Gross Acres

Definition of 'Gross Acres'

The amount of leased real estate, that a petroleum and/or natural gas company has a working interest in. Gross acres is different from net acres if a company shares its working interest with another company or companies. The company's true interest is expressed in net acres, which is the company's percentage interest, multiplied by the gross acreage. If a company holds the entire working interest, its net acreage and gross acreage will be the same.

Investopedia explains 'Gross Acres'

The number of gross acres a company has, tells investors something about the company's size, market position and current activity, but it does not tell the whole story. What is the company doing with that acreage? Is it drilling wells and at what pace? How many barrels of oil is the area producing and how many is it expected to produce?

Larger companies will usually have an interest in hundreds of thousands of gross acres, while smaller ones may only have an interest in tens of thousands of gross acres. The largest companies will have total holdings of millions of gross acres.