Decimal Interest
An owner's fractional share of production in a well, written as a decimal — net acres divided by unit acres, times the royalty rate.
Decimal interest is your share of a well's production expressed as a decimal rather than a fraction. It is what determines how much each royalty check is. The basic math: your net mineral acres divided by the total acres in the unit, multiplied by your lease royalty rate. A small tract in a large pooled unit can produce a very small decimal even on a good well.
For example, 20 net acres in a 640-acre unit at a 1/4 royalty gives a decimal of (20 / 640) × 0.25, or about 0.0078125. The operator carries this figure on the division order and pays against it every month.
Confirming your decimal against your own acreage and royalty rate is one of the most useful checks a buyer can run. Our value calculator works from the same inputs.