§ 563. Abandonment of oil and gas interests; preservation
(a) An abandoned interest in oil and gas shall revert to and merge with the surface estate
from which it was severed.
(b) An interest in oil and gas is deemed abandoned at any time that:
(1) it has been unused for a continuous period of 10 years after July 1, 1973; and
(2) no statement of interest under subsection (e) of this section has been filed at any
time within the preceding five years.
(c) The provisions of subsection (b) of this section shall not apply to any interest in
oil or gas that has been retained by the owner who originally severed the mineral
estate from the surface estate, notwithstanding that other interests in the land,
including ownership of the surface, may have been sold, leased, mortgaged, or otherwise
transferred.
(d) This section applies to all interests in oil and gas. It also applies to interests
in other minerals if created inclusively in the same instrument that expressly creates
an oil and gas interest. It does not apply to mineral interests that do not expressly
include an oil and gas interest or were intended to be separate from an oil and gas
interest.
(e) An interest in oil and gas is deemed used at any time in which:
(1) there is actual production of oil or gas, including production from lands covered
by a lease to which an oil and gas interest is subject, or from lands pooled or unitized
with such lands;
(2) oil and gas operations are conducted under the terms of the instrument creating the
oil and gas interest;
(3) payment is made of rental or royalties for the purpose of delaying the use or continuing
the use of the oil and gas interest;
(4) payment of taxes is made on the oil and gas interest; or
(5) there exists a currently valid permit under 10 V.S.A. chapter 151 or a currently valid
drilling permit under this chapter for development of the oil and gas interest.
(f) The owner of an interest in oil or gas may file a statement of interest in the land
records of any municipality in which the land affected is located. The statement shall
include a description of the land affected, the nature of the interest claimed, the
book and page of recording of the original grant of the interest, and the name and
address of the person claiming the interest.
(g) The owner of the surface estate from which an oil and gas interest was severed may
give notice of abandonment under this subsection. Notice shall contain the name of
the record owner of the interest; a description of the land and the nature of the
interest; the book and page of filing of the interest, if it is filed; the name and
address of the person giving notice; and a statement that the interest is presumed
abandoned. The notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in
the town or towns where the land affected is located. If the address of the owner
of the oil and gas interest is shown on record, a copy of the notice shall be mailed
to that address by certified or registered mail within 10 days after the date of publication.
(h) A copy of the notice under subsection (g) of this section, and an affidavit, may be
filed in the land records of the municipality in which the land is located. The affidavit
shall state that the oil or gas interest has been abandoned under the criteria set
forth in subsection (b) of this section, and that notice of abandonment has been given
under the criteria set forth in subsection (g) of this section. After the notice and
affidavit have been filed, unless a court finds to the contrary, the oil and gas interest
shall be presumed abandoned, and the interest of the surface owner shall be presumed
for all purposes free of encumbrance from that interest. (Added 2023, No. 161 (Adj. Sess.), § 36, eff. June 6, 2024.)