New Mexico Statutes 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:
Terms Used In New Mexico Statutes 56-7-2
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
- Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. Source: FDIC
(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 [N.M. Stat. Ann. Chapter 52, Article 1].