6/10/2015

56-7-2. Oil, gas or water wells and mineral mines; agreements, covenants and promises to indemnify void. (2003) 

56-­7-­2.   Oil   ,   gas   or   water   wells   and   mineral   mines;;   agreements,   covenants   and   promises   to
indemnify  void.    
A.         An   agreement,   covenant   or   promise,   foreign   or   domestic,   contained   in,   collateral   to   or
affecting  an  agreement  pertaining  to  a  well  for  oil  ,  gas  or  water,  or  mine  for  a  mineral,  within  New
Mexico,  that  purports  to  indemnify  the  indemnitee  against  loss  or  liability  for  damages  arising  from
the  circumstances  specified  in  Paragraph  (1),  (2)  or  (3)  of  this  subsection  is  against  public  policy  and
is  void:      
(1)      the  sole  or  concurrent  negligence  of  the  indemnitee  or  the  agents  or  employees  of  the
indemnitee;;      
(2)         the   sole   or   concurrent   negligence   of   an   independent   contractor   who   is   directly
responsible  to  the  indemnitee;;  or      
(3)      an  accident  that  occurs  in  operations  carried  on  at  the  direction  or  under  the  supervision
of  the  indemnitee,  an  employee  or  representative  of  the  indemnitee  or  in  accordance  with  methods
and  means  specified  by  the  indemnitee  or  employees  or  representatives  of  the  indemnitee.      
B.      As  used  in  this  section,  "agreement  pertaining  to  a  well  for  oil  ,  gas  or  water,  or  mine  for  a
mineral"  means  an  agreement:      
(1)         concerning   any   operations   related   to   drilling,   deepening,   reworking,   repairing,
improving,   testing,   treating,   perforating,   acidizing,   logging,   conditioning,   altering,   plugging   or
otherwise   rendering   services   in   connection   with   a   well   drilled   for   the   purpose   of   producing   or
disposing  of  oil  ,  gas  or  other  minerals  or  water;;      
(2)      for  rendering  services  in  connection  with  a  mine  shaft,  drift  or  other  structure  intended
for  use  in  the  exploration  for  or  production  of  a  mineral;;  or      
(3)         to   perform   a   portion   of   the   work   or   services   described   in   Paragraph   (1)   or   (2)   of   this
subsection  or  an  act  collateral  thereto.      
C.      A  provision  in  an  insurance  contract  indemnity  agreement  naming  a  person  as  an  additional
insured  or  a  provision  in  an  insurance  contract  or  any  other  contract  requiring  a  waiver  of  rights  of
subrogation   or   otherwise   having   the   effect   of   imposing   a   duty   of   indemnification  on   the   primary
insured  party  that  would,  if  it  were  a  direct  or  collateral  agreement  described  in  Subsections  A  and  B
of  this  section,  be  void,  is  against  public  policy  and  void.      
D.      Nothing  in  this  section:      
(1)      deprives  an  owner  of  the  surface  estate  of  the  right  to  secure  indemnity  from  a  lessee,
operator,   contractor   or   other   person   conducting   operations   for   the   exploration   of   minerals   on   the
owner's  land;;  or      
(2)      affects  the  validity  of  a  benefit  conferred  by  the  Workers'  Compensation  Act  [Chapter
52,  Article  1  NMSA  1978].      
    History:  1953  Comp.,  §  28-­2-­2,  enacted  by  Laws  1971,  ch.  205,  §  1;;  1999,  ch.  162,  §  1;;  2003,
ch.  309,  §  2;;  2003,  ch.  421,  §  2.  

http://public.nmcompcomm.us/nmpublic/gateway.dll/nmsa1978/stat/ch56/20395/20397?f=templates$fn=document-frame.htm$3.0$q=%5Band%3Aindemnification%…

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