25 U.S.C. § 398 — Leases of unallotted lands for oil and gas mining purposes

This section applies to unallotted land on Indian reservations. It does not apply to lands of the Five Civilized Tribes or the Osage Reservation. If this land could already be leased for ten years of mining under section 397, the Secretary of the Interior may instead lease it for oil and gas mining. The Secretary must first get the consent of the council that speaks for the Indians who own an interest in the land. This kind of lease happens at public auction. The lease can run for up to ten years. It can run even longer than that, for as long as oil or gas keeps being found in quantities that can be sold at a profit ("paying quantities"). The Secretary can extend an existing oil and gas lease's term the same way — as long as oil or gas keeps being found in paying quantities. The state where the land sits may tax the oil, gas, and other minerals produced there. It can tax this production the same way it taxes production on land without these restrictions. The state may also tax the share of bonuses, rentals, and royalties that go to the Indians. The Secretary of the Interior must make sure this tax gets paid out of that royalty share. But this tax can never become a lien or a legal claim against the land itself, or against any other property the Indian owner has.