Title 77, Title 77

(1) All oil and gas leases granted by the state pursuant to the terms of this part shall provide for forfeiture and cancellation thereof upon failure of the lessee to fully discharge the obligations provided therein, after written notice from the state and reasonable time allowed…

In all cases where an oil and gas lease issued after March 3, 1955, is surrendered for cancellation before its expiration, relinquished to the state, or canceled through proceedings on the part of the state, no new lease on the lands under such lease may be issued within 30 days …

(1) Upon the termination for any cause of a lease issued under this part, the former lessee has 6 months after the date of the termination to remove from the premises all machinery, fixtures, improvements, buildings, and equipment belonging to the lessee, except for casing in the…

In every oil and gas lease granted pursuant to the terms hereof there shall be reserved unto the state the right to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the surface of the lands covered thereby, subject always to the rights and privileges granted unto the lessee under such oil an…

(1) A person, partnership, or association may not enter into an agreement that in the aggregate creates overriding royalties or payments out of the production of oil and gas in excess of 5% above the landowner's royalty payable to the state of Montana unless that agreement expres…

The department may withhold from public inspection any information obtained from an oil or gas lessee under this part if the information, including drill logs, seismic data, and lithographic descriptions, relates to the geology of the oil or gas lease. The withholding is effectiv…

(1) The board is hereby authorized and empowered to lease in such manner and upon such terms as it may determine, not inconsistent with The Enabling Act and the constitution, state lands to which the title has vested in the state, subject to existing rights, for use for the under…

The board shall have the power and authority to prescribe such rules and to do and perform all acts and things not inconsistent with The Enabling Act, the constitution, and the statutes of this state as it may deem necessary and proper relating to the leasing of state lands for t…

The board may order and hold hearings on any matter or question involving leases issued under 77-3-501 under such rules as it adopts.

Any lessee, upon application, is entitled to a hearing on any notice or demand of the department before any lease is granted, forfeited, or canceled by the board.

A lessee under 77-3-501 shall furnish bond to the state in a form prescribed by the board and in an amount adequate to indemnify the state against loss, damage, or detriment by reason of failure of the lessee to fully discharge the obligations contained in any lease. No bond in e…

In every lease granted pursuant to the terms hereof there shall be reserved unto the state the right to sell, lease, or otherwise dispose of the lands covered thereby, subject always to the rights and privileges granted unto the lessee under a lease provided for by this part.

(1) Leases issued under the provisions of this part shall all be subject to the conditions that the lessee in conducting the underground storage of natural gas shall use all reasonable precautions to prevent waste of oil or gas developed in the land or the entrance of water throu…

All leases issued under 77-3-501 may be granted for a period not exceeding 20 years, and the lessee has a preferential right to renew the lease for an additional period not exceeding 20 years, subject to any terms and conditions the board imposes.

All rentals collected for or under leases issued under 77-3-501 shall be paid to the department and credited in the same manner as rentals from oil and gas leases.

All leases granted under 77-3-501 shall provide for their forfeiture and cancellation upon failure of the lessee to fully discharge the obligations provided therein, after written notice from the department and reasonable time allowed to the lessee for performance of any undertak…

The lessee may at the termination of any rental year, by giving to the department 30 days' previous notice in writing, surrender and relinquish such lease to the state and be thereupon discharged from any obligation not yet accrued.

Upon the termination for any cause of any lease issued under 77-3-501, the lessee has 6 months after the date of the termination within which to remove all machinery, fixtures, improvements, buildings, and equipment belonging to it upon the premises.

(1) The board may lease state-owned lands, including the beds of navigable streams and the beds of navigable bodies of water, to persons, associations, or corporations for prospecting, exploration, well construction, and the production of geothermal resources. (2) The board may e…

Unless the context requires otherwise, in this part, the following definitions apply: (1) "Geothermal development" means any of the operations or facilities necessary for the production of geothermal resources. (2) "Geothermal resources" means the natural heat energy of the earth…

The board shall adopt rules governing the issuance of geothermal resource leases and the conduct of all geothermal operations. The board may also require the applicant for a geothermal lease to pay an application fee.

Geothermal resources are sui generis, being neither a mineral resource nor a water resource, but they are closely related to and possibly affecting and affected by water resources in many instances.

No right to seek, obtain, or use geothermal resources has passed or shall pass with any existing or future lease of state or school lands.

