Sec. 52.190. LEASE BY OWNER OF THE SOIL. (a) An owner of the soil of lands covered by this subchapter may lease those lands for the purpose of exploring for and producing oil and gas in the manner provided by this section.

(b) An owner of the soil may apply in writing to the board for an oil and gas lease.

(c) The application shall contain the following:

(1) the name and address of the applicant;

(2) a complete legal description of the land the applicant seeks to lease;

(3) the name and address of every owner of the soil of the land the applicant seeks to lease, if the applicant is not the sole owner of the soil;

(4) a brief letter opinion signed by an attorney licensed in this state setting out the surface ownership of the land sought to be leased;

(5) a statement of the applicant's experience in oil and gas exploration and production, including, without limitation, the applicant's Railroad Commission of Texas operator number and a list of any State of Texas or federal oil and gas leases held or operated by the applicant or other entity in which the applicant has or had a significant interest during the five-year period preceding the date of the application;

(6) a statement that the applicant intends to explore for and, if commercially reasonable, produce oil and gas or if the applicant plans that another person or firm shall conduct exploration and production:

(A) the name and address of the person or firm;

(B) a description of the person's or firm's experience in oil and gas exploration and production, including, without limitation, the person's or firm's Railroad Commission of Texas operator number and a list of any State of Texas or federal oil and gas leases held or operated by the person or firm during the five-year period preceding the date of the application; and

(C) a description of the applicant's intended degree and type of participation in the exploration of and production from the property and all consideration or benefits the applicant expects to receive in connection with the exploration of and production from the property; and

(7) the amount of bonus, rental, royalty, and other lease terms that the applicant proposes to pay or offer or pay and offer for the lease.

(d) The applicant shall provide geological, geophysical, geochemical, and other data or copies of the data, including interpretative data, pertinent to mineral exploration on the lands for which the application is made, in the applicant's possession or to which the applicant has reasonable access and which the applicant has the ability to provide to the land office. All such data shall be confidential and not subject to the provisions of the open records law, Chapter 552, Government Code, until one year after the expiration, termination, or forfeiture of a lease granted pursuant to this section. After one year after the expiration, termination, or forfeiture of such a lease, the data shall remain confidential to the extent permitted by Chapter 552, Government Code. If a lease is not issued, the data shall be returned to the applicant.

(e) The board may prescribe the form of the application, specify information required to be submitted in support of an application, and, by rule, otherwise provide for the implementation of this section.

(f) The staff of the land office shall review the information presented in the application, other geological, geophysical, and geochemical data reasonably available to it relevant to the land proposed to be leased, and leasing information reasonably available to it relevant to the land proposed to be leased. The staff shall prepare a report to the board that contains:

(1) a summary of bonus, rental, royalty, and other lease terms then being offered and asked for leases of similar lands in the area of the land proposed to be leased; and

(2) any factual data considered by the staff to be relevant, including, but not limited to, data concerning the land proposed to be leased and its estimated value for oil and gas exploration and production, recommended lease terms, and the applicant, including the applicant's history of leasing State of Texas or federal lands for oil and gas.

(g) The board shall consider the application at a regular meeting. It may, in its sole discretion, grant or deny the application or grant the application subject to specified conditions. Such conditions may include a requirement that if the applicant does not materially participate in the exploration or development of the leased premises, through labor performed, cash or goods contributed, or supplying other enhancement in value, the applicant must share equally with the permanent school fund any benefit derived from the lease.

(h) After the board has approved an application, the commissioner shall issue a lease to the applicant. The lease shall conform, as nearly as is practicable, to the form of lease prescribed by the board under Section 32.1071.

(i) The commissioner may not deliver a lease issued under this section until the applicant has executed and delivered to the commissioner a waiver of the applicant's right and duty to act as agent for the state in leasing the leased premises and to receive any part of the bonus, rental, royalty, and other consideration accruing to the owner of the soil under this subchapter. The waiver and the lease shall be effective as of the date the commissioner executes the lease.

(j) Upon the expiration, termination, or forfeiture of a lease issued under this section, the agency rights and duties of the applicant as owner of the soil are reinstated without the necessity for further action by the owner of the soil, the board, or the commissioner.

(k) If an applicant is not the sole owner of the soil, the applicant may secure leases from the other owners of the soil from which the applicant is not prohibited from leasing under Section 52.189. If the applicant must obtain a lease from an owner of the soil from whom the applicant would otherwise not be permitted to lease in order reasonably to explore for or produce or explore for and produce oil or gas, the commissioner may approve the lease on the condition that the applicant shall not receive any benefit from the lease, and, if the applicant should acquire by any method, including devise or inheritance, the right to receive any rental, royalty, or other benefit accruing to the owner of the soil's interest under the lease, the applicant shall assign the benefit to the commissioner for the benefit of the permanent school fund.

(l) The commissioner shall not approve any lease obtained by an applicant from another owner of the soil if the lease contains terms that are substantially inconsistent with or provide for a lesser bonus, rental, or royalty than the lease approved by the board. If the bonus, rental, or royalty in a lease obtained by an applicant from another owner of the soil for a comparable interest is greater than that approved by the board, then the lease approved by the board shall be amended to provide for the greater bonus, rental, or royalty, and the applicant shall be liable for all greater sums due. In determining whether an interest is comparable, the board shall consider the quantum of the interest, the time at which the lease was taken, and any other aspects of the lease transaction that the board considers to be relevant.

Added by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 937, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995.