Officials from Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas said about two-thirds of the record amounts of oil production in New Mexico comes from production on federal land. Oil production in the state comes from lands where private, state, federal or Native American tribes control the mineral rights. Most production on the Permian portion of New Mexico was on private and state lands in the 2000s. But production on federal lands started to grow with shale production and exceeded private and state lands by 2015. Federal lands account for about one-third of New Mexico’s land mass.
The three officials said in the report March 24 that two factors account for expansion of production on federal lands – greater well productivity and an increasing number of completions. They said in 2019 that 51 percent of wells placed online on the New Mexico side of the Permian were on federal lands, but that increased to nearly 69 percent in 2023.
New Mexico’s legislative finance committee said aggregate tax receipts from oil and gas totaled about $11.3 billion for 12 months that ended June 30, 2024 – $10.5 billion for the state and $0.8 billion for local governments. The general fund, land grant permanent fund, severance tax permanent fund and early childhood trust fund are the primary recipients. Of the early childhood program, state Senator John Arthur Smith said, “The riches (they’re) seeing from the oil boom in the Permian have provided … a remarkable opportunity.”
The Federal Reserve report also said New Mexico has the third largest state permanent fund behind Alaska and Texas.
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