Prospects good for N.M. oil, gas boom

Albuqerque Journal ^ | 3/23/13 | Kevin Robinson-Avila

[thackney]

It is more BLM than I realized. I guess they are drilling in all those holes the BLM missed that show up on the map below.

FEDERAL LANDS AND INDIAN RESERVATIONS
http://pearce.house.gov/sites/pearce.house.gov/files/NMLayout_0.pdf

[TheThirdRuffian]

Sure. The Mescalero (of which my wife is a born-on-rez variety), however, are pretty darn pro-business.

It’s been a huge fight, however, to let the tribes lease privately and on their own terms. Obama has pretty much put a stop to it.

With Washington “help” a

3 year primary term lease,
with continuous drilling to hold each pro-ration unit,
1/4 royalty,
and $500/net mineral acre bonus

becomes a

4 year primary erm lease,
with really weak continuous drilling,
1/5 royalty,
and Washington keeps the bonus money for the privilege of forcing down a bad deal (not to mention fees it steals from the royalty).

[Colorado Doug]

Thanks for posting that I had no idea that obama could interfere on Reservation land too. I thought that was supposed to be for the Navajo People to decide. Of course, I thought that we were a nation of laws too.

[Marko413]

Part of me wishes that billions of dollars of oil and gas are found under Native American Reservations so they will turn to drilling to make money and stop prostituting themselves with all those casinos.

Unfortunately, I’m guessing they would end up doing both.

[TheThirdRuffian]

Sometimes they can, sometimes they can’t.

It’s a befuddling mess, and the BLM will forbid things it doesn’t have jurisdiction over, and fine the tribe and the oil operator.

Just a morass of idiots.

[TheThirdRuffian]

The Mescalero Rez sits on a bit part of the Delaware basin.

Oil companies want to drill, natives want the work (from being a roughneck, to selling food and hotel rooms to rough necks to helping liberate roughnecks of checks at the Casino!)

Washington masters interfere.