The Ledger

On May 20 the Bureau of Land Management held the largest oil and gas lease sale in its history, nearly all of it in Lea and Eddy counties. What the bidding says about the Delaware Basin, who the three landlords of southeastern New Mexico are, and why the sale is only the first entry in the record.

Read or listen to the full issue, every claim tied to a numbered source: https://archiveledger.com/ledger/001

The Ledger, No. 001 · Part II of III · Of Record. A first entry. The well that made southeastern New Mexico, the four-billion-dollar afternoon that just re-leased it, and the oilfield tools now being pointed at a resource under every county: heat.

The Ledger is Archive's publication on land and energy, of record. Three parts per issue: Chain of Title looks back, Of Record is what is being filed now, Future Interests is what will be.

Chapters

0:00 Of Record: four billion dollars on 33,530 acres

1:32 Who bought what

2:20 Why here, why now: 819 million barrels

3:13 Policy: 12.5 percent federal, 25 percent state

4:36 Three landlords in one township

5:27 A lease sale is a beginning, not an end

Listen

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ledger/id6806858601

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The Ledger is an editorial publication of Archive Ledger, Inc. Illustrations are generated artwork directed and reviewed by the publication; charts, numbers and narration are the issue's own. No sponsors, no paid placements. It is not legal advice, and it is not a title opinion.

In April 1924 a cable-tool rig outside Artesia found oil at 2,013 feet on a state school section. The well made a town, a family and a permanent fund, and its paperwork is where every title in southeastern New Mexico still begins.

Read or listen to the full issue, every claim tied to a numbered source: https://archiveledger.com/ledger/001

The Ledger, No. 001 · Part I of III · Chain of Title. A first entry. The well that made southeastern New Mexico, the four-billion-dollar afternoon that just re-leased it, and the oilfield tools now being pointed at a resource under every county: heat.

The Ledger is Archive's publication on land and energy, of record. Three parts per issue: Chain of Title looks back, Of Record is what is being filed now, Future Interests is what will be.

Chapters

0:00 This is The Ledger

1:16 Drill there: the Illinois Number Three, 1924

2:59 Woman's Intuition

3:41 Before the oil, a chain of title above it

5:49 Federal minerals: the Stock-Raising Homestead Act

6:40 Hogback, Hobbs and the Lea County boom

9:17 What the boom left in the clerk's office

Listen

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/77fb0WyzglXByVokaASKdt

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-ledger/id6806858601

Archive: https://archiveledger.com

X: https://x.com/archive_ledger

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/archive_ledger

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/archiveledger

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61593495299524

The Ledger is an editorial publication of Archive Ledger, Inc. Illustrations are generated artwork directed and reviewed by the publication; charts, numbers and narration are the issue's own. No sponsors, no paid placements. It is not legal advice, and it is not a title opinion.