns.
Do I sign a division order before selling?
A division order confirms your decimal share so the operator pays you correctly. You can sign one to receive payments, you do not have to sell before signing it, and signing it does not give up ownership.
Is getting West Virginia mineral offers free?
Yes. Asking for offers is free, with no upfront fee and no obligation to sell.
What taxes apply when I sell West Virginia minerals?
A sale is generally treated as the sale of a capital asset, so federal capital gains rules usually apply, while royalty checks are ordinary income. West Virginia taxes royalty income from West Virginia property as part of its income tax; how a gain on a sale is taxed depends on where you live and on West Virginia’s rules for nonresidents. State production taxes, where they apply, usually come off the royalty check, and some producing minerals are also taxed locally.
Inherited minerals usually receive a stepped up basis as of the date of death, which can reduce the gain on a later sale. AMR’s state tax reference (opens in a new tab) has the rules and sources; confirm your own situation with a tax professional.
Does West Virginia tax oil and gas royalty income?
Yes. West Virginia’s income tax reaches royalty income from West Virginia property, including for owners who live in another state. If you live elsewhere, your home state may tax the same income.
Federal tax applies on top.
What is the severance tax on oil and gas in West Virginia?
West Virginia levies oil and gas at 5 percent of gross value, with the low volume well rate reduced to 0 percent for 2026 and 2027 and the smallest wells exempt. Rates, exemptions and sources (opens in a new tab).
How do I find out what minerals I own in West Virginia?
Check the county recorder where the land sits for the deed, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Oil and Gas for well and production records, and the state unclaimed property program for any unclaimed royalty money. Our unclaimed royalties finder builds the checklist.
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Find out what your West Virginia soil would bring, before the next letter lands in your mailbox.
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