OCR Text |
Show Liberal Terms Extended in View of Difficulties Encountered Encoun-tered in Far North WASHINGTON, April 14. To encourage en-courage prospectors seeking oil and gas in Alaska, Secretary Payne has Issued new regulations covering the appropriation of the public domain for that purpose in the territory which give much more liberal terms than are extended in the United States proper. No royalty will be required for five years, unless wells producing more than 100 barrels of petroleum a day royalty will be five per cent of production. pro-duction. After five years a per cent royalty will be imposed upon production produc-tion oh government land and after ten years the royalty will bo increased to ten per cent. The prospector will be allowed, however, to use one-fourth of the area he leases from the government royalty roy-alty free no matter how much oil It produces. Secretary Payne explained in issuing issu-ing the regulations lhat the terms were lightened in view of the hard conditions which oil developers will have to face. Territory where oil indications in-dications are found is located 200 miles inside of the Arctic circle. Rentals on gas, if any, be produced are not fixed, but will bo prescribed in each lease issued. nn |