I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1517 

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to make certain adjustments to the 

fiscal terms for fossil fuel development and to make other reforms to 

improve returns to taxpayers for the development of Federal energy 

resources, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 2, 2021 

Ms. PORTER (for herself, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. LOWENTHAL) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to make certain adjustments to the fiscal terms for fossil fuel development 

and to make other reforms to improve returns to taxpayers for the development of Federal energy resources, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ending Taxpayer Wel5 fare for Oil and Gas Companies Act of 2021’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is the following: 


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Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Onshore fossil fuel royalty rates. 

Sec. 4. Minimum bid amount. 

Sec. 5. Onshore oil and gas rental rates. 

Sec. 6. Inspection fee. 

Sec. 7. Penalties. 

Sec. 8. Royalty relief. 

Sec. 9. Royalty in kind. 

Sec. 10. Amendments to definitions. 

Sec. 11. Compliance reviews. 

Sec. 12. Liability for royalty payments. 

Sec. 13. Recordkeeping. 

Sec. 14. Adjustments and refunds. 

Sec. 15. Obligation period. 

Sec. 16. Tolling agreements and subpoenas. 

Sec. 17. Appeals. 

Sec. 18. Assessments. 

Sec. 19. Pilot project on automatic data transfer. 

Sec. 20. Penalty for late or incorrect reporting of data. 

Sec. 21. Required recordkeeping for natural gas plants. 

Sec. 22. Shared penalties. 

Sec. 23. Applicability to other minerals. 

Sec. 24. Entitlements. 

Sec. 25. Royalties on all extracted methane. 

1 SEC. 3. ONSHORE FOSSIL FUEL ROYALTY RATES. 

2 The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) in section 7— 

(A) by striking ‘‘121 5 ⁄2’’ and inserting 

6 ‘‘18.75’’; and 

7 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(d) PERIODIC EVALUATION OF ROYALTY RATES.— 

9 The Secretary shall establish a periodic process of evalu10 ating increases in royalty rates to achieve a fair market 

11 value return for the public. The process should include: 

12 ‘‘(1) publishing annually the average, weighted 

13 by relative production per State, of the top fossil 


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1 fuel royalty rates charged by States for fossil fuels 

2 production on State-owned public lands; 

3 ‘‘(2) evaluating triennially increases in the Fed4 eral fossil fuel royalty rates above the minimum 

5 rates required under this Act to match the produc6 tion-weighted average of State royalty rates. The tri7 ennial review shall include and benefit from public 

8 participation through written comment, public hear9 ings and other meetings open to all interested par10 ties; and 

11 ‘‘(3) submitting the triennial evaluation to Con12 gress, including a summary of the views expressed in 

13 the public participation processes related to the eval14 uation.’’. 

15 (2) in section 17, by— 

16 (A) striking ‘‘12.5’’ each place such term 

17 appears and inserting ‘‘18.75’’; and 

(B) striking ‘‘121 18 ⁄2’’ each place such term 

19 appears and inserting ‘‘18.75’’; and 

(3) in section 31(e), by striking ‘‘162 20 ⁄3’’ both 

21 places such term appears and inserting ‘‘25’’. 

22 SEC. 4. MINIMUM BID AMOUNT. 

23 Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

24 226) is amended— 

25 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘$2 per acre’’ and insert2 ing ‘‘$5 per acre, except as otherwise provided 

3 by this paragraph’’; and 

4 (B) by striking ‘‘Federal Onshore Oil and 

5 Gas Leasing Reform Act of 1987’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘Ending Taxpayer Welfare for Oil and Gas 

7 Companies Act of 2021’’; 

8 (2) in subsection (b)(2)(C), by striking ‘‘$2 per 

9 acre’’ and inserting ‘‘$5 per acre’’; and 

10 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(q) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary 

12 shall— 

13 ‘‘(1) by regulation, at least once every 4 years, 

14 adjust each of the dollar amounts that apply under 

15 subsections (b)(1)(B), (b)(2)(C), and (d) to reflect 

16 the change in the Consumer Price Index for All 

17 Urban Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor 

18 Statistics; and 

19 ‘‘(2) publish each such regulation in the Fed20 eral Register.’’. 

21 SEC. 5. ONSHORE OIL AND GAS RENTAL RATES. 

22 The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is 

23 amended— 

24 (1) in section 17(d)— 


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1 (A) by striking ‘‘$1.50 per acre’’ and in2 serting ‘‘$3 per acre’’; and 

3 (B) by striking ‘‘$2 per acre’’ and insert4 ing ‘‘$5 per acre’’; and 

5 (2) in section 31(e), by striking ‘‘$10’’ and in6 serting ‘‘$20’’. 

