U.S. Code » Title 30 » Chapter CHAPTER 3A— LEASES AND PROSPECTING PERMITS › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— GENERAL PROVISIONS

30 U.S.C. § 187a

Oil or gas leases; partial assignments

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Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 187 of this title, any oil or gas lease issued under the authority of this chapter may be assigned or subleased, as to all or part of the acreage included therein, subject to final approval by the Secretary and as to either a divided or undivided interest therein, to any person or persons qualified to own a lease under this chapter, and any assignment or sublease shall take effect as of the first day of the lease month following the date of filing in the proper land office of three original executed counterparts thereof, together with any required bond and proof of the qualification under this chapter of the assignee or sublessee to take or hold such lease or interest therein. Until such approval, however, the assignor or sublessor and his surety shall continue to be responsible for the performance of any and all obligations as if no assignment or sublease had been executed. The Secretary shall disapprove the assignment or sublease only for lack of qualification of the assignee or sublessee or for lack of sufficient bond: Provided, however, That the Secretary may, in his discretion, disapprove an assignment of any of the following, unless the assignment constitutes the entire lease or is demonstrated to further the development of oil and gas:(1) A separate zone or deposit under any lease.(2) A part of a legal subdivision.(3) Less than 640 acres outside Alaska or of less than 2,560 acres within Alaska.Requests for approval of assignment or sublease shall be processed promptly by the Secretary. Except where the assignment or sublease is not in accordance with applicable law, the approval shall be given within 60 days of the date of receipt by the Secretary of a request for such approval. Upon approval of any assignment or sublease, the assignee or sublessee shall be bound by the terms of the lease to the same extent as if such assignee or sublessee were the original lessee, any conditions in the assignment or sublease to the contrary notwithstanding. Any partial assignment of any lease shall segregate the assigned and retained portions thereof, and as above provided, release and discharge the assignor from all obligations thereafter accruing with respect to the assigned lands; and such segregated leases shall continue in full force and effect for the primary term of the original lease, but for not less than two years after the date of discovery of oil or gas in paying quantities upon any other segregated portion of the lands originally subject to such lease. Assignments under this section may also be made of parts of leases which are in their extended term because of any provision of this chapter. Upon the segregation by an assignment of a lease issued after September 2, 1960 and held beyond its primary term by production, actual or suspended, or the payment of compensatory royalty, the segregated lease of an undeveloped, assigned, or retained part shall continue for two years, and so long thereafter as oil or gas is produced in paying quantities.(Feb. 25, 1920, ch. 85, § 30A, formerly § 30a, as added Aug. 8, 1946, ch. 916, § 7, 60 Stat. 955; amended July 29, 1954, ch. 644, § 1(6), 68 Stat. 585; Pub. L. 86–705, § 6, Sept. 2, 1960, 74 Stat. 790; renumbered § 30A and amended Pub. L. 100–203, title V, § 5103, Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330–258.)Editorial NotesAmendments

1987—Pub. L. 100–203 substituted third to fifth sentences for former third sentence which read as follows: “The Secretary shall disapprove the assignment or sublease only for lack of qualification of the assignee or sublessee or for lack of sufficient bond: Provided, however, That the Secretary may, in his discretion, disapprove an assignment of a separate zone or deposit under any lease, or of a part of a legal subdivision.”

1960—Pub. L. 86–705 amended last sentence to restrict automatic extensions after Sept. 2, 1960.

1954—Act July 29, 1954, authorized partial assignment of a lease in its extended term regardless of reason for extension.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesSavings Provision

See note set out under section 181 of this title.

Leases Issued Prior to September 2, 1960

Pub. L. 86–705, § 6, Sept. 2, 1960, 74 Stat. 790, provided in part that: “The provisions of this section 6 [amending this section] shall not be applicable to any lease issued prior to the effective date of this Act [Sept. 2, 1960].”

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 18 cases (1 in the last 5 years), 1952–2023 · leading case: Therl Taylor v. Virginia Grubbs, 930 F.3d 611 (4th Cir. 2019).
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Therl Taylor v. Virginia Grubbs, 930 F.3d 611 (4th Cir. 2019). · cites it 2× “25 30 U.S.C. § 187a, “perfectly null and void,” 43 U.”
Tearlach Resources Ltd. v. W. States Int'l, Inc., 219 Cal. App. 4th 773 (Cal. Ct. App. 2013). · cites it 3× “(30 U.S.C. § 187a.) The secretary has discretion to disapprove an assignment on limited grounds.”
Wallis v. Pan Am. Petroleum Corp., 384 U.S. 63 (1966). · cites it 2× “Perhaps most prominent among those that are relevant is § 30a, 30 U. S. C. § 187a, which provides that oil and gas leases shall be assignable.”
Devon Energy Corp. v. United States, 45 Fed. Cl. 519 (Fed. Cl. 1999). · cites it 2× “” 30 U.S.C. § 187a. The government reasons from this provision that the plaintiffs whose transfers were not approved by the Secretary of the Interior “have no recorded interest in the leases and thus no ‘property right’ to be taken by the allegations in the Complaint.”
Patrick A. McKenna v. Floyd A. Wallis & Pan Am. Petroleum Corp., Pan Am. Petroleum Corp. v. Floyd A. Wallis, 344 F.2d 432 (5th Cir. 1965). · cites it 2× “Nowhere in the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920 are the terms “assignment” and “option” defined.”
Hagood v. Heckers, 513 P.2d 208 (Colo. 1973). “30 U.S.C. § 187a. Pursuant to the authorization contained in Section 189 of the Act, set forth above, various Interior Department decisions have further delineated the rights of the assignor and assignee vis-a-vis the federal government.”
Norbeck v. Crawford, 836 P.2d 1231 (Mont. 1992). · cites it 4× “” *260 30 U.S.C. § 187a (1990) provides: [A]ny oil or gas lease issued under the authority of this Act may be assigned .”
Hoover H. Wright v. Eugene C. Paine, Stewart L. Udall, Sec'y of the Interior v. Eugene C. Paine, 289 F.2d 766 (D.C. Cir. 1961). “955 , as amended, 30 U.S.C.A. § 187a. 12 . See S.Rep. No. 1392, 79th Cong.”
Winkler v. Andrus, 614 F.2d 707 (10th Cir. 1980). “On July 30, 1976, Davis Oil Company filed the assignment in the Wyoming State Office of the BLM for the purpose of obtaining an approval pursuant to 30 U.S.C. § 187a. By then the Wyoming office had received actual notice of the filing of the suit and it delayed acting on…”
BP Am. Prod. Co. v. Davis, 87 F.4th 1226 (10th Cir. 2023). “7-2 to show that BP indeed had notice of the State’s position: “A commenter 4 The ONRR Director also rejected BP’s argument that its transfer forms created binding contracts with the United States, noting that BLM personnel lacked “actual authority to bind the government to a…”
Oasis Oil Co. v. Bell Oil & Gas Co., 106 F. Supp. 954 (W.D. Okla. 1952). “Title 30 U.S.C.A. § 187a provides in part that the assignment of an interest in a government lease must be approved by the Secretary of the Interior before the assignment becomes valid.”
McGarry v. Udall, 216 F. Supp. 314 (D.D.C. 1962). “The first provision which the Secretary allegedly violated is Title 30 U.S.C. § 187a, which states that “The Secretary shall disapprove the assignment or sublease only for lack of qualifications of the assignee or subleasee for lack of sufficient bond.”
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