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Royalty calculator
What was sold
The whole lease (8/8ths), not your share. Your statement calls it gross or property volume; the state figure is on the lease page.
A decimal or a fraction. Work yours out if you are not sure.
Gathering, compression, processing and transportation added together. Leave blank if your lease allows none.
Estimated royalty for the month
$1,959.22
That is 27.51 bbl of your share at $71.21 per bbl after costs and tax.
Your check should land near this!
- Lease sales28,175 bbl × $74.64
- $2,102,982.00
- Your share of that× 0.00097656
- $2,053.69
- Costs taken offnone entered
- $0.00
- Production tax4.6% of what is left
- −$94.47
- Estimated royalty
- $1,959.22
A ceiling to compare against, not a forecast
How the estimate is built
A royalty check is your share of the money the well earned that month. Four numbers make it:
- Volume. The barrels of oil or thousand cubic feet (mcf) of gas the whole lease sold. Statements call this gross, property or 8/8ths volume. The Texas Railroad Commission reports it as disposition on every lease page.
- Price. What the operator sold it for. Oil is usually priced off WTI with a small discount. Gas prices vary far more, and the price on your stub is often after the gas has been processed.
- Your decimal interest. Your share of the lease. Multiply the lease value by it and you have your gross royalty. The decimal calculator shows where it comes from.
- What comes off. Post-production costs your lease allows, then production tax.
A worked example
Interstate 8-32 C in Midland County sold 28,175 barrels of oil in January 2025 at about $74.64. An owner with a decimal of 1/1024 (0.00097656) has a share of 27.51 barrels. That is $2,053.69 before tax. Press Use the Interstate 8-32 C example to load it. Texas tax is applied by default, so the net is $1,959.22.
This is the January 2025 payment the sample owner never received. It is one of the findings in the sample check.
What the estimate leaves out
- The operator’s own price, which can differ from WTI by a few dollars.
- Plant products (natural gas liquids) when gas goes through a processing plant. The state does not report them.
- Timing. Statements pay a sale month two to three months later.
- Adjustments, suspense holds and prior-period corrections on the same stub.
Treat the result as the number your check should be near. A gap of a few percent is normal. A gap of ten percent or more, or a month with nothing, is worth a check.
Questions owners ask
Common questions
Short answers. Sources are at the end of the page.
How do I calculate my oil and gas royalty?
Multiply the volume the lease sold by the price, then by your decimal interest. Take off the post-production costs your lease allows and the production tax. What is left is your check. The state publishes the lease volume for every Texas lease each month.
What is a decimal interest?
Your share of the lease written as a decimal, such as 0.00097656. It is the lease royalty times your net acres divided by the unit acres. Every barrel or mcf the lease sells pays you that fraction of it.
What is the difference between gross and net royalty?
Gross royalty is your share of the value before anything comes off. Net royalty is what you are paid after post-production costs and production tax. The stub usually shows both, so you can see how much came off between them.
Why is my check different from the calculator?
The operator sells at its own price, which can sit a few dollars under WTI, takes its own deductions, and may sell gas liquids the state does not report. A gap of a few percent is normal. Ten percent or more, or a month with nothing, is worth a question.
What price should I use for oil and gas?
Use the price on your stub if you have it. If not, the EIA publishes a WTI Cushing average for oil and a Henry Hub average for gas every month. Your operator's price is usually a little below both.
How long after the sale month should the check arrive?
In Texas, oil royalty is due 60 days after the end of the month the oil was sold and gas royalty 90 days after, and the first payment on a new well 120 days after the month of first sale (Natural Resources Code 91.402). A check that arrives in September is usually for a July sale.
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