7 SEC. 6. INSPECTION FEE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 108 of the Federal Oil 

9 and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 

10 1718) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

11 ‘‘(d) INSPECTION FEE.— 

12 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The designated operator 

13 under each oil and gas lease on Federal or Indian 

14 lands, or each unit and communitization agreement 

15 that includes one or more such Federal or Indian 

16 leases, that is subject to inspection under subsection 

17 (b) and that is in force at the start of fiscal year 

18 2021, shall pay a nonrefundable inspection fee in an 

19 amount that, except as provided in paragraph (2), is 

20 established by the Secretary by regulation and is 

21 sufficient to recover the full costs incurred by the 

22 United States for inspection and enforcement with 

23 respect to such leases. 


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1 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—Until the effective date of reg2 ulations under paragraph (1), the amount of the fee 

3 shall be— 

4 ‘‘(A) $700 for each lease or unit or 

5 communitization agreement with no active or 

6 inactive wells, but with surface use, disturbance 

7 or reclamation; 

8 ‘‘(B) $1,225 for each lease or unit or 

9 communitization agreement with 1 to 10 wells, 

10 with any combination of active or inactive wells; 

11 ‘‘(C) $4,900 for each lease or unit or 

12 communitization agreement with 11 to 50 wells, 

13 with any combination of active or inactive wells; 

14 and 

15 ‘‘(D) $9,800 for each lease or unit or 

16 communitization agreement with more than 50 

17 wells, with any combination of active or inactive 

18 wells. 

19 ‘‘(3) DUE DATE.—Payment of the fee under 

20 this section shall be due not later than 30 days after 

21 the Secretary provides notice of the assessment of 

22 the fee. 

23 ‘‘(4) PENALTY.—If the designated operator 

24 fails to pay the full amount of the fee as prescribed 

25 in this section, the Secretary may, in addition to utiVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:15 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1517.IH H1517

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1 lizing any other applicable enforcement authority, 

2 assess civil penalties against the operator under sec3 tion 109 in the same manner as if this section were 

4 a mineral leasing law.’’. 

5 (b) ASSESSMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020.—The Sec6 retary of the Interior shall assess the fee under the amend7 ment made by subsection (a) for fiscal year 2020, and pro8 vide notice of such assessment to each designated operator 

9 who is liable for such fee, by not later than 60 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 7. PENALTIES. 

12 (a) MINERAL LEASING ACT.—Section 41 of the Min13 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 195) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘$500,000’’ 

15 and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000’’; and 

16 (2) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘$100,000’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘$250,000’’. 

18 (b) FEDERAL OIL AND GAS ROYALTY MANAGEMENT

19 ACT OF 1982.—The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man20 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is amend21 ed— 

22 (1) in section 109— 

23 (A) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘$500’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘$1,500’’; 


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1 (B) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘$5,000’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘$15,000’’; 

3 (C) in subsection (c), by striking 

4 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

5 (D) in subsection (d), by striking 

6 ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$75,000’’; and 

7 (2) in section 110, by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and 

8 inserting ‘‘$150,000’’. 

9 (c) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.— 

10 (1) CIVIL PENALTY, GENERALLY.—Section 

11 24(b) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

12 U.S.C. 1350(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(b) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para15 graph (2), any person who fails to comply with any 

16 provision of this Act, or any term of a lease, license, 

17 or permit issued pursuant to this Act, or any regula18 tion or order issued under this Act, shall be liable 

19 for a civil administrative penalty of not more than 

20 $75,000 for each day of the continuance of such fail21 ure. The Secretary may assess, collect, and com22 promise any such penalty. 

23 ‘‘(2) OPPORTUNITY FOR A HEARING.—No pen24 alty shall be assessed until the person charged with 


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1 a violation has been given an opportunity for a hear2 ing. 

3 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—The Sec4 retary shall, by regulation at least every 3 years, ad5 just the penalty specified in this paragraph to reflect 

6 any increases in the Consumer Price Index (all 

7 items, United States city average) as prepared by 

8 the Department of Labor. 

