Brigham Minerals Inc, a company that owns the rights to extract oil and natural gas from land across numerous U.S. shale basins, is exploring options that include a sale or a merger, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Brigham's shares have risen more than 20% this year as it benefited from elevated energy prices, prompting founder and Chief Executive Bud Brigham to consider a sale, the sources said.

The Austin, Texas-headquartered company, which has a market capitalization of $1.6 billion, is working with an investment bank as it evaluates its strategic alternatives, the sources added, cautioning that no deal is certain.

Brigham, which is scheduled to report quarterly earnings on Thursday, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Minerals companies such as Brigham sign agreements with landowners for the right to drill and keep any hydrocarbons they find. They often pay an upfront fee and then ongoing royalty payments to the landowner.

Brigham owns such rights in four of the main U.S. shale basins, with around two-thirds of its acreage in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico, and the Denver-Julesburg formation of Colorado and Wyoming, according to a company presentation.

The company was listed on the stock market in 2019.