30 U.S.C. § 188
Except as otherwise herein provided, any lease issued under the provisions of this chapter may be forfeited and canceled by an appropriate proceeding in the United States district court for the district in which the property, or some part thereof, is located whenever the lessee fails to comply with any of the provisions of this chapter, of the lease, or of the general regulations promulgated under this chapter and in force at the date of the lease; and the lease may provide for resort to appropriate methods for the settlement of disputes or for remedies for breach of specified conditions thereof.
Any lease issued after August 21, 1935, under the provisions of section 226 of this title shall be subject to cancellation by the Secretary of the Interior after 30 days notice upon the failure of the lessee to comply with any of the provisions of the lease, unless or until the leasehold contains a well capable of production of oil or gas in paying quantities, or the lease is committed to an approved cooperative or unit plan or communitization agreement under section 226(m) of this title which contains a well capable of production of unitized substances in paying quantities. Such notice in advance of cancellation shall be sent the lease owner by registered letter directed to the lease owner's record post-office address, and in case such letter shall be returned as undelivered, such notice shall also be posted for a period of thirty days in the United States land office for the district in which the land covered by such lease is situated, or in the event that there is no district land office for such district, then in the post office nearest such land. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, however, upon failure of a lessee to pay rental on or before the anniversary date of the lease, for any lease on which there is no well capable of producing oil or gas in paying quantities, the lease shall automatically terminate by operation of law: Provided, however, That when the time for payment falls upon any day in which the proper office for payment is not open, payment may be received the next official working day and shall be considered as timely made: Provided, That if the rental payment due under a lease is paid on or before the anniversary date but either (1) the amount of the payment has been or is hereafter deficient and the deficiency is nominal, as determined by the Secretary by regulation, or (2) the payment was calculated in accordance with the acreage figure stated in the lease, or in any decision affecting the lease, or made in accordance with a bill or decision which has been rendered by him and such figure, bill, or decision is found to be in error resulting in a deficiency, such lease shall not automatically terminate unless (1) a new lease had been issued prior to May 12, 1970, or (2) the lessee fails to pay the deficiency within the period prescribed in a notice of deficiency sent to him by the Secretary.
Where any lease has been or is hereafter terminated automatically by operation of law under this section for failure to pay on or before the anniversary date the full amount of rental due, but such rental was paid on or tendered within twenty days thereafter, and it is shown to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Interior that such failure was either justifiable or not due to a lack of reasonable diligence on the part of the lessee, the Secretary may reinstate the lease if-
Any reinstatement under subsection (d) of this section shall be made only if these conditions are met:
A copy of said notice, together with information concerning rental, royalty, volume of production, if any, and any other matter which the Secretary deemed significant in making this determination to reinstate, shall be furnished to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate at least thirty days in advance of the reinstatement. The lessee of a reinstated lease shall reimburse the Secretary for the administrative costs of reinstating the lease, but not to exceed $500. In addition the lessee shall reimburse the Secretary for the cost of publication in the Federal Register of the notice of proposed reinstatement.
The minimum royalty provisions of section 226(m) of this title and the provisions of section 209 of this title shall be applicable to leases issued pursuant to subsection (d).
In acting on a petition for reinstatement pursuant to subsection (d) or in response to a request filed after reinstatement, or both, the Secretary is authorized to reduce the royalty in that reinstated lease on the entire leasehold or any tract or portion thereof segregated for royalty purposes if, in his judgment, there are uneconomic or other circumstances which could cause undue hardship or premature termination of production; or because of any written action of the United States, its agents or employees, which preceded, and was a major consideration in, the lessee's expenditure of funds to develop the property under the lease after the rent had become due and had not been paid; or if in the judgment of the Secretary it is equitable to do so for any reason.
Where, in the judgment of the Secretary of the Interior, drilling operations were being diligently conducted on the last day of the primary term of the lease, and, except for nonpayment of rental, the lessee would have been entitled to extension of his lease, pursuant to section 226-1(d) of this title, the Secretary of the Interior may reinstate such lease notwithstanding the failure of the lessee to have made payment of the next year's rental, provided the conditions of subparagraphs (1) and (2) of section 2 (c) are satisfied.
