The State Lands Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) announced on Friday that there is an opportunity for Alabamians to bid on oil and gas leasing rights within the state,
The State Lands Division will be accepting bids for the subject-referenced Oil & Gas Lease until 2:00 P.M. November 30, 2022, for the following:
Tract 1: Sepulga River, Conecuh County
Tract 2: Sepulga River, Conecuh County
Tract 3: Sepulga River and Pigeon Creek, Conecuh and Covington Counties
Tract 4: Sepulga River and Pigeon Creek, Conecuh and Covington Counties
Tract 5: Pigeon Creek, Conecuh, and Covington Counties
Details are included in the attached Invitation for Bids for Oil & Gas Lease and map. A sample of the Standard DCNR Oil and Gas Lease Form is also attached.
- Oil & Gas Lease Map Tracts 1-5 Conecuh & Covington Counties.pdf
- SAMPLE Standard Oil & Gas Lease Form.pdf
- Invitation for Bids for Oil & Gas Lease – Conecuh & Covington Counties.pdf
The lessee will be expected to use the highest degree of care and all proper safeguards to prevent land or water pollution resulting from the drilling for or production, storage, and removal of oil, gas, or other liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon minerals.
The lessee shall be required to use all means at its disposal to recapture all escaped hydrocarbon minerals or other pollutants and shall be liable for all damages to aquatic or marine life, wildlife, birds, and any public or private property.
Typical exceptions to this provision include if that prohibited discharge or other polluting condition was the result of any of the following: (a) Act of War, (b) an act of government, either federal, state, or local; (c) an act of God, which shall be construed to mean an unforeseeable act exclusively occasioned by the violence of nature without the intervention of any human agency; or (d) an act of omission of a third party.
The lessee will have to maintain compliance with requirements of such permits and approvals associated with the Leased Area and to maintain compliance with all federal, state, and local laws. Lessee shall not knowingly permit or suffer any nuisances or illegal operations of any kind on the Leased Area.
Any unlawful activity which occurs on the Leased Area or in conjunction with the use of the Leased Area, shall be grounds for the termination of this Lease by the state.
Conecuh County has a population of just 11,271 and has been in decline since it peaked in 1940 at 25,429 in 1940. Covington County has a population of 37,530 – down from a peak of 42,417 in 1940.
Despite the ongoing effort to decrease emissions, oil and gas remain major sources of energy in this country and are likely to remain economically important for decades to come. The United States has vast reserves of recoverable oil, gas, and coal – enough to power this country for the next one hundred years.
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