9 ‘‘(4) THREAT OF HARM.—If a failure described 

10 in paragraph (1) constitutes or constituted a threat 

11 of harm or damage to life, property, any mineral de12 posit, or the marine, coastal, or human environment, 

13 a civil penalty of not more than $150,000 shall be 

14 assessed for each day of the continuance of the fail15 ure.’’. 

16 (2) KNOWING AND WILLFUL VIOLATIONS.—Sec17 tion 24(c) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

18 (43 U.S.C. 1350(c)) is amended by striking 

19 ‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000’’. 

20 (3) OFFICERS AND AGENTS OF CORPORA21 TIONS.—Section 24(d) of the Outer Continental 

22 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1350(d)) is amended by 

23 striking ‘‘knowingly and willfully authorized, or24 dered, or carried out’’ and inserting ‘‘authorized, orVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:15 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1517.IH H1517

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1 dered, carried out, or through reckless disregard of 

2 the law caused’’. 

3 SEC. 8. ROYALTY RELIEF. 

4 (a) GULF OF MEXICO ROYALTY RELIEF.—The fol5 lowing provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

6 U.S.C. 15801 et seq.) are hereby repealed: 

7 (1) Section 344 (42 U.S.C. 15904) (relating to 

8 incentives for natural gas production from deep wells 

9 in the shallow waters of the Gulf of Mexico). 

10 (2) Section 345 (42 U.S.C. 15905) (relating to 

11 royalty relief for deep water production). 

12 (b) ALASKA ROYALTY RELIEF.— 

13 (1) PROVISIONS RELATING TO PLANNING AREAS

14 OFFSHORE ALASKA.—Section 8(a)(3)(B) of the 

15 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

16 1337(a)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘and in the 

17 Planning Areas offshore Alaska’’ after ‘‘West lon18 gitude’’. 

19 (2) PROVISIONS RELATING TO NAVAL PETRO20 LEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA.—Section 107 of the 

21 Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 

22 (42 U.S.C. 6506a) is amended— 

23 (A) in subsection (i)— 

24 (i) by striking ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking paragraphs (2) 

2 through (6); and 

3 (B) by striking subsection (k). 

4 SEC. 9. ROYALTY IN KIND. 

5 (a) ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE ROYALTIES.— 

6 Section 36 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 192) 

7 is amended by inserting ‘‘, except that the Secretary may 

8 not demand such payment in oil or gas if the amount of 

9 such payment would exceed the amount necessary to fill 

10 the strategic petroleum reserve’’ after ‘‘in oil or gas’’. 

11 (b) OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE ROYALTIES.— 

12 Section 27(a)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

13 (43 U.S.C. 1353(a)) is amended by striking the period at 

14 the end and inserting ‘‘, except that the Secretary may 

15 not demand such payment in oil or gas if the amount of 

16 such payment would exceed the amount necessary to fill 

17 the strategic petroleum reserve.’’. 

18 SEC. 10. AMENDMENTS TO DEFINITIONS. 

19 Section 3 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man20 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1702) is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (20)(A), by striking ‘‘: Pro22 vided, That’’ and all that follows through ‘‘subject of 

23 the judicial proceeding’’; 


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1 (2) in paragraph (20)(B), by striking ‘‘(with 

2 written notice to the lessee who designated the des3 ignee)’’; 

4 (3) in paragraph (23)(A), by striking ‘‘(with 

5 written notice to the lessee who designated the des6 ignee)’’; 

7 (4) by amending paragraph (24) to read as fol8 lows: 

9 ‘‘(24) ‘designee’ means a person who pays, off10 sets, or credits monies, makes adjustments, requests 

11 and receives refunds, or submits reports with respect 

12 to payments a lessee must make pursuant to section 

13 102(a);’’; 

14 (5) in paragraph (25), in subparagraph (B)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘(subject to the provisions 

16 of section 102(a) of this Act)’’; and 

17 (B) in clause (ii), by striking subclause 

18 (IV) and all that follows through the end of the 

19 subparagraph and inserting the following: 

20 ‘‘(IV) any assignment, 

21 that arises from or relates to any lease, 

22 easement, right-of-way, permit, or other 

23 agreement regardless of form administered 

24 by the Secretary for, or any mineral leas25 ing law related to, the exploration, producVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:15 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1517.IH H1517

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1 tion, and development of oil and gas or 

2 other energy resource on Federal lands or 

3 the Outer Continental Shelf;’’; 

4 (6) in paragraph (29), by inserting ‘‘or permit’’ 

5 after ‘‘lease’’; and 

6 (7) by striking ‘‘and’’ after the semicolon at the 

7 end of paragraph (32), by striking the period at the 

8 end of paragraph (33) and inserting a semicolon, 

9 and by adding at the end the following new para10 graphs: 

11 ‘‘(34) ‘compliance review’ means an examina12 tion of a lessee’s lease accounts to compare one or 

13 all elements of the royalty equation (volume, value, 

14 royalty rate, and allowances) against anticipated ele15 ments of the royalty equation to test for variances; 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(35) ‘marketing affiliate’ means an affiliate of 

18 a lessee whose function is to acquire the lessee’s pro19 duction and to market that production.’’. 

