§ 1721. Royalty terms and conditions, interest, and penalties

(a) Charge on late royalty payment or royalty payment deficiency

In the case of oil and gas leases where royalty payments are not received by the Secretary on the date that such payments are due, or are less than the amount due, the Secretary shall charge interest on such late payments or underpayments at the rate applicable under section 6621 of title 26. In the case of an underpayment or partial payment, interest shall be computed and charged only on the amount of the deficiency and not on the total amount due.

(b) Charge on late payment made by Secretary to States

Any payment made by the Secretary to a State under section 191 of this title and any other payment made by the Secretary to a State from any oil or gas royalty received by the Secretary which is not paid on the date required under section 191 of this title shall include an interest charge computed at the rate applicable under section 6621 of title 26.

All interest charges collected under this chapter or under other applicable laws because of nonpayment, late payment or underpayment of royalties due and owing an Indian tribe or an Indian allottee shall be deposited to the same account as the royalty with respect to which such interest is paid.

(d) Charge on late deposit of royalty fund to an Indian account

Any deposit of royalty funds made by the Secretary to an Indian account which is not made by the date required under section 1714 of this title shall include an interest charge computed at the rate applicable under section 6621 of title 26.

(e) Nonliability of States for Secretary’s failure to comply with the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973 or regulations thereunder

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no State will be assessed for any interest or penalties found to be due against the Secretary for failure to comply with the Emergency Petroleum Allocation Act of 1973 [15 U.S.C. 751 et seq.] or regulation of the Secretary of Energy thereunder concerning crude oil certification or pricing with respect to crude oil taken by the Secretary in kind as royalty. Any State share of an overcharge, resulting from such failure to comply, shall be assessed against moneys found to be due and owing to such State as a result of audits of royalty accounts for transactions which took place prior to January 12, 1983, except that if after the completion of such audits, sufficient moneys have not been found due and owing to any State, the State shall be assessed the balance of that State’s share of the overcharge.

(f) Limitation on interest charged

Interest shall be charged under this section only for the number of days a payment is late.

(g) Omitted

(h) Lessee or designee interest

Interest shall be allowed and paid or credited on any overpayment, with such interest to accrue from the date such overpayment was made, at the rate obtained by applying the provisions of subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 6621 (a)(1) of title 26, but determined without regard to the sentence following subparagraph (B) of section 6621 (a)(1). Interest which has accrued on any overpayment may be applied to reduce an underpayment. This subsection applies to overpayments made later than six months after August 13, 1996, or September 1, 1996, whichever is later. Such interest shall be paid from amounts received as current receipts from sales, bonuses, royalties (including interest charges collected under this section) and rentals of the public lands and the Outer Continental Shelf under the provisions of the Mineral Leasing Act [30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.], and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act [43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.], which are not payable to a State or the Reclamation Fund. The portion of any such interest payment attributable to any amounts previously disbursed to a State, the Reclamation Fund, or any other recipient designated by law shall be deducted from the next disbursements to that recipient made under the applicable law. Such amounts deducted from subsequent disbursements shall be credited to miscellaneous receipts in the Treasury.

(i) Limitation on interest

Upon a determination by the Secretary that an excessive overpayment (based upon all obligations of a lessee or its designee for a given reporting month) was made for the sole purpose of receiving interest, interest shall not be paid on the excessive amount of such overpayment. For purposes of this chapter, an “excessive overpayment” shall be the amount that any overpayment a lessee or its designee pays for a given reporting month (excluding payments for demands for obligations determined to be due as a result of judicial or administrative proceedings or agreed to be paid pursuant to settlement agreements) for the aggregate of all of its Federal leases exceeds 10 percent of the total royalties paid that month for those leases.

(j) Estimated payment

A lessee or its designee may make a payment for the approximate amount of royalties (hereinafter in this subsection “estimated payment”) that would otherwise be due for such lease by the date royalties are due for that lease. When an estimated payment is made, actual royalties are payable at the end of the month following the month in which the estimated payment is made. If the estimated payment was less than the amount of actual royalties due, interest is owed on the underpaid amount. If the estimated payment exceeds the actual royalties due, interest is owed on the overpayment. If the lessee or its designee makes a payment for such actual royalties, the lessee or its designee may apply the estimated payment to future royalties. Any estimated payment may be adjusted, recouped, or reinstated at any time by the lessee or its designee.

(k) Volume allocation of oil and gas production

(1) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection—

(A) a lessee or its designee of a lease in a unit or communitization agreement which contains only Federal leases with the same royalty rate and funds distribution shall report and pay royalties on oil and gas production for each production month based on the actual volume of production sold by or on behalf of that lessee;

(B) a lessee or its designee of a lease in any other unit or communitization agreement shall report and pay royalties on oil and gas production for each production month based on the volume of oil and gas produced from such agreement and allocated to the lease in accordance with the terms of the agreement; and

(C) a lessee or its designee of a lease that is not contained in a unit or communitization agreement shall report and pay royalties on oil and gas production for each production month based on the actual volume of production sold by or on behalf of that lessee.

(2) This subsection applies only to requirements for reporting and paying royalties. Nothing in this subsection is intended to alter a lessee’s liability for royalties on oil or gas production based on the share of production allocated to the lease in accordance with the terms of the lease, a unit or communitization agreement, or any other agreement.

(3) For any unit or communitization agreement if all lessees contractually agree to an alternative method of royalty reporting and payment, the lessees may submit such alternative method to the Secretary or the delegated State for approval and make payments in accordance with such approved alternative method so long as such alternative method does not reduce the amount of the royalty obligation.

(4) The Secretary or the delegated State shall grant an exception from the reporting and payment requirements for marginal properties by allowing for any calendar year or portion thereof royalties to be paid each month based on the volume of production sold. Interest shall not accrue on the difference for the entire calendar year or portion thereof between the amount of oil and gas actually sold and the share of production allocated to the lease until the beginning of the month following such calendar year or portion thereof. Any additional royalties due or overpaid royalties and associated interest shall be paid, refunded, or credited within six months after the end of each calendar year in which royalties are paid based on volumes of production sold. For the purpose of this subsection, the term “marginal property” means a lease that produces on average the combined equivalent of less than 15 barrels of oil per well per day or 90 thousand cubic feet of gas per well per day, or a combination thereof, determined by dividing the average daily production of crude oil and natural gas from producing wells on such lease by the number of such wells, unless the Secretary, together with the State concerned, determines that a different production is more appropriate.

(5) Not later than two years after August 13, 1996, the Secretary shall issue any appropriate demand for all outstanding royalty payment disputes regarding who is required to report and pay royalties on production from units and communitization agreements outstanding on August 13, 1996, and collect royalty amounts owed on such production.

(l) Production allocation

The Secretary shall issue all determinations of allocations of production for units and communitization agreements within 120 days of a request for determination. If the Secretary fails to issue a determination within such 120-day period, the Secretary shall waive interest due on obligations subject to the determination until the end of the month following the month in which the determination is made.

U.S. Code

§ 1721. Royalty terms and conditions, interest, and penalties