{"data":{"id":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-53.3","jurisdiction":"us-ok","citation":"Okla. Stat. tit. 17, § 17-53.3","heading":"Abandoned oil and gas well-site equipment - State lien","body":"A. The State of Oklahoma shall have a lien upon any abandoned\n\noil and gas well-site equipment situated upon a lease site,\n\nincluding but not limited to production and storage structures,\n\nalong with their contents, in an amount equal to the cost of\n\nplugging all wells associated with said lease and restoring the\n\nsite. The lien created by this act shall attach only to abandoned\n\noil and gas well-site equipment located on or affixed to an oil or\n\ngas well which has been or is required to be plugged, replugged or\n\nrepaired by rules of the Commission.\n\nB. Well-site equipment is presumed abandoned if:\n\n1. For longer than one (1) year, the well has shown no activity\n\nin terms of production, injection, disposal or testing, and has not\n\notherwise been maintained in compliance with plugging rules; and\n\n2. a. the last operator of record is without valid surety as\n\nrequired by Section 318.1 of Title 52 of the Oklahoma\n\nStatutes and cannot be located by the Corporation\n\nCommission after diligent search, or\n\nb. the last operator of record has plugging liability in\n\nexcess of the amount of such operator's surety as\n\nfiled with the Corporation Commission.\n\nThe presumption of abandonment shall apply only for purposes of the\n\nlien created herein and shall have no effect upon the term,\n\nduration, or continued existence of any property or contract right\n\nin the premises.\n\nC. The lien created by this section shall be perfected against\n\nthe equipment when notice of the lien is filed in the office of the\n\ncounty clerk of the county or counties where the equipment is\n\nsituated. Upon receipt, the county clerk shall record the notice in\n\nthe tract index and in the mechanic's lien journal. The notice\n\nshall contain a description of each item upon which a lien is\n\nclaimed, and a legal description of the site upon which the\n\nequipment is situated.\n\nD. The lien provided for in this section shall be subject to\n\nall prior perfected liens.\n\nE. The lien created by this section shall be assignable by the\n\nCorporation Commission.\n\nFor purposes of this act the term \"abandoned well\" shall mean\n\nthose wells that are described and listed in a report published by\n\nthe Corporation Commission identifying oil or gas wells which have\n\nbeen determined to be abandoned or orphaned by the Corporation\n\nCommission as a result of bankruptcy, inability to find the owner,\n\nor for other reasons.","path":["OK Code","Title 17"],"source_url":"https://www.oklegislature.gov/OK_Statutes/CompleteTitles/os17.pdf","current_through":"2026-08-14","vintage":"open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-14","retrieved_at":"2026-09-14T18:32:36Z","sha256":"8f1991033835e3181f82f500c19074949a7ddb071f452e05aea64a631c4a8007","source_id":"us-ok","stale":false,"prev":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-53.2","next":"us-ok/okla.-stat.-tit.-17-17-54"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}