SIERRA VISTA — Gusher State wants to lease and develop the Bisbee/Douglas International Airport for oil and-or gas exploration.
The Sierra Vista Herald says a land researcher from Gusher told the Cochise County Board of Supervisors that the company has been leasing mineral rights for $1 per acre annually for properties along Highway 191 from Elfrida to Douglas.
The airport’s 2,640 acres sits in the area where the company plans to begin exploration in Sulphur Springs Valley.
Nine wells have been pumping in northeast Arizona’s Dineh-Be-Keyah field since 1967.
Gusher State currently has leased the mineral rights to more than 100,000 public and private acres.
If oil were to be found on any of that acreage, the company says owners would then be entitled to a one-eighth royalty per barrel.
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