OCR Text |
Show Federal Court To Study Oil Lease Issue In Roosevelt Pool For the second time the Unit-" ed States Federal Court will take under advisement the controversial con-troversial issue of unit leasing "agreements at the Roosevelt Pool, located in the Leeton-Ben-nett area. Re-hearing on the case was concluded last Wednesday, Wed-nesday, Nov. 18. Second arguments on the case were heard by Judge Willis W. Ritter Tuesday. No date for return of the justice's decision was set. Earlier Judge Ritter had sustained defendants in the case, but since a judgment never nev-er was . formally entered, the second argument was allowed. The controversy includes some 30-odd individual cases, in which Phillips Petroleum Company Com-pany seeks to have lands in the Uintah - Duchesne County oil field committed to a unit plan of development. Phillips Company claims that lease agreements made with ranchers and other land owners in the area provided for such procedure. Defendants say that the unit agreement modifies andor nullifies the original lease signed with Phillips. The defendants further claim that the lease is void or in any event, does not commit the landowner to join the unit program. pro-gram. Observers feel that the standard stan-dard leasing form now used widely in the oil industry is at stake in the proceedings. |