The issue in this case is whether the New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission (OCC) properly denied two Applications for Permits to Drill (APDs) oil and gas wells in Eddy County, New Mexico. The APDs are filed by Bass Enterprises Production Company ("Bass") and Devon Energy Production Company, L.P. ("Devon") (collectively, "Applicants") and are opposed by Mosaic Potash Carlsbad, Inc. ("Mosaic"). Under the Oil and Gas Act ("Act"), the OCC is charged with preventing the waste of potash resources and oil and gas resources. Specifially, the OCC may regulate the drilling of oil and gas wells. Pursuant to this power, the OCC adopts Order No. R-l 11-P, in which it defines a geographical area called the "Potash Area" and establishes rules pertaining to potash development and oil and gas development within that area. This area is to be "coterminous" with the "Known Potash Leasing Area" (KPLA), which is defined by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The OCC notes in its order previous confusion regarding boundaries of potash leasing areas and that the oil and gas industry and the potash industry have demonstrated a "lack of tolerance" in areas where both industries have interests. The OCC determined that a system is needed to prevent overlapping extraction of resources because oil and gas production can release methane into a potash mine, which would endanger the lives of miners and would make further mining uneconomic because expensive safety upgrades would be required for the mines to remain compliant under the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). Order No. R-lll-P is based on an agreed compromise by both industries that creates a process for prohibiting oil and gas drilling in areas where doing so would waste potash. Under the agreement, potash operators relinquish lower grade marginal or uneconomic ore deposits in return for protecting their higher grade ore deposits, and oil and gas operators obtained the opportunity to drill into lands that contain sub-economic potash ore deposits.
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机译：本案中的问题是，新墨西哥州石油保护委员会（OCC）是否正确拒绝了新墨西哥州埃迪县的两口油气井钻探许可申请（APD）。 APD由Bass Enterprises Production Company（“ Bass”）和Devon Energy Production Company，L.P.（“ Devon”）（统称为“申请人”）提交，并遭到Mosaic Potash Carlsbad，Inc。（“ Mosaic”）的反对。根据《石油和天然气法》（“该法”），OCC负责防止钾盐资源和石油和天然气资源的浪费。具体而言，OCC可能会规范油气井的钻探。根据这一权力，OCC采纳了第R-1-11-P号命令，该命令定义了一个称为“钾肥区”的地理区域，并建立了与该地区钾肥开发以及油气开发有关的规则。该区域与土地管理局（BLM）定义的“钾肥租赁区”（KPLA）“相邻”。 OCC在其命令中指出了先前对钾盐租赁地区边界的困惑，并且油气行业和钾盐行业在这两个行业都感兴趣的领域表现出“缺乏容忍”。 OCC确定需要一个系统来防止资源的重复开采，因为石油和天然气生产会将甲烷释放到钾盐矿中，这将危及矿工的生命，并使进一步开采变得不经济，因为需要对矿井进行昂贵的安全升级遵守矿山安全与健康管理局（MSHA）的规定。订单号R-III-P是基于两个行业达成的一项妥协协议，该协议规定了禁止在可能浪费钾肥的地区进行石油和天然气开采的流程。根据该协议，钾肥经营者放弃了较低品位的边际或非经济矿石矿床，以换取保护其较高品位的矿床，而石油和天然气经营者获得了钻探含有次经济钾盐矿床的土地的机会。
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