IB 

Union Calendar No. 455 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1517 

[Report No. 117–632] 

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 

DECEMBER 14, 2022 

Additional sponsors: Mr. CLEAVER, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, 

Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. COHEN, Mr. WELCH, Mr. LEVIN of 

California, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. CASTEN, Ms. 

JAYAPAL, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. MCNERNEY, Mr. QUIGLEY, and Ms. MATSUI

DECEMBER 14, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 2, 2021] 


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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. 


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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: 

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. 

8 SEC. 3. ONSHORE FOSSIL FUEL ROYALTY RATES. 

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

10 amended— 

11 (1) in section 7— 

(A) by striking ‘‘121 12 ⁄2’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘18.75’’; and 

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


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

2 The Secretary shall establish a periodic process of evalu3 ating increases in royalty rates to achieve a fair market 

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

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

6 by relative production per State, of the top fossil fuel 

7 royalty rates charged by States for fossil fuels produc8 tion on State-owned public lands; 

9 ‘‘(2) evaluating triennially increases in the Fed10 eral fossil fuel royalty rates above the minimum rates 

11 required under this Act to match the production12 weighted average of State royalty rates. The triennial 

13 review shall include and benefit from public partici14 pation through written comment, public hearings and 

15 other meetings open to all interested parties; and 

16 ‘‘(3) submitting the triennial evaluation to Con17 gress, including a summary of the views expressed in 

18 the public participation processes related to the eval19 uation.’’. 

20 (2) in section 17, by— 

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

22 appears and inserting ‘‘18.75’’; and 

(B) striking ‘‘121 23 ⁄2’’ each place such term 

24 appears and inserting ‘‘18.75’’; and 


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(3) in section 31(e), by striking ‘‘162 1 ⁄3’’ both 

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

3 SEC. 4. MINIMUM BID AMOUNT. 

4 Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) 

5 is amended— 

6 (1) in subsection (b)(1)(B)— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘$2 per acre’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘$10 per acre, except as otherwise provided by 

9 this paragraph’’; and 

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

11 Gas Leasing Reform Act of 1987’’ and inserting 

12 ‘‘Ending Taxpayer Welfare for Oil and Gas 

13 Companies Act of 2021’’; 

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

15 acre’’ and inserting ‘‘$10 per acre’’; and 

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

17 ‘‘(q) INFLATION ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary shall— 

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

19 adjust each of the dollar amounts that apply under 

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

21 change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban 

22 Consumers published by the Bureau of Labor Statis23 tics; and 

24 ‘‘(2) publish each such regulation in the Federal 

25 Register.’’. 


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

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

3 amended— 

4 (1) in section 17(d)— 

5 (A) by striking ‘‘$1.50 per acre’’ and insert6 ing ‘‘$3 per acre’’; and 

7 (B) by striking ‘‘$2 per acre’’ and inserting 

8 ‘‘$5 per acre’’; and 

9 (2) in section 31(e), by striking ‘‘$10’’ and in10 serting ‘‘$20’’. 

11 SEC. 6. INSPECTION FEE. 

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

13 Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1718) is 

14 amended by adding at the end the following: 

15 ‘‘(d) INSPECTION FEE.— 

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

17 under each oil and gas lease on Federal or Indian 

18 lands, or each unit and communitization agreement 

19 that includes one or more such Federal or Indian 

20 leases, that is subject to inspection under subsection 

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

22 2021, shall pay a nonrefundable inspection fee in an 

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

24 established by the Secretary by regulation and is suf25 ficient to recover the full costs incurred by the United 


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1 States for inspection and enforcement with respect to 

2 such leases. 

3 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—Until the effective date of regula4 tions under paragraph (1), the amount of the fee shall 

5 be— 

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

7 communitization agreement with no active or in8 active wells, but with surface use, disturbance or 

9 reclamation; 

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

11 communitization agreement with 1 to 10 wells, 

12 with any combination of active or inactive wells; 

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

14 communitization agreement with 11 to 50 wells, 

15 with any combination of active or inactive wells; 

16 and 

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

18 communitization agreement with more than 50 

19 wells, with any combination of active or inactive 

20 wells. 

