Titus County, Texas
Sell Mineral Rights in Titus County, Texas
Talco field country. XTO built out the Talco units here, and Saltwerx permitted new activity in 2025. An oil county in a region that is mostly gas.
Producing formations: Paluxy
Where Titus County sits
An oil county. Shallow production with a long history and a lot of inherited interests. All twenty-three counties we buy in are shaded; click one to open it.
The history of oil and gas in Titus County
Talco, 1936: the field the geologists got wrong
Talco is the exception in East Texas. It is an oil field in a region that turned out to be mostly gas, it sits on a completely different structure from the East Texas Field, and the men who found it underestimated it by a hundred million barrels.
February 1936
Oil was discovered in the Talco field in northwestern Titus County in February 1936. This was six years after the East Texas Field and forty miles away, on a different trap entirely, the Talco fault zone, along the edge of the salt basin, producing from the Paluxy rather than the Woodbine.
The estimate that was wrong
Geologists sized the new field at roughly 160 million barrels, fifteen to twenty years of production at the rates of the day. It was a reasonable number based on a reasonable assumption, and the assumption was wrong.
They had modeled Talco as one large pool. It was in fact several smaller pools, and the difference compounded for fifty years. By 1985 the Talco field, which straddles Titus and Franklin counties, had produced more than 266 million barrels, sixty-six percent past the original estimate, and still going.
Titus County's own cumulative total passed 211 million barrels by 2004, with more than 507,000 barrels produced as recently as 2004.
What it did to the county
Talco went from a farming community to a boom town. It made several dozen farmers wealthy, a small enough number that people in the county could name them. And it brought three refineries into Titus County, which is unusual; most East Texas crude went out by pipeline to be refined elsewhere.
Two other fields followed and were still producing in 1985: Trix-Liz and Prewitt Ranch.
An oil county in a gas district
This is the practical point for anyone buying or selling here. Most of District 6 is gas country and most mineral buyers run a gas template, decline curves, pricing and assumptions built around Haynesville and Cotton Valley wells.
Titus County is oil, from a shallow Paluxy trap, with a ninety-year production history and a decline profile that looks nothing like a shale gas well. An offer built on the wrong template will be wrong, usually low. XTO Energy built out the Talco units; Arcadia Operating and Saltwerx have permitted more recently.
What to know if you own here
- Your interest is probably in a unit. The Talco East, Talco Central East and Talco Central West units are how this field was operated.
- Shallow oil declines slowly. A Paluxy well from the fifties may still be making oil, and that long flat tail is genuinely valuable.
- Make sure whoever prices your interest knows it is oil. Seriously.
Sources: Handbook of Texas (Texas State Historical Association) county and field entries; American Oil & Gas Historical Society; Texas Almanac; Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas energy research; Railroad Commission of Texas permit and completion records as published through texas-drilling.com and the weekly drilling reports of the Longview News-Journal and Tyler Morning Telegraph. Verified August 2026.
Who is operating in Titus County
These operators have filed permits or completions in Titus County with the Railroad Commission. If your check comes from one of them, we already know the wells.
- XTO Energy
- Arcadia Operating
- Saltwerx
What we buy in Titus County
Mineral rights, royalty interests, overriding royalty, non-participating royalty, non-operated working interest, and non-producing minerals. There is no size limit in either direction. We buy a single interest in one unit and we buy whole family positions.
If your piece feels too small to bother with, call anyway. Small interests in the same tract usually belong to relatives, and we would rather work with the whole family at once.
How an offer gets made
You call or fill out the form. We pull the county records, the appraisal district roll and the Railroad Commission production history ourselves. Within three business days you get a specific cash number in writing and a plain explanation of how we got there. If we think you should hold, we say that too. We cover title, recording and closing, and you keep every royalty check until the day we close.
Call or text (936) 289-3438 Or email offers@longleafmineralco.com
Titus County questions
What formations produce in Titus County?
The producing formation we track in Titus County is the Paluxy. In short: an oil county. Shallow production with a long history and a lot of inherited interests. Ask your operator or check your division order to see which formation your own check comes from.
Who operates wells in Titus County?
Operators that have filed permits or completions in Titus County with the Texas Railroad Commission include XTO Energy, Arcadia Operating and Saltwerx. If your check comes from one of them, we already know the wells. You can also look up any well yourself in the Railroad Commission's public records.
What should I check before selling minerals in Titus County?
Your interest is probably in a unit. The Talco East, Talco Central East and Talco Central West units are how this field was operated. Shallow oil declines slowly. A Paluxy well from the fifties may still be making oil, and that long flat tail is genuinely valuable. Make sure whoever prices your interest knows it is oil. Seriously. If any of that is unclear, call or text us and we will look it up with you for free. We also buy in the counties that border Titus County: Red River County, Bowie County, Morris County, Camp County and Franklin County.
Other counties we buy in
Own minerals next door too? We also buy in the counties that border Titus County: Red River County, Bowie County, Morris County, Camp County, Franklin County.