Emboldened

BLM Reviewing ‘Split Estate’ Rules on Surface, Subsurface Rights

Westerners from Montana to New Mexico appear emboldened by a new Wyoming law giving more rights to property owners, and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is now reviewing longstanding “split estate” rules, where the surface rights are privately owned but the subsurface rights are publicly held. The issue is of particular concern in the Rocky Mountain states, where coalbed methane (CBM) exploration is expanding, and property owners see their land rights diminishing.

January 3, 2006

Exxon Mobil Shareholder Groups Call for Separation of CEO, Chair Positions

Perhaps emboldened with shakeups in corporate board rooms across the country, some Exxon Mobil Corp. shareholders have called for the roles of chairman and chief executive officer to be separated. Lee Raymond has held the dual roles since Exxon and Mobil merged in November 1999; he had held both roles at Exxon before the merger.

February 26, 2003