Permian Basin Royalty Trust Withholds Waddell Ranch NPI Proceeds Amid Ongoing Excess-Costs
- Argent, trustee for Permian Basin Royalty Trust, withheld Waddell Ranch NPI proceeds because January costs exceeded proceeds.
- Blackbeard's quarterly reporting delays NPI calculations for the trust, so no Waddell Ranch NPI receipts were included in February.
- Permian Basin Royalty Trust declared $0.014221 per unit March 13; decline due to timing and lower Texas Royalty receipts.
Trustee Withholds Waddell Ranch Proceeds Amid Ongoing Excess-Cost Position
Argent Trust Company, acting as trustee for Permian Basin Royalty Trust, declares a cash distribution but excludes Waddell Ranch net profits interest (NPI) proceeds after January production costs exceed gross proceeds, creating a continuing excess-cost position. The trustee says the exclusion follows the trust indenture’s cost-recovery provisions, which require that all excess costs — including accrued interest — be recovered from future Waddell Ranch proceeds before any NPI payments flow to unit holders. Blackbeard Operating LLC, the operator tied to the Waddell Ranch assets, reports production, pricing and cost data on a quarterly basis, which delays the trustee’s ability to finalize NPI calculations for monthly distributions.
The trustee attributes the lower distribution this month in part to timing and one-off items. A second settlement payment from Blackbeard received last month boosts the prior month’s payout, reducing the comparative amount available for the current distribution. In addition, Texas Royalty Properties — another set of underlying assets allocated to the trust — records lower oil volumes and weaker oil and gas pricing in January, only partly offset by higher natural gas volumes. Because information necessary to calculate NPI proceeds often arrives after the announcement date, the indenture treats NPI proceeds received on or before the record date as eligible for inclusion in the following month’s distribution; the trustee reports no Waddell Ranch NPI receipts in January that would have been included in the February distribution.
The trustee signals ongoing monitoring of Blackbeard receipts and says eligible Waddell Ranch NPI proceeds will be included in subsequent distributions once excess costs and any accrued interest are recovered. Blackbeard’s quarterly reporting cadence means the trust discloses Waddell Ranch production, pricing and cost details in periodic SEC filings — Form 10‑Q and Form 10‑K — as data become available, rather than in each monthly distribution notice.
Distribution and operational figures
Argent declares a cash distribution of $0.014221 per unit, payable March 13, 2026, to holders of record on Feb. 27, 2026. The trustee notes the decline versus the prior month is primarily driven by the timing effects described and lower oil receipts from Texas Royalty Properties.
Operationally, the underlying Texas Royalty Properties produce 15,292 barrels of oil and 9,841 Mcf of gas in January, with the trust’s allocated portion at 13,325 barrels and 8,573 Mcf. Average realized prices are about $56.78 per barrel of oil and $5.85 per Mcf of gas (including significant NGL pricing), generating $925,795 in revenue, less $118,946 in taxes and expenses, yielding $806,849 in net profit for January; the trust’s NPI is 95%.