1 So in original. Probably should be "royalty".
2 So in original. Probably should be "subsection".
30 U.S.C. § 188
EDITORIAL NOTES
REFERENCES IN TEXTThe Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, referred to in subsec. (d)(1), is act Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 513, 61 Stat. 913, which is classified generally to chapter 7 (§351 et seq.) of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 351 of this title and Tables.
AMENDMENTS2022-Subsec. (d)(1). Pub. L. 117-169, §50262(e)(2)(A), substituted "section 226(b) of this title" for "section 226(b) or (c) of this title".Subsec. (e)(2). Pub. L. 117-169, §50262(e)(2)(B)(i), struck out "either" after "payment of back rentals and" and "or the inclusion in a reinstated lease issued pursuant to the provisions of section 226(c) of this title of a requirement that future rentals shall be at a rate not less than $5 per acre per year, all" before "as determined by the Secretary;". Pub. L. 117-169, §50262(c)(2), substituted "$20" for "$10".Subsec. (e)(3). Pub. L. 117-169, §50262(e)(2)(B)(ii), inserted "and" after semicolon at end, struck out subpar. (A) designation before "payment", and struck out subpar. (B) which read as follows: "payment of back royalties and inclusion in a reinstated lease issued pursuant to the provisions of section 226(c) of this title of a requirement for future royalties at a rate not less than 20 percent: Provided, That royalty on such reinstated lease shall be paid on all production removed or sold from such lease subsequent to the cancellation or termination of the original lease; and". Pub. L. 117-169, §50262(a)(2), substituted "20" for "162/3" in two places.Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 117-169, §50262(e)(2)(F), (G), redesignated subsec. (g) as (f) and struck out former subsec. (f) which related to issuance of noncompetitive oil and gas lease.Subsec. (g). Pub. L. 117-169, §50262(e)(2)(G), redesignated subsec. (h) as (g). Former subsec. (g) redesignated (f).Subsec. (g)(1). Pub. L. 117-169, §50262(e)(2)(C)(i), substituted "in the same manner as the original lease issued pursuant to section 226 of this title" for "as a competitive or a noncompetitive oil and gas lease in the same manner as the original lease issued pursuant to section 226(b) or (c) of this title".Subsec. (g)(2) to (4). Pub. L. 117-169, §50262(e)(2)(C)(ii)-(iv), redesignated pars. (3) and (4) as (2) and (3), respectively, substituted "except" for "applicable to leases issued under section 226(c) of this title except," in par. (2), and struck out former par. (2) which read as follows: "Except as otherwise provided in this section, the issuance of a lease in lieu of an abandoned patented oil placer mining claim shall be treated as a noncompetitive oil and gas lease issued pursuant to section 226(c) of this title."Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 117-169, §50262(e)(2)(G), redesignated subsec. (i) as (h). Former subsec. (h) redesignated (g). Pub. L. 117-169, §50262(e)(2)(D), substituted "subsection (d)" for "subsections (d) and (f) of this section".Subsec. (i). Pub. L. 117-169, §50262(e)(2)(G), redesignated subsec. (j) as (i). Former subsec. (i) redesignated (h). Pub. L. 117-169, §50262(e)(2)(E), substituted, in heading, "Royalty reduction in reinstated leases" for "Royalty reductions" and, in text, "In acting on a petition for reinstatement pursuant to subsection (d)" for "(1) In acting on a petition to issue a noncompetitive oil and gas lease, under subsection (f) of this section or in response to a request filed after issuance of such a lease, or both, the Secretary is authorized to reduce the royalty on such lease if in his judgment it is equitable to do so or the circumstances warrant such relief due to uneconomic or other circumstances which could cause undue hardship or premature termination of production."