[quote=moneymaker]If it is public property that the oil is under then it should belong to the people and sold at market price to whoever is willing to bring it up out of the ground. If private property then the pool belongs to the people who own the property above it. Since it is a poor country best thing is to bring the oil up out of the ground as quickly as possible so that the wealth can be used for the good of the owners of the land and spread to others. Money is like manure, it is only good if you spread it around.[/quote]

I’m sure you’re aware of this, in California (and most of US) you do not want any valuable minerals found under your land. The mineral rights are held separately and their right to extract supersede your right to use the land above. Technically they have to return it in similar condition but years and latent pollution….