Sec. 52.176. FORFEITURE OF RIGHTS. If any person, firm, or corporation operating under this law shall fail or refuse to make the payment of any sum within 30 days after it becomes due, or if such one or an authorized agent should knowingly make any false return or false report concerning production or drilling, or if such one should fail to file reports in the manner required by law or fail to comply with General Land Office rules and regulations or refuse the proper authority access to the records pertaining to the operations, or if such one or an authorized agent should knowingly fail or refuse to give correct information to the proper authority, or knowingly fail or refuse to furnish the land office a correct log of any well, or if any lease is assigned and the assignment is not filed in the General Land Office as required by law, the rights acquired under the permit or lease shall be subject to forfeiture by the commissioner, and he shall forfeit same when sufficiently informed of the facts which authorize a forfeiture, and the oil and gas shall be subject to sale in the manner provided for the sale of other forfeited rights hereunder, except that the owner of the soil shall not thereby forfeit his interest in the oil and gas. Such forfeiture may be set aside and all rights theretofore existing shall be reinstated at any time before the rights of another intervene, upon satisfactory evidence of future compliance with the provisions of this subchapter.

Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2459, ch. 871, art. I, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977.