The Mineral Leasing Act (1920) makes public lands available for leasing only to citizens of the United States, associations of such citizens, or corporations organised under the laws of the United States, with respect to acquiring rights of way for oil pipelines, or leases or interests therein for mining coal, oil or certain other minerals. Non-US citizens may, however, own a 100 per cent interest in a US corporation that acquires a right-of-way for oil or gas pipelines across onshore federal lands, or that acquires a lease to develop mineral resources on  on-shore  federal  lands,  unless  the  foreign  investor's  home  country  denies  similar  or  like privileges for the mineral or access in question to US citizens or corporations, as compared with  the  privileges  it  accords  to  its  own  citizens  or  corporations  or  to  the  citizens  or corporations of other countries. 
"§181. Lands subject to disposition; persons entitled to benefits; reciprocal privileges; helium rights reserved
Deposits of coal, phosphate, sodium, potassium, oil, oil shale, gilsonite (including all vein-type solid hydrocarbons), or gas, and lands containing such deposits owned by the United States, including those in national forests, but excluding lands acquired under the Appalachian Forest Act, approved March 1, 1911 (36 Stat. 961), and those in incorporated cities, towns, and villages and in national parks and monuments, those acquired under other Acts subsequent to February 25, 1920, and lands within the naval petroleum and oil-shale reserves, except as hereinafter provided, shall be subject to disposition in the form and manner provided by this chapter to citizens of the United States, or to associations of such citizens, or to any corporation organized under the laws of the United States, or of any State or Territory thereof, or in the case of coal, oil, oil shale, or gas, to municipalities. Citizens of another country, the laws, customs, or regulations of which deny similar or like privileges to citizens or corporations of this country, shall not by stock ownership, stock holding, or stock control, own any interest in any lease acquired under the provisions of this chapter.
The term "oil" shall embrace all nongaseous hydrocarbon substances other than those substances leasable as coal, oil shale, or gilsonite (including all vein-type solid hydrocarbons).
[...]
§185. Rights-of-way for pipelines through Federal lands
(a) Grant of authority
Rights-of-way through any Federal lands may be granted by the Secretary of the Interior or appropriate agency head for pipeline purposes for the transportation of oil, natural gas, synthetic liquid or gaseous fuels, or any refined product produced therefrom to any applicant possessing the qualifications provided in section 181 of this title in accordance with the provisions of this section.[...]" (Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. current through Pub. L. 117-49), §§ 181 and 185)
Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. current through Pub. L. 117-49), §§ 181 and 185
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