New Mexico Republicans opposing pause on oil and gas leases
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SANTA FE, N.M. (KRQE) – Debate is brewing over how New Mexico should manage some of its prime tracts of land. Recently the State Land Office announced they wouldn’t open any new leases on several hundred acres of land, but some state leaders are pushing back.
“Not only are millions of dollars of lease revenues going to be lost due to the commissioner’s action, but she has opened the door to potential unintended consequences that could reduce future lease bids for these ‘best tracts’ which could have a negative effect on workers and local communities who depend upon oil and natural gas exploration for their economic well-being,” Representative Rod Montoya (R-San Juan) said in a press release.
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New Mexico earns billions of dollars from the oil and gas industry – and that money supports everything from education to lawmaker clerks. But recently, the New Mexico Secretary of State has been putting limits on how much land is up for extraction. Earlier this month, State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard said some Permian Basin tracts would not go up for new leases, arguing that the state wasn’t getting enough money for the land.
“New Mexico wasn’t charging top dollar for a resource that is valued higher,” Commissioner Garcia Richard said in a previous KRQE story. The decision came after lawmakers failed to pass legislation that would have increased the royalty rate.
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Now, four Republican politicians have sent a letter to Garcia Richards, claiming she has placed “personal public policy goals” over the best interests of the state. The Republicans – Rep. Jim Townsend (R-Chaves, Eddy, and Otero Counties), Rep. Larry Scott (R-Lea), Rep. Rod Montoya (R-San Juan), and Rep. Jared Hembree (R-Chaves) – estimate the moratorium on new leases for the tracts of land could mean $10 million in lost revenue by Fiscal Year 2026.
In response, New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands Stephanie Garcia Richard sent the following statement: “New Mexico’s school kids shouldn’t be subsidizing the multibillion-dollar oil industry. I feel very comfortable putting a pause on leasing the ‘best-of-best’ tracts in the short term when we can earn billions of dollars for our schools and other institutions in the long run. I’d ask legislators who have reached out to me why they continue to put oil companies ahead of our state’s school children and their families at a time when oil companies are reporting billions in profits in the Permian Basin. As the person responsible for raising revenue for schools and other institutions from state lands, I think choosing billions over millions is a pretty easy decision. I look forward to working with the legislature at the next opportunity to raise New Mexico’s top royalty rate to 25%, the same rate charged in New Mexico on private lands and just over the border in Texas.”
