Royalty.
Article 65
ART. 65. Royalty.—Exploitation concessionaires shall pay to the Government a royalty which shall not be less than twelve and one half per cent of the petroleum produced and saved, less that consumed in the operations of the concessionaire in the working of such Exploitation Concession: Provided, That natural gas returned to the formation shall not be subject to royalty. The royalty paid to the Government on petroleum or Natural gas produced from the date commercial production is started, from well or wells within the radius of one kilometer from any discovered, located, registered and petroleum natural deposit or seep or natural gas , shall be deducted by ten per cent thereof, which shall be due and payable to the discoverer of the J natural deposit or seep or gas emanation: Provided, That the petroleum natural deposit or seep or gas emanation is not covered by another discovery previously registered in the Bureau of Mines: And provided, further, the discovery and location are made and registered prior to the date of the granting of an Exploration Exploitation Concession, covering the area where petroleum natural deposit or seep or gas emanation was discovered. The discoverer shall mark the point of discovery with prominent and permanent object and with a placard stat- ing the name of the discovery, the name of the discoverer and the date of discovery and location, within a period thirty days from the date of the discovery or, if discovered before the approval of this Act, within thirty days after such approval. Declaration of discovery and location describing specif-ically the facts and circumstances of the discovery, and containing such other matters as may be required by the Director of Mines, shall be prepared under oath by the locator or discoverer who shall register the same in the office of the Bureau of Mines, Manila, within ninety days from the date of location. The Director of Mines shall register such declaration upon payment of the registration fee of ten pesos and submittal of a sample of the oil or natural gas discovered. All discoveries not duly declared and registered within the period herein set forth, shall be considered as having been abandoned by the discoverer, The rights acquired by the discoverer shall be based on actual discovery, followed by registration within the period provided for in this article. The rights of the discoverer to his discovery shall expire ten years after the date registration: Provided, however, That if within the said period an Exploration or Exploitation Concession is grant covering the oil seeps or natural deposits or natural gas emanations discovered, the rights of the discoverer shall be deemed to continue from the date the Exploration or Exploitation Concession is granted until ten years the date commercial production is first started from well or wells within the discovery area.