Compulsory pooling, title work, and working interest dilution are top-of-mind for landmen operating in New Mexico’s oil and gas sector. Attorney Ben Holliday and president of Dudley Land and veteran landman Brent Broussard break down how New Mexico’s federal and state-led land system drives the pooling and unitization process, radically different from Texas’s contract-driven model. They outline how the prevalence of state and BLM leases creates a highly regimented, statute-based system where nearly every horizontal well faces a compulsory pooling order, enforced through public hearings and risk penalties.

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Ben draws examples from Lea and Eddy County to show how generational working interests, layered title chains, and legacy HBP leases combine to create unpredictable ownership puzzles. The discussion covers why New Mexico’s system produces a liquid market for non-operated working interest buyers, often because mom-and-pop operators can’t survive the 200% risk penalties or capitalize on massive multi-section unit developments.

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Actionable takeaways for land professionals: Grasp New Mexico’s compulsory pooling process, from voluntary request to regulatory hearing; anticipate the elevated risk and complexity for working interest owners in multi-lateral projects; and understand the economics underpinning non-op interest consolidation. Whether you’re title checking a federal lease, navigating JOA terms, or structuring partner agreements, this practitioner-led breakdown provides essential clarity for anyone operating in the Permian, Delaware, or greater Rockies basins right now.