Texas · Eagle Ford · Central Trend

Sell Mineral Rights
in DeWitt County,
Texas.

DeWitt County sits in the central Eagle Ford, one of the most productive black oil and condensate windows in the entire play. Wells here have historically been among the strongest in the Eagle Ford, and the county is now seeing renewed activity in the Austin Chalk above. If you own mineral rights here, you own a piece of one of the most economically resilient parts of South Texas. We are happy to help you understand what you have.

Centraltrend
Eagle Ford Window
Black oil and condensate
~10,000ft
Eagle Ford Depth
typical TVD in DeWitt
7,500ft
Typical Lateral
with longer recent wells
Two
Stacked Targets
Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk
RRCD-1
Railroad Commission
South Texas District
01 The Basin

The Eagle Ford's most
productive central county.

DeWitt County sits in South Texas between San Antonio and Victoria, squarely in the central trend of the Eagle Ford Shale. The Eagle Ford runs in a broad arc across South Texas, transitioning from a shallow, oil-rich window in the north and east to a deeper, gas-rich window to the south. DeWitt sits in the part of that transition where the rock produces a favorable mix of black oil and high-value condensate, and where well economics have historically been among the strongest in the entire play.

The Eagle Ford was one of the first major US shale plays to be developed at scale, beginning in earnest around 2010. DeWitt was among the earliest counties to see heavy drilling activity, and operators have continued to develop the county through multiple commodity price cycles. The county also sits beneath the Austin Chalk, which has seen a meaningful renaissance over the past several years as completion technology has matured.

DeWitt sits in the part of the Eagle Ford where the rock and the economics have lined up the best. That has supported more than a decade of consistent operator investment, and there is still meaningful inventory left.

If you are reading this, you may own a piece of that. Maybe you inherited minerals through a chain that goes back to old family farms in the Cuero or Yorktown areas. Maybe you have been receiving royalty checks since the early Eagle Ford days. Maybe an operator just sent you a letter asking to lease unleased acreage or to drill a refrac. This page walks through the rock, the operators, the geography, valuation, and what to think about as a DeWitt mineral owner.

Starting point

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02 The Rock

Stacked pay across
the Eagle Ford column.

DeWitt County's productive geology is anchored by the Eagle Ford Shale, with meaningful additional inventory in the Austin Chalk above and continuing legacy production from the Buda and shallower zones. Modern operators routinely target both the Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk from the same general spacing units, which has changed the math for many tracts that were originally evaluated only on Eagle Ford economics.

Eagle FordCentral trend, black oil and condensate

The Eagle Ford Shale is the primary productive target in DeWitt County. Within the broader Eagle Ford trend, DeWitt sits in the central window where pressures and depths produce a mix of black oil and high-value condensate. Wells in this part of the play have historically generated some of the strongest per-well economics in the entire Eagle Ford.

For mineral owners, Eagle Ford development in DeWitt has typically meant multiple horizontal wells per spacing unit drilled over the life of development, with each well representing a separate revenue stream. Many tracts have already seen initial development, but operators continue to drill infill wells and, more recently, to refrac older wells with modern completion designs.

Depth Range
9,000 to 11,000 ft
Type
Organic-rich marine shale
Window
Black oil and condensate
Typical Lateral
7,500 ft, longer recent
Austin Chalkrenewed horizontal target

The Austin Chalk sits directly above the Eagle Ford and has seen a meaningful renaissance over the past several years. Earlier vertical and horizontal Austin Chalk wells in the broader trend produced inconsistently, but modern completion designs and improved targeting have made the Chalk an active horizontal play across DeWitt and neighboring counties.

For mineral owners, the practical implication is that many tracts that were originally evaluated only on Eagle Ford economics may now have a second productive zone. Operators have been drilling Austin Chalk wells across DeWitt with results that justify continued program investment, which adds inventory life to the county that did not exist a decade ago.

