estate (a) Oil and Gas Permits Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 226 ) (as amended by section 20212(b)) is further amended by adding at the end the following: (v) No Federal permit required for oil and gas activities on certain land (1) In general The Secretary shall not require an operator to obtain a Federal drilling permit for oil and gas exploration and production activities conducted on non-Federal surface estate, provided that— (A) the United States holds an ownership interest of less than 50 percent of the subsurface mineral estate to be accessed by the proposed action