Pub. L. 105-83, tit. I, sec. 128

Sec. 128. Title I of Public Law 96–514 (94 Stat. 2957) is amended under the heading “Exploration of National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska” by striking “(8) each lease shall be issued” through the end of the first paragraph and inserting in lieu thereof the following: “(8) each lease shall be issued for an initial period of ten years, and shall be extended for so long thereafter as oil or gas is produced from the lease in paying quantities, or as drilling or reworking operations, as approved by the Secretary, are conducted thereon; (9) for purposes of conservation of the natural resources of any oil or gas pool, field, or like area, or any part thereof, lessees thereof and their representatives are authorized to unite with each other, or jointly or separately with others, in collectively adopting and operating under a unit agreement for such pool, field, or like area, or any part thereof (whether or not any other part of said oil or gas pool, field, or like area is already subject to any cooperative or unit plan of development or operation), whenever determined by the Secretary to be necessary or advisable in the public interest. Drilling, production, and well reworking operations performed in accordance with a unit agreement shall be deemed to be performed for the benefit of all leases that are subject in whole or in part to such unit agreement. When separate tracts cannot be independently developed and operated in conformity with an established well spacing or development program, any lease, or a portion thereof, may be pooled with other lands, whether or not owned by the United States, under a communitization or drilling agreement providing for an apportionment of production or royalties among the separate tracts of land comprising the drilling or spacing unit when determined by the Secretary of the Interior to be in the public interest, and operations or production pursuant to such an agreement shall be deemed to be operations or production as to each such lease committed thereto; (10) to encourage the greatest ultimate recovery of oil or gas or in the interest of conservation the Secretary is authorized to waive, suspend, or reduce the rental, or minimum royalty, or reduce the royalty on an entire leasehold, including on any lease 111 STAT. 1569operated pursuant to a unit agreement, whenever in his judgment the leases cannot be successfully operated under the terms provided therein. The Secretary is authorized to direct or assent to the suspension of operations and production on any lease or unit. In the event the Secretary, in the interest of conservation, shall direct or assent to the suspension of operations and production on any lease or unit, any payment of acreage rental or minimum royalty prescribed by such lease or unit likewise shall be suspended during the period of suspension of operations and production, and the term of such lease shall be extended by adding any such suspension period thereto; and (11) all receipts from sales, rentals, bonuses, and royalties on leases issued pursuant to this section shall be paid into the Treasury of the United States: Provided, That 50 percent thereof shall be paid by the Secretary of the Treasury semiannually, as soon thereafter as practicable after March 30 and September 30 each year, to the State of Alaska for: (A) planning; (B) construction, maintenance, and operation of essential public facilities; and (C) other necessary provisions of public service: Provided further, That in the allocation of such funds, the State shall give priority to use by subdivisions of the State most directly or severely impacted by development of oil and gas leased under this Act.”.