Depth Range
8,000 to 10,000 ft
Type
Fractured chalk and marl
Status
Actively redeveloped
Driver
Modern completions
Buda & Shallowerlegacy and selective targets

Below and around the Austin Chalk and Eagle Ford section sits the Buda Limestone, along with various shallower zones that have produced historically across DeWitt County. The Buda has been a horizontal target in some parts of the broader trend, with selective activity in DeWitt. Older vertical production from shallower zones still continues across many parts of the county.

The practical implication for mineral owners is that even spacing units with extensive Eagle Ford development may have additional inventory in shallower zones, plus legacy vertical production that continues to generate income. These contributions are typically modest compared to Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk economics, but they show up in valuation analyses.

Buda Depth
~10,000 ft, variable
Type
Fractured limestone
Status
Selective horizontal
Legacy Production
Vertical, long tail
03 The Operators

Who is drilling on your
DeWitt County minerals.

The Eagle Ford operator landscape has consolidated meaningfully over the past decade, with multiple large transactions reshaping who holds what acreage. The operators below are among the most active across DeWitt County, but the county has additional meaningful operators not captured in this list.

i.
ConocoPhillips
ConocoPhillips holds one of the largest Eagle Ford positions in DeWitt County, anchored by its 2021 acquisition of Concho Resources and earlier Burlington Resources legacy acreage. Conoco has been a consistent driller across the central Eagle Ford and continues to allocate capital to DeWitt-area development including Austin Chalk wells alongside Eagle Ford infills.
Major · Top DeWitt operator
Top in DeWitt
ii.
BPX Energy
BPX Energy, the onshore arm of BP, holds substantial Eagle Ford acreage in DeWitt County following its 2018 acquisition of BHP's onshore US business. BPX has been one of the most active operators in the central Eagle Ford and has invested in both Eagle Ford development and Austin Chalk delineation across DeWitt and neighboring counties.
Major · BHP legacy acreage
Top in DeWitt
iii.
Magnolia Oil & Gas
Magnolia Oil & Gas is one of the most prominent pure-play Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk operators, with a particularly strong position in the Karnes and broader Giddings/Austin Chalk trend that extends into the DeWitt area. Magnolia has been an active driller of both Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk wells with a low-leverage, free-cash-flow operating model.
Public · Eagle Ford / Austin Chalk
Active Driller
iv.
ConocoPhillips (Marathon legacy)
Marathon Oil was historically one of the largest Eagle Ford operators with substantial DeWitt-area acreage. Following the 2024 ConocoPhillips acquisition of Marathon Oil, that acreage is now part of the combined ConocoPhillips Eagle Ford position, further concentrating central Eagle Ford operatorship under a single major. Mineral owners with former Marathon-operated wells now receive payments from ConocoPhillips.
Major · Marathon legacy
Combined 2024
v.
Long Tail of Public and Private Operators
DeWitt County has additional meaningful operators including EOG Resources, SilverBow Resources (now part of Crescent Energy), Crescent Energy, Verdun Oil and other private operators. Mineral owners may see different operator names on different wells within the same general area depending on which operator drilled which spacing unit and whether assets have changed hands through the wave of Eagle Ford consolidation.
Mixed · Many active
Many Active Operators
See a familiar name?

We know how these operators develop in DeWitt County. Happy to give you context on yours.

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04 The Geography

Not all DeWitt County
minerals are built the same.

DeWitt County covers roughly 900 square miles in South Texas. The Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk both produce across most of the county, but reservoir quality, well performance, and operator focus vary by area. Cuero is the county seat and Yorktown is the other principal town. Where in the county your minerals sit shapes everything from operator activity to formation depth and quality.