20 SEC. 11. COMPLIANCE REVIEWS. 

21 Section 101 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man22 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1711) is amended by 

23 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

24 ‘‘(d) The Secretary may, as an adjunct to audits of 

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1 counts. Such reviews shall not constitute nor substitute 

2 for audits of lease accounts. The Secretary shall imme3 diately refer any disparity uncovered in such a compliance 

4 review to a program auditor. The Secretary shall, before 

5 completion of a compliance review, provide notice of the 

6 review to designees whose obligations are the subject of 

7 the review.’’. 

8 SEC. 12. LIABILITY FOR ROYALTY PAYMENTS. 

9 Section 102(a) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

10 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1712(a)) is amended 

11 to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘(a) LIABILITY FOR ROYALTY PAYMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) TIME AND MANNER OF PAYMENT.—In 

14 order to increase receipts and achieve effective col15 lections of royalty and other payments, a lessee who 

16 is required to make any royalty or other payment 

17 under a lease, easement, right-of-way, permit, or 

18 other agreement, regardless of form, or under the 

19 mineral leasing laws, shall make such payment in 

20 the time and manner as may be specified by the Sec21 retary or the applicable delegated State. 

22 ‘‘(2) DESIGNEE.—Any person who pays, offsets, 

23 or credits monies, makes adjustments, requests and 

24 receives refunds, or submits reports with respect to 


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1 payments the lessee must make is the lessee’s des2 ignee under this Act. 

3 ‘‘(3) LIABILITY.—Notwithstanding any other 

4 provision of this Act, a designee shall be liable for 

5 any payment obligation of any lessee on whose be6 half the designee pays royalty under the lease. The 

7 person owning operating rights in a lease and a per8 son owning legal record title in a lease shall be liable 

9 for that person’s pro rata share of payment obliga10 tions under the lease.’’. 

11 SEC. 13. RECORDKEEPING. 

12 Section 103(b) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

13 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1713(b)) is amended 

14 by striking ‘‘6’’ and inserting ‘‘7’’. 

15 SEC. 14. ADJUSTMENTS AND REFUNDS. 

16 Section 111A of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

17 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1721a) is amend18 ed— 

19 (1) in subsection (a)— 

20 (A) by amending paragraph (3) to read as 

21 follows: 

22 ‘‘(3)(A) An adjustment or a request for a re23 fund for an obligation may be made after the adjust24 ment period only upon written notice to and ap25 proval by the Secretary or the applicable delegated 


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1 State, as appropriate, during an audit of the period 

2 which includes the production month for which the 

3 adjustment is being made. 

4 ‘‘(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), 

5 no adjustment may be made with respect to an obli6 gation after the completion of an audit or compli7 ance review of such obligation unless such adjust8 ment is approved by the Secretary or the applicable 

9 delegated State, as appropriate. 

10 ‘‘(C) If an overpayment is identified during an 

11 audit, the Secretary shall allow a credit in the 

12 amount of the overpayment.’’; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘six-year’’ and insert15 ing ‘‘four-year’’; and 

16 (ii) by striking ‘‘period shall’’ and in17 serting ‘‘period may’’; and 

18 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 

19 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

20 ‘‘and’’; 

21 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking the 

22 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

23 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(E) is made within the adjustment period 

25 for that obligation.’’. 


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1 SEC. 15. OBLIGATION PERIOD. 

2 Section 115(c) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

3 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1724(c)) is amended 

4 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS.—In the case of an adjust6 ment under section 111A(a) in which a recoupment 

7 by the lessee results in an underpayment of an obli8 gation, the obligation becomes due on the date the 

9 lessee or its designee makes the adjustment.’’. 

10 SEC. 16. TOLLING AGREEMENTS AND SUBPOENAS. 

11 (a) TOLLING AGREEMENTS.—Section 115(d)(1) of 

12 the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 

13 (30 U.S.C. 1724(d)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(with no14 tice to the lessee who designated the designee)’’. 