The board may, at any time prior to the execution and delivery of a geothermal lease or at any time during the life of the lease, require a lessee to file with the department a bond to protect the rights of the state. The bond shall be in form and amount prescribed by the board. …

The lessee of any geothermal lease shall compensate the surface lessee for any damage to the surface or leasehold interest caused as a result of the geothermal lease. The board may require the geothermal lessee to post a bond in an amount to be set by the board to insure the paym…

If any geothermal development located on state land requires the utilization of water, the lessee may, at any time prior to 1 year before the expiration of the lease, make application to the board for permission to secure a water right to the land under the lease. The application…

Where there are conflicting leases, including but not limited to geothermal, coal, mineral, and oil and gas leases, embracing the same land, the person who first was issued a lease shall be entitled to priority of rights; provided, however, that the exercise of this priority shal…

(1) A lease issued by the board gives the lessee, so long as the lessee complies with the terms and conditions of the lease, the exclusive right of possession of the lands or interests leased, subject to conditions contained in the lease. (2) In a geothermal resource lease grante…

The term of each lease shall be for a primary term of 10 years and for so long thereafter as geothermal resources in paying quantities are produced, provided that all conditions and terms of the lease are fully performed by the lessee.

If geothermal resources are not being produced from the leased premises at the expiration of the primary term of the lease but the owner of the lease is then engaged in drilling on the premises for geothermal resources, then the lease term shall be extended for so long as the dri…

Lessees may enter into agreements with other persons, associations, firms, and corporations for drilling and other operations on state lands, but no such operating agreements shall be binding upon the state until filed with the department and approved by the board. No drilling or…

(1) Nothing contained in this part or other related laws shall prevent the board from entering into agreements for the pooling of acreage for unit operations for the production of geothermal resources and apportionment of geothermal royalties on an acreage or other equitable basi…

Geothermal leases shall be issued at an annual rental of not less than $1 per acre, payable in advance and/or a royalty which shall not be less than 10% of the amount or value of steam or other forms of heat or energy derived from the production under the lease and sold or utiliz…

(1) The department shall credit fees collected under geothermal leases to the general fund. (2) All rentals, penalties, and bonuses shall be credited to the income fund of the grant to which the lands under each lease belong. (3) All moneys collected as royalties shall be credite…

(1) A geothermal lessee of state lands has the right to place upon the leased lands a reasonable amount of improvements, provided that the improvements are directly related to the purpose of the lease. (2) Whenever another person becomes the geothermal lessee, the person shall pa…

(1) If the owner of any improvements on state lands of the type authorized by law at the time they were placed on the land desires to sell these improvements to the new lessee and they are unable to agree on the value of the improvements, the value must be ascertained and fixed b…

It is unlawful to sell or advertise for sale state lands constituting power sites or part of power sites capable of developing hydroelectric energy in commercial quantities. However, the board may issue a lease or license to any person, corporation, or municipality for the develo…

The words "power site" as used in this part shall mean not only the state-owned land on which the dam is constructed, but also each separate tract of such land which will become part of the reservoir and which in and of itself makes an essential contribution to the value of the p…

In issuing any lease or license under the provisions of this part, the board shall have the power and it shall be its duty to incorporate in the lease or license such reasonable restrictions and regulations as it finds necessary in order to protect the interest of the state and i…

Whenever an application in writing has been presented to the board for lease or license on a power site on state lands, the board shall make such preliminary examination as to the value of the power site, as to the plans of development submitted by the applicant, and of all other…

If these preliminary investigations and the offer made for lease or license are such that the board deems further proceedings on the application to be justified, it shall cause notice of the proposed lease or license to be published not less than once each week during not less th…

(1) At this meeting all other applications which may have been received for lease or license to such power sites shall be duly considered together with the application originally filed. (2) The board shall have the right to reject any or all bids. (3) If, however, the board finds…

In case one of the applicants is a municipality, its bid shall have preference provided that it is in all respects as advantageous to the state as the bid which has been submitted by any person or corporation.

(1) The rental payment to the state for power sites must be paid annually or semiannually, and the rental may not be less than the full market value of the estate or interest disposed of through the granting of the lease or license. The value must be carefully ascertained from al…

The term of the lease shall not exceed 50 years.

(1) If the state land constituting a power site is part of a larger power site owned or controlled by the government of the United States, then the board may grant a joint lease or license with the United States for the development of the power site and the distribution, use, and…