Section 85-06-01-06 - Assignment, amendment, or extensionA lessee shall submit a written request to the department for an assignment, amendment, or extension of an oil and gas lease, or a portion of the oil and gas leased premises, utilizing the form available on the department's website. A request must include any documents requested by the department. The lessee shall submit a fee, in an amount set by the board, to the department with the request.
1. Assignments. All oil and gas lease obligations must be current at the time the assignment is approved. The lessee remains bound by the terms and conditions of the oil and gas lease, board rules and policies, and applicable laws until the assignment is approved by the department. Upon approval of the assignment, the assignee is bound by all the terms and conditions of the oil and gas lease, board rules and policies, and applicable laws. The assignor shall provide the department with a copy of the fully executed assignment within thirty days from the approval.2. Extensions. If, at the expiration of the primary term, production of oil or gas or both has not been obtained in commercial quantities on the leased premises but drilling, testing, completion, recompletion, reworking, deepening, plugging back, or repairing operations are being conducted thereon in good faith, the lessee may, on or before the expiration of the primary term, file a written application with the department for a one hundred eighty day extension of this oil and gas lease, such application to be accompanied by a payment of ten dollars per acre, and the commissioner, in writing, shall extend this oil and gas lease for a period of one hundred eighty days beyond the expiration of the primary term and as long as oil or gas or both is produced in commercial quantities; the lessee may, as long as such drilling, testing, or completion operations are being conducted in good faith, make written application to the commissioner, on or before the expiration of the initial extended period of one hundred eighty days for an additional extension of one hundred eighty days, such application to be accompanied by a payment of twenty dollars per acre, and the commissioner, in writing, shall extend this oil and gas lease for an additional one hundred eighty day period from and after the expiration of the initial extended period of one hundred eighty days, and as long as oil or gas or both is produced in commercial quantities; this oil and gas lease must not be extended for more than a total of three hundred sixty days from and after the expiration of the primary term unless production in commercial quantities has been obtained or unless extended by some other provision hereof.3. Amendments. A lessee may request an amendment to an oil and gas lease for a specific purpose. A request for an amendment must state the specific grounds for the request. Approval of a request is at the discretion of the commissioner and the department shall notify the lessee in writing whether or not the request is approved.N.D. Admin Code 85-06-01-06
Adopted by Administrative Rules Supplement 375, January 2020, effective 1/1/2020.General Authority: NDCC 15-05-09, 15-07-20, 15-08.1-06, 61-33-06
Law Implemented: NDCC 15-05-09, 15-05-15