Public Law 71–506

That sections 17

General Leasing Act, amendments.

Vol. 41, p. 437, amended.

U. S. C., pp. 965, 969.

Ante, p. 1007.

and 27 of the Act entitled “An Act to promote the mining of coal, phosphate, oil, oil shale, gas, and sodium on the public domain,” approved February 25, 1920 (41 Stat. 437; U. S. C., title 30, secs. 184 and 226), as amended, are amended and reenacted to read as follows:

“Sec. 17.

That all unappropriated deposits of oil or gas situated

Leasing of unappropriated deposits in known producing fields.

within the known geologic structure of a producing oil or gas field and the unentered lands containing the same, not subject to preferential lease, may be leased by the Secretary of the Interior to the highest responsible bidder by competitive bidding under general

Competitive bidding.

regulations to qualified applicants in units reasonably compact of not exceeding six hundred and forty acres, such leases to be

Area limited.

conditioned upon the payment by the lessee of such bonus as may be

Payment of bonus, etc.

accepted and of such royalty as may be fixed in the lease, which shall not be less than 12½ per centum in amount or value of the production, and the payment in advance of a rental of not less than $1 per acre per annum thereafter during the continuance of the lease, the rental paid for any one year to be credited against the royalties as they accrue for that year.

“Leases shall be for a period of twenty years with the

Period of leases; renewals.

preferential right in the lessee to renew the same for successive periods of ten years upon such reasonable terms and conditions as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the department having jurisdiction thereof, unless otherwise provided by law at the time of the expiration of such periods: Provided, That any lease heretofore

Provisos.

Additional, if development under cooperative plan.

or hereafter issued under this Act that has become the subject of a cooperative or unit plan of development or operation of a single oil or gas pool, or area, or other plan for the conservation of the oil and gas of a single pool or area, which plan has the approval of the Secretary of the department or departments having jurisdiction over the Government lands included in said plan as necessary or convenient in the public interest, shall continue in force beyond said period of twenty years until the termination of

Report to Congress.

such plan: And provided further, That said Secretary or Secretaries shall report all leases so continued to Congress at the beginning of its next regular session after the date of such continuance.

Limiting production under cooperative plan.

“Any cooperative or unit plan of development or operation, which includes land owned by the United States, shall contain a provision whereby authority, limited as therein provided, is vested in the Secretary of the department or departments having jurisdiction over such land to alter or modify from time to time in his discretion

Suspension of drilling, etc., requirements if deemed necessary.

the quantity and rate of production under said plan. The Secretary of the Interior is authorized whenever he shall deem such action necessary or in the public interest, with the consent of lessee, by order to suspend or modify the drilling or producing requirements of any oil and gas lease heretofore or hereafter issued, and

Lease not to expire.

no lease shall be deemed to expire by reason of the suspension of production pursuant to any such order. Whenever the average

Reduction of royalty if production small.

daily production of any oil well shall not exceed ten barrels per day the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to reduce the royalty on future production when in his judgment the well can not be

Applicable to all leases.

successfully operated upon the royalty fixed in the lease. The provisions of this section shall apply to all oil and gas leases made under this Act.

#

“Sec. 27.

That no person, association, or corporation, except as herein provided, shall take or hold coal, phosphate, or sodium leases or permits during the life of such leases or permits in any one State exceeding in aggregate acreage two thousand five hundred and sixty acres for each of said minerals; no person, association, or corporation

Oil or gas.

shall take or hold at one time oil or gas leases or permits exceeding in the aggregate seven thousand six hundred and eighty acres granted hereunder in any one State, and not more than two thousand five hundred and sixty acres within the geologic structure of the same producing oil or gas field; and no person, association, or corporation

Interests in other leases.

shall take or hold at one time any interest or interests as a member of an association or associations or as a stockholder of a corporation or corporations holding a lease or leases,

Total holdings limited.

permit or permits, under the provisions hereof, which, together with the area embraced in any direct holding of a lease or leases, permit or permits, under this Act, or which, together with any other interest or interests as a member of an association or associations or as a stockholder of a corporation or corporations holding a lease or leases, permit or permits, under the provisions hereof for any kind of mineral leases hereunder, exceeds in the aggregate an amount equivalent to the maximum number of acres of the respective kinds of minerals

Forfeiture of prohibited interests.

allowed to any one lessee or permittee under this Act. Any interests held in violation of this Act shall be forfeited to the United States by appropriate proceedings instituted by the Attorney General for that purpose in the United States district court for the district in which the property, or some part thereof, is located, except that any

Temporary holding by descent, will, etc.

ownership or interest forbidden in this Act which may be acquired by descent, will, judgment, or decree may be held for two years

Provisos.

