Draft Oil and Gas Bonding Rule

Background: The New Mexico State Land Office (NMSLO) has begun formal rulemaking on a proposed rule to update bonding requirements for oil and gas development on state trust lands. The draft rule intends to provide more adequate financial assurances to mitigate the risk of abandoned oil and gas wells and any damage to state trust lands that may occur during oil and gas operations.

On October 23, 2025, the NMSLO released a pre-publication discussion draft to informally receive public input regarding its oil and gas bonding rule. The NMSLO held stakeholder meetings in Santa Fe on November 6 and 12, 2025, in Hobbs on November 14, 2025, and in Farmington on November 17, 2025. In developing the proposed rule, the NMSLO considered the comments received on the pre-publication discussion draft during the stakeholder group meetings.

The NMSLO has now started the formal rulemaking process to hear from the public on the draft rule. The draft rule is available for download below and was posted to the New Mexico Sunshine Portal and published in the New Mexico Register on April 7, 2026, in accordance with state law.

Public Hearing

The NMSLO will host a public hearing on the proposed bonding rule:

May 27-28, 2026 at 9:00 a.m. (and continuing thereafter as necessary)
New Mexico State Land Office, Morgan Hall, Room 101
310 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87501
Zoom option will be made available

Individuals with disabilities who require this information in an alternative format or need any form of auxiliary aid (such as a sign language interpreter) to attend or participate in any aspect of the proposed rulemaking process or the public rule hearing are asked to contact Selena Romero at least 10 days prior to the hearing by phone at (505) 827-5790 or by email at sromero@nmslo.gov.

Public Comments

Written public comments may be emailed to info@nmslo.gov by 11:59 p.m. MT on May 26, 2026.

Documents for Download