NM oil & gas well bonds.
5% of the bond amount. From $100.
New Mexico requires every operator who drills, acquires, or produces an oil, gas, injection, or other service well to furnish financial assurance to the Oil Conservation Division (OCD) of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, conditioned that the well be plugged, abandoned, and the location restored, under NMSA 1978 § 70-2-14 and 19.15.8 NMAC. A surety bond is one of the accepted forms alongside a letter of credit, cash bond, or plugging insurance policy. Premiums cost 5% of the bond amount, $100 minimum. The application includes a credit consent, but it authorizes a soft pull only — a soft inquiry that never affects your score.
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Apply to filed in one sitting.
The financial assurance itself is simple to put in place once you know your amount. Enter it, consent to a soft pull, and file with the Division. Here is the whole thing:
Apply online
Your operator details, the well or lease the assurance covers, the amount your OCD filing requires, and the effective date — plus a one-time credit consent that authorizes a soft pull only.
Approved
Most financial assurance amounts in this range clear right away; the soft pull informs approval and never touches your score. Larger blanket amounts may get a brief underwriter review.
File with the Division
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email, ready to file with the OCD Santa Fe office to satisfy your well-plugging financial assurance. Wet-ink originals mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the OCD financial assurance actually guarantees
New Mexico conditions the right to drill, acquire, or produce an oil, gas, injection, or other service well on financial assurance running to the state of New Mexico, held by the Oil Conservation Division (OCD) of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department. Under NMSA 1978 § 70-2-14, the assurance is conditioned that the well be plugged and abandoned, and the location restored and remediated, in compliance with Division rules — it is not a fund for surface damage, livestock, or crop claims.
A surety bond is one of several accepted forms — an irrevocable letter of credit, a well-specific plugging insurance policy, and a cash bond are the others. Under 19.15.8.9 NMAC, an individual active well runs $25,000 plus $2 per foot of depth; blanket bonds for active wells scale from $50,000 (1–10 wells) up to $250,000 (more than 100 wells), with higher blanket tiers for wells classified temporarily abandoned. The Division sets which category and amount apply to your wells.
The assurance stays in force until the Division releases it — generally once the covered wells are plugged, abandoned, and the location restored and remediated per 19.15.8.12 NMAC, or replaced with approved substitute assurance. Enter the amount your filing requires; we price the bond at 5% of that figure, $100 minimum, after a one-time credit consent that authorizes a soft pull only.
You need this bond if you are
One application, then a quick review.
Submit the application with the financial assurance amount your OCD filing requires and a one-time credit consent authorizing a soft pull only. Larger blanket amounts may get a brief underwriter review.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other New Mexico bonds.
File your OCD financial assurance today.
5% of the bond amount, $100 minimum, soft pull only. Enter your amount and see your exact price at application.