Cuero Core
Central DeWitt
The geographic and operational center of the county. The Cuero core has seen extensive Eagle Ford development since the early years of the play and continues to see infill drilling and refrac activity. Many spacing units here also have Austin Chalk inventory that operators are now drilling.
Activity: High Development: Mature with infills
Yorktown Area
Western DeWitt
The Yorktown area in the western part of the county has historically produced some of the strongest Eagle Ford wells in DeWitt. Operator focus has been consistent here through multiple cycles, and the area continues to attract development capital.
Activity: High Development: Strong well economics
Northern DeWitt / Lavaca Border
North county
Northern DeWitt transitions toward Lavaca County and shallower parts of the Eagle Ford trend. The Austin Chalk has seen meaningful activity in this part of the county as operators extend the modern Chalk play north and east from the DeWitt core.
Activity: Moderate to High Development: Eagle Ford and Chalk
Southern DeWitt / Karnes Border
South county
Southern DeWitt transitions toward Karnes County, another premier Eagle Ford county. Operators drill across the county boundary continuously, and reservoir quality remains strong here. Many spacing units in this part of DeWitt sit in active development rotation.
Activity: High Development: Active
Eastern DeWitt / Victoria Border
East county
Eastern DeWitt transitions toward Victoria County. The Eagle Ford continues to produce here but with a different fluid mix as the play shifts toward the gas-condensate window further south and east. Activity is more selective, with operators targeting specific intervals based on local reservoir characteristics.
Activity: Moderate Development: Selective
Refrac and Infill Tracts
Scattered · Older units
Many of the earliest DeWitt Eagle Ford spacing units have wells more than a decade old. Operators across the county are now actively refraccing older wells with modern completion designs and drilling tighter-spaced infill wells between existing horizontals. For mineral owners on these older tracts, refrac and infill activity represents meaningful new revenue.
Activity: Growing Development: Refrac and infill
05 Your Valuation

What your DeWitt County
mineral rights are worth.

Valuation in DeWitt County reflects what is genuinely one of the strongest parts of the Eagle Ford. Strong existing well economics, a renewed Austin Chalk program, ongoing infill drilling, and refrac activity all support meaningful mineral valuations. The four scenarios below cover what we see most often.

01
Producing Minerals with Active Royalty Income
Valued on cash flow plus remaining inventory
If your DeWitt County minerals are actively producing, valuation typically starts with the trailing twelve months of royalty income. A buyer applies a multiple based on expected remaining well life, future drilling potential across Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk, refrac potential on older wells, and commodity outlook. DeWitt multiples tend to be strong because the central trend's well quality and the Austin Chalk program both add inventory life.
What shapes the number: well vintage and remaining life across existing wells, how many additional Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk locations remain undrilled, your royalty rate, the operator quality, and lease cost-deduction language.
02
Unleased Minerals in Active Development
Valued on drilling proximity and future potential
Unleased DeWitt minerals, particularly in the Cuero core, Yorktown area, or southern county, are valued aggressively on expected development timing. Operators are competing for acreage where remaining inventory is strong, which supports lease bonus and royalty rate negotiations. Unleased minerals also carry optionality across both Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk.
What shapes the number: nearby permit activity, the operator's recent drilling pace in your area, formation quality beneath your specific tract, comparable lease bonuses paid on surrounding acreage, and whether the area is part of an operator's near-term drilling plan.
03
Small Fractional Interests & Inherited Positions
Often worth substantially more than expected
Many DeWitt County mineral owners hold small fractional interests inherited across multiple generations, often spread across heirs in different states. DeWitt's strong well economics and stacked-pay potential mean even small fractional interests can carry meaningful value. We pay these interests the same attention as larger ones and are comfortable doing the title research, including chains that go back to old South Texas family farms.
What shapes the number: net mineral acre count, royalty rate if leased, producing status, accumulated unpaid suspense (sometimes meaningful for inherited interests), and whether other heirs holding the same chain are also active.
04
Older Wells with Refrac and Infill Potential
Valued on second-generation development
If your DeWitt minerals sit on a tract with Eagle Ford wells that are five to twelve years old, the conversation has changed. Operators across DeWitt are actively refraccing older wells with modern completion designs and drilling tighter-spaced infill wells between existing horizontals. Many tracts that looked fully developed a few years ago now have meaningful additional revenue ahead of them.
What shapes the number: existing well vintage and completion design, operator's stated refrac program, infill spacing on the unit, Austin Chalk inventory above the existing Eagle Ford wells, and current production performance of the existing wells.
Your specific situation

We would rather look at real facts than speak in generalities. Send us what you have.