Exceptions.

Vol. 41, pp. 443–446.

and not longer after its acquisition: Provided, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to limit sections 18, 18a, 19, and 22 or to prevent any number of lessees under the provisions of this Act from combining their several interests so far as may be necessary

Combinations tor refineries, pipe lines, etc.

for the purposes of constructing and carrying on the business of a refinery, or of establishing and constructing as a common carrier a pipe line or lines of railroads to be operated and used by them jointly in the transportation of oil from their several wells, or from the wells of other lessees under this Act, or the transportation of coal or to increase the acreage which may be acquired or held under section 17 of this Act: Provided further, That any combination for

Approval necessary.

such purpose or purposes shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary of the Interior on application to him for permission to form the same: And provided further, That for the purpose of more

Collective operation of single field authorized.

properly conserving the natural resources of any single oil or gas pool or field, permittees and lessees thereof and their representatives may unite with each other or jointly or separately with others in collectively adopting and operating under a cooperative or unit plan of development or operation of said pool or field, whenever determined and certified by the Secretary of the Interior to be necessary

When necessary in public interest, etc.

or advisable in the public interest, and the Secretary of the Interior is thereunto authorized in his discretion, with the consent of the

Drilling, producing and royalty requirements.

holders of leases or permits involved, to establish, alter, change, or revoke drilling, producing, and royalty requirements of such leases or permits, and to make such regulations with reference to such leases and permits with like consent on the part of the lessee or lessees and permittees in connection with the institution and operation of any such cooperative or unit plan as he may deem necessary or proper to secure the proper protection of such public interest: And provided

Proof of discovery if permit wholly or in part within producing field.

further, That when any permit has been determined to be wholly or in part within the limits of a producing oil or gas field which permit has been included, with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, in a unit operating agreement or other plan under this Act the Secretary of the Interior may issue a lease for the area of the permit so included in said plan without further proof of discovery: Provided

Approval of operating, etc., contracts.

further, That the Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized, on such conditions as he may prescribe, to approve operating, drilling or development contracts made by one or more permittees or lessees in oil or gas leases or permits, with one or more persons, associations, or corporations, whenever in his discretion and regardless of acreage limitations, provided for in this Act, the conservation of natural products or the public convenience or necessity may require it or the interests of the United States may be best subserved thereby: And provided further, That except as herein provided, if any of the lands

Forfeiture for subleasing, etc., to combinations in restraint of trade.

or deposits leased under the provisions of this Act shall be subleased, trusteed, possessed, or controlled by any device permanently, temporarily, directly, indirectly, tacitly, or in any manner whatsoever, so that they form a part of or are in anywise controlled by any combination in the form of an unlawful trust, with consent of lessee, or form the subject of any contract or conspiracy in restraint of trade in the mining or selling of coal, phosphate, oil, oil shale, gas, or sodium entered into by the lessee, or any agreement or understanding, written, verbal, or otherwise, to which such lessee shall be a party, of which his or its output is to be or become the subject, to control the price or prices thereof or of any holding of such lands by any individual, partnership, association, corporation, or control in excess of the amounts of lands provided in this Act, the lease thereof shall be forfeited by appropriate court proceedings: And provided further, That nothing in this Act shall be construed as

Naval Petroleum Reserve leases not affected.

affecting existing leases within the borders of the Naval Petroleum Reserves or agreements concerning operations thereunder or in relation to the same, but the Secretary of the Navy is hereby authorized, with the consent of the President, to enter into agreements such as those provided for herein, which agreements shall not, unless expressed therein, operate to extend the term of any lease affected thereby.”

#