The legal owners of all leases issued by the commissioner of public lands prior to the effective date of this amendment, containing provision, or provisions, for preference right to a new lease, or extension of the term thereof upon the expiration of the initial five-year term, and where valuable discoveries of the oil and gas have not been made, shall have an absolute preference right to such new lease or extension, upon the terms and conditions provided in such leases without paying a bonus therefor, and in the exercise of such preference right the provisions of Chapter 125 of the 1929 Session Laws [19-10-1, 19-10-12 to 19-10-25 NMSA 1978], and of this act [19-10-1, 19-10-12, 19-10-15 to 19-10-18, 19-10-22 NMSA 1978] relating to sales made upon competitive bidding by sealed bids, or at public auction, shall not apply in any case, but all such renewals, extensions or new leases made pursuant to such preference rights shall be only for a term of five years and as long thereafter as oil and gas in paying quantities, or either of them, is produced from the leased premises, and without further preference right to renewal or extension for successive terms.
History: Laws 1929, ch. 125, § 3; C.S. 1929, § 132-403; Laws 1931, ch. 18, § 3; 1941 Comp., § 8-1105; 1953 Comp., § 7-11-6.
Bracketed material. — The bracketed material was inserted by the compiler and is not part of the law.
Construction. — This section contained no provisions for shortening the term of an oil or gas lease; it provided for preference right for new leases and for extensions. Atlantic Oil Producing Co. v. Crile, 1930-NMSC-040, 34 N.M. 650, 287 P. 696 (case decided prior to 1931 amendment of section).
Applicability. — The provisions of this section, prior to the 1931 amendment, with reference to making application for preference right lease prior to expiration of original term, were not applicable to preference right contained in lease for five years dated May 3, 1924, on form prescribed by the state land office. State ex rel. Malone v. Crile, 1929-NMSC-095, 34 N.M. 520, 284 P. 762.
Structure 2021 New Mexico Statutes
Article 10 - Lease of Oil and Gas Lands
Section 19-10-1 - [Issuance of leases authorized; lands subject; carbon dioxide leases exempted.]
Section 19-10-2 - Definitions.
Section 19-10-3 - Classification of state lands for oil and gas leasing.
Section 19-10-4 - Authorization to lease; lease provisions.
Section 19-10-4.2 - Discovery form of lease; regular restricted or premium restricted lands.
Section 19-10-4.3 - Development form of lease; premium restricted land.
Section 19-10-5 - Existing leases; stipulation.
Section 19-10-5.1 - Amendment of lease to lower royalty rate for oil wells under certain conditions.
Section 19-10-6 - Shut-in oil wells; conditions.
Section 19-10-7 - Exploratory form of lease; different term of years.
Section 19-10-8 - [Extension of terms of leases.]
Section 19-10-9 - [Existing leases; stipulation to bring helium gas within terms.]
Section 19-10-12 - [New lease or extension where no discovery made; preference right; conditions.]
Section 19-10-13 - [Assignment of leases; procedure; effect.]
Section 19-10-14 - [Application for lease; form; deposit; appraisement.]
Section 19-10-16 - [Restricted districts; method of leasing; added area; notice; rental.]
Section 19-10-18 - No bids made; subsequent lease.
Section 19-10-19 - [Withholding lands from lease authorized.]
Section 19-10-21 - [Rules and regulations; amendment; rescission; effective date.]
Section 19-10-23 - Appeal of commissioner's decision.
Section 19-10-24 - [Contesting claims; jurisdiction of district court; appeal and error.]
Section 19-10-25 - [Proof of commissioner's records.]
Section 19-10-28 - [Lessee to purchase prior improvements on lands; proof of payment.]
Section 19-10-29 - [Removal of certain improvements on cancellation or forfeiture of lease.]
Section 19-10-30 - [Rules and regulations authorized.]
Section 19-10-32 - [Acknowledgments required; commissioner excepted.]
Section 19-10-33 - [Contracts relating to oil and gas rights; filing for record in land office.]
Section 19-10-34 - [System of records; indexing; public inspection.]
Section 19-10-35 - [Tract book system for oil and gas lands.]
Section 19-10-36 - [Rules and regulations; protection of instruments and records.]
Section 19-10-37 - [Filing and recording fees; disposition; expenses payable from maintenance fund.]
Section 19-10-38 - [Repeal and saving clause.]
Section 19-10-42 - [Distribution of suspense funds after litigation is completed.]
Section 19-10-43 - [Suit by state to determine rights.]
Section 19-10-44 - [Intervention in pending litigation by attorney general.]
Section 19-10-46 - [Cooperative agreements; requisites for approval.]
Section 19-10-47 - [Amendment of leases to conform with cooperative agreements.]
Section 19-10-49 - [Validating act.]
Section 19-10-50 - Oil, gas and mineral leases on state park lands.
Section 19-10-53 - [State participation in pooling and communitization agreements authorized.]
Section 19-10-55 - [Validation of oil and gas leases.]
Section 19-10-57 - Rules; regulations; notice; hearing.
Section 19-10-58 - Rules; regulations; record; filing with supreme court librarian.
Section 19-10-59 - Reporting and rendition forms to be adopted by rule or regulation.
Section 19-10-61 - [Sale or exchange of royalty gas taken in kind.]
Section 19-10-63 - [Validation of oil and gas leases; 1967 act.]
Section 19-10-64 - [Royalties paid in oil; sale of;] purpose of act.
Section 19-10-65 - Definitions.
Section 19-10-66 - Payment of royalties of the state in oil on demand.
Section 19-10-67 - Sale of state oil royalties; preference; authority of commissioner.
Section 19-10-68 - Application for preference in sale of royalty oil; requirements.
Section 19-10-69 - Grant of preference based upon application.
Section 19-10-70 - Advertising for bids; priority of bidders; award of oil.