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06 The Regulatory Landscape

Texas rules,
Eagle Ford realities.

DeWitt County operates under the Texas oil and gas regime, administered by the Texas Railroad Commission. South Texas is one of the most mature oil and gas regions in the country, and the regulatory and land-records infrastructure here reflects more than a century of activity. The on-the-ground realities for DeWitt mineral owners are shaped by Texas mineral law, RRC field rules and spacing orders, and the particular operator landscape of the central Eagle Ford.

The Railroad Commission and how spacing works

The Texas Railroad Commission (RRC) regulates oil and gas activity across Texas, including DeWitt County. The RRC permits wells, sets field rules, conducts hearings on spacing and pooling exceptions, and maintains public well, operator, and production data. Eagle Ford spacing in DeWitt is governed by specific RRC field rules, with modern horizontals typically developed under units sized to accommodate long laterals. The RRC's online research portal is publicly accessible and contains a substantial amount of useful information for any mineral owner trying to understand what is happening on their tract.

Texas mineral ownership and the surface

Texas is a strong mineral-estate state. The mineral estate is dominant over the surface estate, meaning the mineral owner (or the operator under lease) generally has the right to use the surface as reasonably necessary to develop the minerals. Most DeWitt County properties have severed mineral and surface estates, where the family that owns the surface may not own the minerals beneath. Mineral ownership chains often go back to original Texas land grants and have been subdivided across generations of heirs.

Pooling, unitization, and long laterals

Texas does not have compulsory pooling in the way that many other states do, which means operators in DeWitt typically rely on lease pooling clauses, voluntary agreements, or RRC-approved pooling exceptions to assemble drilling units large enough for modern horizontal wells. The result is that the language in your specific lease around pooling matters, and the size and shape of your drilling unit can affect how royalties are calculated. Modern Eagle Ford laterals frequently span multiple original tracts.

Post-production costs and lease language

Texas case law generally permits operators to deduct certain post-production costs from royalty payments unless the lease specifically prohibits such deductions. Eagle Ford operators typically deduct gathering, processing, transportation, and compression costs from gas and natural gas liquids royalties. Whether your specific lease permits which deductions depends entirely on the lease language. Reading your lease carefully and checking how the operator is calculating deductions is worth doing. We can help review your statements and lease language together if helpful.

07 Questions We Hear Often

The real questions
mineral owners ask.

We have been through these conversations hundreds of times. Below are honest answers to the things people actually want to know.

