FACT: By law, energy producers must produce oil or natural gas from the lease within 5-10 years. If they don’t, they “lose the lease.”
Federal law states that lease holders must produce oil or natural gas within 10 years for onshore leases; they must produce within 5 years for off-shore leases, but that may be extended to 10 years in the case of “unusually deep water or other unusually adverse conditions.” (30 USC 226(e) and 43 USC 1337(b)).The government can cancel the lease if the producer fails to live up to the terms of the lease, the law or federal regulations. (30 USC 188(a) and (b) and 43 CFR 3108.3 (a) and (b))
“Under existing law, producers can lease a block for up to 10 years, but a company typically must begin producing oil or gas in that time or lose the lease.” (Houston Chronicle, 6/13/08)
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