Okla. Admin. Code § 385:15-1-9 - Performance fee and bond

(a) Successful bidders awarded oil and gas leases by the Land Office shall pay a performance fee of $1.00 per net mineral acre leased.

(b) Performance fees paid with the award or assignment of an oil and gas lease shall be deposited into the Land Office Performance Fee Escrow Account.

(c) The Secretary may apply funds from the Land Office Performance Fee Escrow Account to recover unpaid royalties, plug wells, and/or restore the surface when the lessee is unavailable to pay damages or a damage award against the lessee is otherwise uncollectable.

(d) Payment of the performance fee shall not relieve or shield a lessee of liability under the oil and gas lease nor limit the legal or equitable remedies available to the Land Office to enforce the terms of the oil and gas lease against the lessee.

(e) The Land Office shall retain any performance bonds previously posted for the same purpose as the Land Office Performance Fee Escrow Account until the associated oil and gas lease is either released or cancelled. The performance bond, if any, shall be applied to unpaid royalties, plugging, or surface damages before any funds from the Land Office Performance Fee Escrow Account are applied such damages. The performance bond or some portion thereof, as appropriate, shall be returned to the lessee upon the release or cancellation of the oil and gas lease and the resolution of any damage claims by the Land Office.

Notes

Okla. Admin. Code § 385:15-1-9

Amended at 14 Ok Reg 3171, eff 7-25-97; Amended at 15 Ok Reg 1745, eff 5-12-98; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 633, eff 12-19-03 (emergency); Amended at 21 Ok Reg 1043, eff 5-13-04; Amended at 29 Ok Reg 1299, eff 6-25-12

Amended by Oklahoma Register, Volume 38, Issue 24, September 1, 2021, eff. 9/11/2021