01
How much are mineral rights worth in DeWitt County, Texas?
DeWitt County sits in the heart of the Eagle Ford black oil and high-condensate window, and values reflect that. The specific number depends on where in the county your minerals are located, whether they are leased or producing, the operator, your royalty rate, well vintage, and remaining drilling inventory. The only way to know what your specific minerals are worth is to look at the actual facts. We are happy to do that for you, at no cost and with no obligation to sell.
02
Why is DeWitt County considered a sweet spot in the Eagle Ford?
DeWitt sits in the central Eagle Ford trend at depths and pressures that produce a favorable mix of black oil and high-value condensate. Wells in DeWitt have historically been among the most productive in the entire Eagle Ford on a per-well basis. Combined with the Austin Chalk above and continued refrac and infill activity, DeWitt has supported decades of operator interest and is now seeing a second wave of development from refracs and tighter spacing.
03
I inherited DeWitt County mineral rights but I do not have any documents. What do I do?
This is one of the most common situations we see. Start by gathering anything you do have: old letters from operators, tax statements, probate records, royalty stubs, division orders. The DeWitt County Clerk's office in Cuero keeps deed records going back generations. The Texas Railroad Commission maintains public well, operator, and production data. We can usually identify what someone owns with just a name and a rough idea of where the minerals are located, because Texas mineral records are publicly accessible.
04
Should I sell my DeWitt County mineral rights now or hold them?
That depends on your situation. People who hold typically want long-term royalty income, do not need cash for other priorities, and are comfortable with commodity price volatility. People who sell typically want to convert future uncertain income into present value, simplify their estate, or use the capital for something else. DeWitt's strong remaining inventory in both Eagle Ford and Austin Chalk supports both cases. Neither is wrong. We can help you think through the tradeoffs without pressure to pick a side.
05
What is the difference between an offer to lease and an offer to buy my minerals?
Leasing gives an operator the right to develop your minerals for a period of time, typically three to five years, with extension if production is established. In exchange you receive a bonus payment per net mineral acre and a royalty percentage on any production. You still own the minerals. Buying transfers ownership entirely, in exchange for a lump sum. After a sale, you no longer own the minerals and you receive no future royalties. Both have their place. Buying typically delivers more value up front, leasing preserves long-term upside.
06
My DeWitt County wells are several years old and production has fallen. Are they still worth anything?
Often yes, sometimes meaningfully so. Eagle Ford wells decline steeply in the first few years and then settle into long, slower decline tails that can produce for decades. Beyond existing wells, DeWitt has remaining undrilled Eagle Ford locations on many spacing units, refrac potential on older wells, and Austin Chalk inventory that operators are actively redeveloping. Older producing tracts in DeWitt frequently carry meaningful value for these reasons.
07
What is happening with the Austin Chalk in DeWitt County?
The Austin Chalk sits above the Eagle Ford and has seen renewed operator focus over the past several years as completion technology has improved. In DeWitt, multiple operators have been drilling Austin Chalk wells targeting intervals that were previously uneconomic with older completion designs. For mineral owners, this means many tracts now have a second productive zone that may not have been considered when the Eagle Ford was first developed.
08
Can I sell mineral rights I inherited if other family members inherited the same minerals?
Yes, you can sell your undivided fractional interest without needing the other heirs to participate. This is extremely common in DeWitt County, where many interests have been subdivided across generations of heirs, often spread across multiple states. A good buyer will work with your specific interest, not require you to round up cousins. We do this regularly.
09
How does the sale process actually work?
Step one, we do the research. You send us what you have, we pull Railroad Commission records, we check operator activity in the area, and we build an analysis. Step two, we walk you through what we found, on a call or by email. Step three, if you want to proceed, we handle the mineral deed preparation, you sign at a notary, and funds are wired at close. We move on your timeline, whether that is quick or deliberate. There is no charge for the research and no obligation to sell.
10
Why should I sell to Timberline Minerals specifically?
We are a family-owned office with roots in Texas and Montana. We work across the primary US basins and we are comfortable with Eagle Ford specifics including the central trend's black oil and condensate dynamics, Austin Chalk redevelopment, and the operator landscape after the recent wave of consolidation. We work with mineral interests of all sizes including small fractional positions. Our process is straightforward: we research the tract, share what we find, and make an offer. The decision to sell is yours, and we are happy to help you understand what you have either way.

Find out what your
DeWitt County minerals
are actually worth.

Send us what you have, or what you think you have. We will pull Railroad Commission records, check operator activity in your area, and put together a plain-English summary with our reasoning laid out. If it makes sense to go further, we move on your timeline. If not, you have a free breakdown you can take anywhere.

Free · No Obligation · Your Timeline
Market Pulse

Eagle Ford status, June 2026

12 month oil production trend
1,186
thousand barrels per day
Latest month
+0(+0.0%)
thousand barrels per day
Month over month
-23(-1.9%)
thousand barrels per day
Year over year