Firm confirms end to drilling plans for Galisteo Basin
2/11/2009 - 2/12/09
"Members of the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee debated a bill Wednesday that would increase the rights of surface owners in cases of split estate.
Split estate occurs when the surface of the land and the minerals underneath are owned by different parties.
The discussion of House Bill 219 drew a standing-room only crowd — but members of the committee were called to the floor of the House before the bill could be put to a vote. It will be considered again Friday.
It's one of the most contentious issues in the extraction of oil and gas — one that flared recently in Santa Fe County before an energy company backed off plans to drill in the Galisteo Basin.
Information about the ownership of mineral rights can be hard to find. Surface rights owners often don't learn until just before production starts that someone else has the right to drill on their property.
The legislation would require oil-and-gas producers to notify surface owners 30 days before signing a lease with mineral-rights owners. It would also require that surface owners be told the identity of the mineral owner and be given time to try to negotiate their own lease or purchase of the rights under their property.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, said he introduced the bill in response to the oil-and-gas industry's recent interest in Santa Fe County and other parts of Northern New Mexico.
"I saw the issues arising especially in Mora and Rio Arriba counties, where people were caught completely unaware," Egolf said." More>>>>
Split estate occurs when the surface of the land and the minerals underneath are owned by different parties.
The discussion of House Bill 219 drew a standing-room only crowd — but members of the committee were called to the floor of the House before the bill could be put to a vote. It will be considered again Friday.
It's one of the most contentious issues in the extraction of oil and gas — one that flared recently in Santa Fe County before an energy company backed off plans to drill in the Galisteo Basin.
Information about the ownership of mineral rights can be hard to find. Surface rights owners often don't learn until just before production starts that someone else has the right to drill on their property.
The legislation would require oil-and-gas producers to notify surface owners 30 days before signing a lease with mineral-rights owners. It would also require that surface owners be told the identity of the mineral owner and be given time to try to negotiate their own lease or purchase of the rights under their property.
The bill's sponsor, Rep. Brian Egolf, D-Santa Fe, said he introduced the bill in response to the oil-and-gas industry's recent interest in Santa Fe County and other parts of Northern New Mexico.
"I saw the issues arising especially in Mora and Rio Arriba counties, where people were caught completely unaware," Egolf said." More>>>>
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