San Juan Basin Mineral Rights
There are wells in this basin that were already old when our dad was a kid. They're still paying, just barely enough to notice some months.
The San Juan Basin, spanning La Plata and Archuleta counties in Colorado and Rio Arriba and San Juan counties in New Mexico, is one of the oldest continuously producing gas basins in the country. Conventional gas production here dates back decades before the coalbed methane boom of the 1980s and 1990s added a second wave of development on top of it. Very few basins in the country have as long a production history to look back on.
That long history means most San Juan interests today are dealing with wells that have already done the bulk of their declining, sometimes stretched out over thirty or forty years. Understanding that long, slow tail is the key to understanding what your interest is actually worth now.
The Basin That's Been Producing Longer Than Most Companies Have Existed
Conventional gas wells in this basin trace back to the mid-twentieth century in some areas, and the coalbed methane wave that followed decades later added thousands more wells targeting the Fruitland coal formation. Between the two eras, this is genuinely one of the most mature gas-producing regions in North America, with production histories running longer than most of the operators currently working here have even existed as companies.
That maturity isn't a bad thing for an owner. It means there's an unusually long, well-documented track record to value your interest against, rather than the guesswork involved in a newer play.
Why Stripper Wells Still Pay — Just Not Much
A lot of San Juan wells today qualify as stripper wells, meaning they produce at very low volumes but keep going because the cost of operating them is low enough to remain economic even at modest output. These wells can keep paying small, fairly stable amounts for years or even decades once they've settled into that long tail, which is part of why this basin has so much legacy ownership still active generations after the original leases were signed.
The tradeoff is that stripper well checks are, by definition, small. For an owner managing several of these fractional interests across a family, the paperwork and tax filing burden can start to outweigh the actual income.
Selling an Interest That's Already Done Most of Its Declining
Because so much of this basin's production is well past its steep decline and settled into a long, low tail, valuing a San Juan interest is often more straightforward than in a newer play, since there's little guessing left about where the trajectory is headed. We look at decades of actual history where it's available, rather than treating the interest as a speculative bet.
If your family has been holding a small, stable San Juan interest mostly because nobody's gotten around to doing anything with it, converting it to a single lump sum can simplify things considerably.
We've bought interests from families spread across three or four states who inherited a small San Juan share from a grandparent who worked the fields decades ago. Nobody in the family lives near La Plata or Rio Arriba County anymore, and managing a handful of tiny checks from that far away is more trouble than it's worth for most people. A clean sale ends that long-distance bookkeeping for good.
Questions We Would Ask If These Were Still Our Minerals
These are practical questions an owner can answer without arriving with a perfect title file or a commitment to sell.
How old is production in the San Juan Basin?
Some conventional gas wells date back to the mid-twentieth century, with a second major wave of coalbed methane development in the 1980s and 1990s. It's one of the longest continuously producing gas basins in the country.
What's a stripper well and why does mine qualify?
A stripper well produces at very low volumes but stays economic because operating costs are low enough to justify continuing. Many San Juan Basin wells have settled into this stage after decades of production, paying small but fairly stable amounts.
Is a small, stable San Juan interest worth selling?
Often yes, especially if the annual amount is small enough that the tax paperwork and recordkeeping outweigh the income. We can give you a straightforward number based on the well's long documented history.
Is there any new drilling happening in the San Juan Basin?
New drilling is limited compared to the basin's earlier development eras. Most current production comes from long-established wells well into their mature production tail.
My family lives far from the San Juan Basin. Does that make selling harder?
Not at all. We handle the paperwork remotely and can close without you needing to travel. It's a common situation for us, since a lot of San Juan Basin heirs live states away from where the minerals actually sit.
Is it worth getting a formal reserve estimate before selling a stripper well interest?
Usually not necessary for a small interest, since the cost of a formal reserve report can outweigh what it adds to the sale price. We can typically value it fairly using documented production history instead.
Tell us the county and state, how the minerals came to you, whether they are producing, and which records are close at hand.