15 (b) SUBPOENAS.—Section 115(d)(2)(A) of the Fed16 eral Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 

17 U.S.C. 1724(d)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘(with no18 tice to the lessee who designated the designee, which notice 

19 shall not constitute a subpoena to the lessee)’’. 

20 SEC. 17. APPEALS. 

21 Section 115(h) of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

22 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1724(h)) is amend23 ed— 

24 (1) in paragraph (1), in the heading, by strik25 ing ‘‘33-MONTH’’ and inserting ‘‘48-MONTH’’; 


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1 (2) by striking ‘‘33 months’’ each place it ap2 pears and inserting ‘‘48 months’’; and 

3 (3) by striking ‘‘33-month’’ each place it ap4 pears and inserting ‘‘48-month’’. 

5 SEC. 18. ASSESSMENTS. 

6 Section 116 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man7 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1724) is repealed. 

8 SEC. 19. PILOT PROJECT ON AUTOMATIC DATA TRANSFER. 

9 (a) PILOT PROJECT.—Not later than 2 years after 

10 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the 

11 Interior shall complete a pilot project with willing opera12 tors of oil and gas leases on the outer Continental Shelf 

13 (as such term is defined in the Outer Continental Shelf 

14 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.)) that assesses the 

15 costs and benefits of automatic transmission of data re16 garding the volume and quality of oil and gas produced 

17 under Federal leases on the outer Continental Shelf in 

18 order to improve the production verification systems used 

19 to ensure accurate royalty collection and audit. 

20 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to Con21 gress a report on findings and recommendations based on 

22 the pilot project not later than 3 years after the date of 

23 enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 20. PENALTY FOR LATE OR INCORRECT REPORTING 

2 OF DATA. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior shall 

4 issue regulations by not later than 1 year after the date 

5 of enactment of this Act that establish a civil penalty for 

6 late or incorrect reporting of data under the Federal Oil 

7 and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 

8 1701 et seq.). 

9 (b) AMOUNT.—The amount of the civil penalty shall 

10 be— 

11 (1) an amount (subject to paragraph (2)) that 

12 the Secretary determines is sufficient to ensure filing 

13 of data in accordance with that Act; and 

14 (2) not less than $10 for each failure to file 

15 correct data in accordance with that Act. 

16 (c) CONTENT OF REGULATIONS.—Except as provided 

17 in subsection (b), the regulations issued under this section 

18 shall be substantially similar to section 216.40 of title 30, 

19 Code of Federal Regulations, as most recently in effect 

20 before the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 21. REQUIRED RECORDKEEPING FOR NATURAL GAS 

22 PLANTS. 

23 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

24 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall publish final 

25 regulations with respect to required recordkeeping of nat26 ural gas measurement data as set forth in section 


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1 250.1203 of title 30, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 

2 effect on the date of enactment of this Act), to include 

3 operators and other persons involved in the transporting, 

4 purchasing, or selling of gas under the requirements of 

5 that rule, under the authority provided in section 103 of 

6 the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 

7 (30 U.S.C. 1713). 

8 SEC. 22. SHARED PENALTIES. 

9 Section 206 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man10 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1736) is amended by 

11 striking ‘‘Any payments under this section shall be re12 duced by an amount equal to any payments provided or 

13 due to such State or Indian tribe under the cooperative 

14 agreement or delegation, as applicable, during the fiscal 

15 year in which the civil penalty is received, up to the total 

16 amount provided or due for that fiscal year.’’. 

17 SEC. 23. APPLICABILITY TO OTHER MINERALS. 

18 Section 304 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man19 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1753) is amended by 

20 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

21 ‘‘(e) APPLICABILITY TO OTHER MINERALS.— 

22 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

23 law, sections 107, 109, and 110 of this Act and the 

24 regulations duly promulgated with respect thereto 

25 shall apply to any lease authorizing the development 


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1 of coal or any other solid mineral on any Federal 

2 lands or Indian lands, to the same extent as if such 

3 lease were an oil and gas lease, on the same terms 

4 and conditions as those authorized for oil and gas 

5 leases. 

