Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 60 Part 1.djvu/984

 79TH CONG. , 2D SESS.--CH 91--AUG. 8, 1946 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. 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 unde- livered, 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 cov- ered 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." SEc. 10. Section 39 which was added to the Act by the Act of Febru- ary 9, 1933 (47 Stat. 798; 30 U. S . C., sec 209), is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 39 . The Secretary of the Interior for the purpose of encour- aging the greatest ultimate recovery of coal, oil, or gas and in the interest of conservation of natural resources is authorized to waive, suspend, or reduce the rental or minimum royalty, or reduce the royalty on an entire leasehold, or on any tract or portion thereof segregated for royalty purposes, whenever in his judgment it is nec- essary to do so in order to promote development, or whenever in his judgment the leases cannot be successfully operated under the terms provided therein. In the event the Secretary of the Interior, in the interest of conservation, shall direct or shall assent to the suspension of operations and production under any lease granted under the terms of this Act, any payment of acreage rental or of minimum royalty prescribed by such lease likewise shall be suspended during such period of suspension of operations and production; and the term of such lease shall be extended by adding any such suspension period thereto. The provisions of this section shall apply to all oil and gas leases issued under this Act, including those within an approved or prescribed plan for unit or cooperative development and operation." SEC. 11. Section 5 of the Act approved February 7 1927 (44 Stat. 1057; 30 U. S . C., sec. 285), is amended to read as follows: "SEc. 5. That the general provisions of sections 26 to 38, inclusive, of the Act of February 25, 1920, entitled 'An Act to promote the mining of coal, phosphate, oil, oil shale, gas and sodium on the public domain', as amended, are made applicable to permits and leases under this Act, the thirty-seventh section thereof being amended to include deposits of potassium." SEC. 12. From and after the effective date of this Act, the royalty obligation to the United States under all leases requiring payment of royalty in excess of 12 1/2 per centum, except leases issued or to be issued upon competitive bidding, is reduced to 121/2 per centum in amount or value of production removed or sold from said leases as to (1) such leases, or such part of the lands subject thereto, and the deposits underlying the same, as are not believed to be within the productive limits of any oil or gas deposit, as such productive limits are found by the Secretary to exist on the effective date of this Act, and (2) any production on a lease from an oil or gas deposit which was discovered after May 27, 1941, by a well or wells drilled within the boundaries of the lease, and which is determined by the Secretary to be a new deposit; and (3) any production on or allo- cated to a lease pursuant to an approved unit or cooperative agree- ment from an oil or gas deposit which was discovered after May 27, 1941, on land committed to such agreement, and which is determined by the Secretary to be a new deposit, where such lease was included in such agreement at the time of discovery, or was included in a duly executed and filed application for the approval of such agree- ment at the time of discovery. Advance notic. Waiver of rental, etc. Suspension of oper- ations. Extension of lease. Applicability. 41 Stat. 448-411. 30U. S. C. I§182- 184, 185-194. Ante, p. 833. Reduction of royal- ty. 957 60 STAT.]