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

22 section shall be due not later than 30 days after the 

23 Secretary provides notice of the assessment of the fee. 

24 ‘‘(4) PENALTY.—If the designated operator fails 

25 to pay the full amount of the fee as prescribed in this 


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1 section, the Secretary may, in addition to utilizing 

2 any other applicable enforcement authority, assess 

3 civil penalties against the operator under section 109 

4 in the same manner as if this section were a mineral 

5 leasing law. 

6 ‘‘(5) EXEMPTION FOR TRIBAL OPERATORS.—An 

7 operator that is a Tribe or is controlled by a Tribe 

8 is not subject to paragraph (1) with respect to a lease, 

9 unit, or communitization agreement that is located 

10 entirely on the lands of such Tribe.’’. 

11 (b) ASSESSMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020.—The Sec12 retary of the Interior shall assess the fee under the amend13 ment made by subsection (a) for fiscal year 2020, and pro14 vide notice of such assessment to each designated operator 

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

16 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 7. PENALTIES. 

18 (a) MINERAL LEASING ACT.—Section 41 of the Min19 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 195) is amended— 

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

21 inserting ‘‘$1,000,000’’; and 

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

23 inserting ‘‘$250,000’’. 


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1 (b) FEDERAL OIL AND GAS ROYALTY MANAGEMENT

2 ACT OF 1982.—The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Manage3 ment Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is amended— 

4 (1) in section 109— 

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

6 and inserting ‘‘$1,500’’; 

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

8 and inserting ‘‘$15,000’’; 

9 (C) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘$10,000’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘$25,000’’; and 

11 (D) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘$25,000’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘$75,000’’; and 

13 (2) in section 110, by striking ‘‘$50,000’’ and in14 serting ‘‘$150,000’’. 

15 (c) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.— 

16 (1) CIVIL PENALTY, GENERALLY.—Section 24(b) 

17 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

18 1350(b)) is amended to read as follows: 

19 ‘‘(b) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

20 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para21 graph (2), any person who fails to comply with any 

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

23 or permit issued pursuant to this Act, or any regula24 tion or order issued under this Act, shall be liable for 

25 a civil administrative penalty of not more than 


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1 $75,000 for each day of the continuance of such fail2 ure. The Secretary may assess, collect, and com3 promise any such penalty. 

4 ‘‘(2) OPPORTUNITY FOR A HEARING.—No penalty 

5 shall be assessed until the person charged with a vio6 lation has been given an opportunity for a hearing. 

7 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—The Sec8 retary shall, by regulation at least every 3 years, ad9 just the penalty specified in this paragraph to reflect 

10 any increases in the Consumer Price Index (all items, 

11 United States city average) as prepared by the De12 partment of Labor. 

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

14 in paragraph (1) constitutes or constituted a threat 

15 of harm or damage to life, property, any mineral de16 posit, or the marine, coastal, or human environment, 

17 a civil penalty of not more than $150,000 shall be as18 sessed for each day of the continuance of the failure.’’. 

19 (2) KNOWING AND WILLFUL VIOLATIONS.—Sec20 tion 24(c) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

21 (43 U.S.C. 1350(c)) is amended by striking 

22 ‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000’’. 

23 (3) OFFICERS AND AGENTS OF CORPORATIONS.— 

24 Section 24(d) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands 

25 Act (43 U.S.C. 1350(d)) is amended by striking 


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1 ‘‘knowingly and willfully authorized, ordered, or car2 ried out’’ and inserting ‘‘authorized, ordered, carried 

3 out, or through reckless disregard of the law caused’’. 

4 SEC. 8. ROYALTY RELIEF. 

5 (a) GULF OF MEXICO ROYALTY RELIEF.—The fol6 lowing provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

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

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

9 incentives for natural gas production from deep wells 

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

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

12 royalty relief for deep water production). 

