Mineral rights
in New Mexico.

New Mexico's oil and gas production is concentrated in two very different basins. In the southeast, the Permian Basin (specifically the Delaware sub-basin) has made Lea and Eddy counties two of the most productive counties in the United States. In the northwest, the San Juan Basin is a long-established gas producer with a different profile and slower current activity.

The New Mexico Permian is where most current attention lives. Horizontal drilling across the Wolfcamp, Bone Spring, and Avalon formations produces enormous volumes of oil and associated gas, supporting a drilling pace that rivals West Texas. Mineral owners in Lea and Eddy counties are often receiving royalty checks from some of the most productive wells in North America.

The San Juan Basin in the northwest, centered on San Juan and Rio Arriba counties, is primarily a natural gas play with long production history from the Mesaverde and Mancos. It is a quieter story, but meaningful for the mineral owners who hold interests there.

New Mexico's two major basins are both significant, but they operate on very different timelines and at very different intensities.

New Mexico oil and gas activity is unusually concentrated. A small number of counties account for the vast majority of production and mineral royalty income in the state.

New Mexico's operator list is dominated by major independents active across the Permian. San Juan Basin operators form a distinct set, typically focused on gas production.

New Mexico's oil and gas regulation is handled by the state Oil Conservation Division within the broader Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. The system is workmanlike and well-documented, though the state has meaningfully increased environmental and methane-related requirements in recent years.