(2) In acting on a petition for reinstatement pursuant to subsection (d) of this section".Subsec. (j). Pub. L. 117-169, §50262(e)(2)(G), redesignated subsec. (j) as (i).2005-Subsec. (d)(2)(A), (B). Pub. L. 109-58 added subpars. (A) and (B) and struck out former subpars. (A) and (B), which related to reinstatement with respect to any lease that terminated under subsec. (b) of this section prior to Jan. 12, 1983, and reinstatement with respect to any lease that terminated under subsec. (b) of this section on or after Jan. 12, 1983.1994-Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 103-437 substituted "Natural Resources" for "Interior and Insular Affairs" before "of the House" in concluding provisions.1990-Subsec. (g)(3), (4). Pub. L. 101-567 added pars. (3) and (4).1987-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 100-203, §5104, amended first sentence generally. Prior to amendment, first sentence read as follows: "Any lease issued after August 21, 1935, under the provisions of section 226 of this title shall be subject to cancellation by the Secretary of the Interior after thirty days' notice upon the failure of the lessee to comply with any of the provisions of the lease, unless or until the land covered by any such lease is known to contain valuable deposits of oil or gas."Subsec. (h). Pub. L. 100-203, §5102(d)(2), substituted "section 226(m)" for "section 226(j)".1983-Subsecs. (d) to (j). Pub. L. 97-451 added subsecs. (d) to (i) and redesignated former subsec. (d) as (j).1970-Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 91-245, §1, inserted proviso authorizing continuance of a lease where timely paid rent is nominally deficient or miscalculated due to an error either in acreage figure stated in the lease, in any decision affecting the lease, or in a bill or decision rendered by the Secretary, except where a new lease was issued prior to May 12, 1970 or the lessee failed to pay the deficiency within the period allowed by the Secretary.Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 91-245, §2, inserted provisions allowing reinstatement of a lease despite a twenty-day delay in payment of rent, made the payment of back rental accruing from the date of termination of the lease a prerequisite to such reinstatement, restricted the Secretary's power to issue a new lease on the lands covered by the terminated lease, gave the Secretary discretion to extend the term of a reinstated lease so as to afford the lessee a reasonable opportunity to continue operations under the lease, and struck out requirement that the petition for reinstatement of any lease terminated prior to Oct. 15, 1962 be filed within 180 days after Oct. 15, 1962.1962- Pub. L. 87-822 designated existing pars. as subsecs. (a) and (b) and added subsecs. (c) and (d).1954-Act July 29, 1954, provided for automatic termination of a lease on failure to pay rental on or before anniversary date of lease, for any lease on which there is no well capable of producing oil or gas in paying quantities.1946-Act Aug. 8, 1946, principally added second par. relating to cancellation of leases by Secretary of the Interior.
STATUTORY NOTES AND RELATED SUBSIDIARIES
SAVINGS PROVISIONSee note set out under section 181 of this title.
REINSTATEMENT OF LEASES Pub. L. 109-58, title III, §371(a), Aug. 8, 2005, 119 Stat. 734, provided that:"Notwithstanding section 31(d)(2)(B) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 188(d)(2)(B)) as in effect before the effective date of this section [probably means the date of enactment of Pub. L. 109-58], and notwithstanding the amendment made by subsection (b) of this section [amending this section], the Secretary of the Interior may reinstate any oil and gas lease issued under that Act [30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.] that was terminated for failure of a lessee to pay the full amount of rental on or before the anniversary date of the lease, during the period beginning on September 1, 2001, and ending on June 30, 2004, if-"(1) not later than 120 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Aug. 8, 2005], the lessee-"(A) files a petition for reinstatement of the lease;"(B) complies with the conditions of section 31(e) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 188(e)); and"(C) certifies that the lessee did not receive a notice of termination by the date that was 13 months before the date of termination; and"(2) the land is available for leasing."
AUTHORITY FOR ISSUANCE OF LEASES UNAFFECTED BY REINSTATEMENT OF LEASESPub. L. 87-822, §2, Oct. 15, 1962, 76 Stat. 943, provided that: "Nothing in this Act [amending this section] shall be construed as limiting the authority of the Secretary of the Interior to issue, during the periods in which petitions for reinstatement may be filed, oil and gas leases for any of the lands affected."
OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF; CANCELLATION OF LEASESCancellation of mineral leases on submerged lands of outer Continental Shelf, see sections 1334 and 1337 of Title 43, Public Lands.