6 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

7 law, sections 107, 109, and 110 of this Act and the 

8 regulations issued under such sections shall apply 

9 with respect to any lease, easement, right-of-way, or 

10 other agreement, regardless of form (including any 

11 royalty, rent, or other payment due thereunder)— 

12 ‘‘(A) under section 8(k) or 8(p) of the 

13 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

14 1337(k) and 1337(p)); or 

15 ‘‘(B) under the Geothermal Steam Act (30 

16 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), to the same extent as if 

17 such lease, easement, right-of-way, or other 

18 agreement were an oil and gas lease on the 

19 same terms and conditions as those authorized 

20 for oil and gas leases. 

21 ‘‘(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the 

22 term ‘solid mineral’ means any mineral other than 

23 oil, gas, and geo-pressured-geothermal resources, 

24 that is authorized by an Act of Congress to be pro25 duced from public lands (as that term is defined in 


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1 section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage2 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)).’’. 

3 SEC. 24. ENTITLEMENTS. 

4 (a) DIRECTED RULEMAKING.—Not later than 180 

5 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

6 of the Interior shall publish final regulations prescribing 

7 when a Federal lessee or designee must report and pay 

8 royalties on— 

9 (1) the volume of oil and gas such lessee or des10 ignee produces or takes under a Federal lease or In11 dian lease; or 

12 (2) the volume of oil and gas that such lessee 

13 or designee is entitled to based on its ownership in14 terest under a unitization agreement for Federal 

15 leases or Indian leases. 

16 (b) 100 PERCENT ENTITLEMENT REPORTING AND

17 PAYING.—The Secretary shall give consideration to re18 quiring 100 percent entitlement reporting and paying 

19 based on Federal or Indian oil and gas lease ownership. 

20 SEC. 25. ROYALTIES ON ALL EXTRACTED METHANE. 

21 (a) ASSESSMENT ON ALL PRODUCTION.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para23 graph (2), royalties otherwise authorized or required 

24 under the mineral leasing laws (as that term is de25 fined in the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty ManageVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:15 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00022 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1517.IH H1517

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1 ment Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)) to be 

2 paid for gas shall be assessed on all gas produced 

3 under the mineral leasing laws, including— 

4 (A) gas used or consumed within the area 

5 of the lease tract for the benefit of the lease; 

6 and 

7 (B) all gas that is consumed or lost by 

8 venting, flaring, or fugitive releases through any 

9 equipment during upstream operations. 

10 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

11 apply with respect to— 

12 (A) gas vented or flared for not longer 

13 than 48 hours in an acute emergency situation 

14 that poses a danger to human health; and 

15 (B) gas injected into the ground on a lease 

16 tract in order to enhance production of an oil 

17 or gas well or for some other purpose. 

18 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (1) MINERAL LEASING ACT.—The Mineral 

20 Leasing Act is amended— 

21 (A) in section 14 (30 U.S.C. 223), by add22 ing at the end the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding 

23 any other provision of this Act (including this 

24 section), royalty shall be assessed with respect 

25 to oil and gas, other than gas described in secVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:15 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1517.IH H1517

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1 tion 124(a)(2) of the Ending Taxpayer Welfare 

2 for Oil and Gas Companies Act of 2021, with3 out regard to whether oil or gas is removed or 

4 sold from the leased land.’’; 

5 (B) in section 17 (30 U.S.C. 226), by 

6 striking ‘‘removed or sold’’ each place it ap7 pears; 

8 (C) in section 22 (30 U.S.C. 251), by 

9 striking ‘‘sold or removed’’; and 

10 (D) in section 31 (30 U.S.C. 188), by 

11 striking ‘‘removed or sold’’ each place it ap12 pears. 

13 (2) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.— 

14 The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act is amend15 ed— 

16 (A) in section 6(a)(8) (43 U.S.C. 

17 1335(a)(8)), by striking ‘‘saved, removed, or 

18 sold’’ each place it appears; and 

19 (B) in section 8(a) (43 U.S.C. 1337(a))— 

20 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking 

21 ‘‘saved, removed, or sold’’ each place it ap22 pears; and 

23 (ii) by adding at the end the fol24 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(9) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

2 this Act (including this section), royalty under this 

3 Act shall be assessed with respect to oil and gas, 

4 other than gas described in section 124(a)(2) of the 

5 Ending Taxpayer Welfare for Oil and Gas Compa6 nies Act of 2021, without regard to whether oil or 

7 gas is removed or sold from the leased land.’’. 

8 (c) APPLICATION.—The provisions of this section and 

9 the amendments made by this section shall apply only with 

10 respect to leases issued on or after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act. 

Æ 


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