Viper Energy owns mineral and royalty interests in oil and natural gas properties, primarily in the Permian Basin. As a mineral and royalty interest owner, Viper does not drill or operate wells — it owns the underlying mineral rights that entitle it to a royalty on oil and gas produced from its acreage, regardless of who drills. Operators lease Viper's acreage, bear all drilling and operating costs, and pay Viper a contractually defined royalty on production. Diamondback Energy, Viper's parent and manager, operates roughly 52% of Viper's net royalty acreage. Viper has no employees; Diamondback provides all management and administrative services. This structure makes Viper's business unusually capital-light and high-margin — royalty income requires no capital contribution from Viper, and nearly all of it converts to free cash flow. Viper targets a 75% minimum payout to shareholders via base plus variable dividends, retaining the remainder for acquisitions. Viper grows inorganically by acquiring mineral and royalty interests, either from third parties or via drop-down transactions from Diamondback. A key structural advantage is Viper's ability to issue OpCo partnership units as acquisition currency, allowing sellers to defer taxes — management argues this gives Viper an edge in winning deals. A pending drop-down of ~22,847 net royalty acres from Diamondback for $1.0B in cash plus ~69.6M OpCo units is expected to close in Q2 2025, roughly doubling Viper's production profile.