The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1961-05-19

the water.
STATE LANDS-A
REVENUE SOURCE
Mons Tiegen, newly appointed
Commissioner of State Lands, pointed
to his department as a revenue-earn-
ing agency which provides funds for
education. These funds come from
three sources: land leasing (oil, min
eral, grazing and agricultural) land
sales, and income off land depart
ment investments.
The big bulk of the departments
leasing revenues, Tiegen said, come
from agricultural and oil leases. Ag-
ricultural leases for the year ending
last June 80 brought in $1,426,-
998.889 on 487,381 acres under
lease. Grazing leases, with almost
nine times as many acres under lease
-4,212, 1853 brought in about half
as much, or $737, 544.65. Agricultural
leases yielded the state 1928 an acre.
Grazing leases brought in TN cents
an acre. (This year grazing lease
revenue will drop sharply because
of lack of legislative action, and will
bring in an estimated 1851, 000.-
Editor) Oil leases for the. year end
ing last June 80 brought in more
than $335,5OO and royalties for the
School Permanent Fund, another
$617,OOO.
The new commissioner also said
that his department handles over
$42 million in investments in various
kind of public bonds-school dis
tricts, etc.
His department last year super
vised over 5000 leases. The staff
was 10 full time employees and some
part time during harvest season. The
department operates on a budget Of
1923, OOO-or IA per cent of total
revenue earned by it's operations.
OIL SINCE 1915
Mr.. Nicely of the Oil & Gas Com
mission said the coil and gas problem
first started in Montana in 1915 when
oil was discovered ;" In 1917 the
legislature put authority over the
new industry in two boards. The Oil
BOARD. headquartered in Great Falls,
was put in charge of statistics, trans
portation problems and storage. The
Railroad Commission was given au-
thority over production, drilling, etc.
In 1863 the present conservation
commission was established. Among
it's responsibilities are: recording of
logs of wells drilled, accounting on
all OIL production, control over waste,
spacing, water injection, determining
gas and oil to water ratios, disposal
of salt water in such a manner to
safeguard underground and surface
water supplies, etc. The commission
holds hearings on these various mat
ter before determining a course of
action to be taken.
In 1857 the commission, by legis-
lative order, took over the School
of Mines petroleum laboratory at
Billings. which tests core drillings,
samplings and cuttings of various
nature There is one petroleum engi- /
neer and geologist, one inspector, one
stenographer and two to five part
time college student helpers at the
lab which is located on the campus
of Eastern Montana College.
Oil, Nicely said, is an increasing
ly important Montana raw product
and he listed its increasing value
over the past Is years. In 1945,
he said, the state produced s.5 mil
lion barrels with value of $9.9
million; in 1850, 100000 barrels
valued at 500 million; in 1855,
I5,654,OOO barrels, with worth
of $35, 300,O00, and in 1860, 3d.
100000 barrels valued at $72,-
$4,000.
In Is years, he said, the oil product
has increased in value over seven
times. On top of the $72.7 million
last year, there was over
$40 million spent on drilling, ex-
ploration, wages, supplies, etc.
Nicely said his agency is Sin con-
slant reorganization by Legislative
act''. and they twill look at any re-
consolidation propos-
ais with open minds :"
20 SOu CONSERVATION