13 (b) ALASKA ROYALTY RELIEF.— 

14 (1) PROVISIONS RELATING TO PLANNING AREAS

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

16 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 

17 1337(a)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘and in the 

18 Planning Areas offshore Alaska’’ after ‘‘West lon19 gitude’’. 

20 (2) PROVISIONS RELATING TO NAVAL PETRO21 LEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA.—Section 107 of the Naval 

22 Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 (42 

23 U.S.C. 6506a) is amended— 

24 (A) in subsection (i)— 

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


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1 (ii) by striking paragraphs (2) through 

2 (6); and 

3 (B) by striking subsection (k). 

4 SEC. 9. ROYALTY IN KIND. 

5 (a) ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE ROYALTIES.—Sec6 tion 36 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 192) is 

7 amended by inserting ‘‘, except that the Secretary may not 

8 demand such payment in oil or gas if the amount of such 

9 payment would exceed the amount necessary to fill the stra10 tegic petroleum reserve’’ after ‘‘in oil or gas’’. 

11 (b) OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE ROYALTIES.—Sec12 tion 27(a)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

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

14 end and inserting ‘‘, except that the Secretary may not de15 mand such payment in oil or gas if the amount of such 

16 payment would exceed the amount necessary to fill the stra17 tegic petroleum reserve.’’. 

18 SEC. 10. AMENDMENTS TO DEFINITIONS. 

19 Section 3 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Manage20 ment 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 of 

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

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

18 and all that follows through the end of the sub19 paragraph 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 leasing 

25 law related to, the exploration, production, 


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1 and development of oil and gas or other en2 ergy resource on Federal lands or the Outer 

3 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, and 

9 by adding at the end the following new paragraphs: 

10 ‘‘(34) ‘compliance review’ means an examination 

11 of a lessee’s lease accounts to compare one or all ele12 ments of the royalty equation (volume, value, royalty 

13 rate, and allowances) against anticipated elements of 

14 the royalty equation to test for variances; and 

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

16 a lessee whose function is to acquire the lessee’s pro17 duction and to market that production.’’. 

18 SEC. 11. COMPLIANCE REVIEWS. 

19 Section 101 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man20 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1711) is amended by add21 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

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

23 accounts for leases, conduct compliance reviews of accounts. 

24 Such reviews shall not constitute nor substitute for audits 

25 of lease accounts. The Secretary shall immediately refer any 


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1 disparity uncovered in such a compliance review to a pro2 gram auditor. The Secretary shall, before completion of a 

3 compliance review, provide notice of the review to designees 

4 whose obligations are the subject of the review.’’. 

5 SEC. 12. LIABILITY FOR ROYALTY PAYMENTS. 

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

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

8 to read as follows: 

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

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

11 to increase receipts and achieve effective collections of 

12 royalty and other payments, a lessee who is required 

13 to make any royalty or other payment under a lease, 

14 easement, right-of-way, permit, or other agreement, 

15 regardless of form, or under the mineral leasing laws, 

16 shall make such payment in the time and manner as 

17 may be specified by the Secretary or the applicable 

18 delegated State. 

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

20 or credits monies, makes adjustments, requests and re21 ceives refunds, or submits reports with respect to pay22 ments the lessee must make is the lessee’s designee 

23 under this Act. 

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

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


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1 any payment obligation of any lessee on whose behalf 

2 the designee pays royalty under the lease. The person 

3 owning operating rights in a lease and a person own4 ing legal record title in a lease shall be liable for that 

5 person’s pro rata share of payment obligations under 

6 the lease.’’. 

7 SEC. 13. RECORDKEEPING. 

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

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

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

11 SEC. 14. ADJUSTMENTS AND REFUNDS. 

12 Section 111A of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man13 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1721a) is amended— 

14 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

16 follows: 

17 ‘‘(3)(A) An adjustment or a request for a refund 

18 for an obligation may be made after the adjustment 

19 period only upon written notice to and approval by 

20 the Secretary or the applicable delegated State, as ap21 propriate, during an audit of the period which in22 cludes the production month for which the adjustment 

23 is being made. 

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

25 no adjustment may be made with respect to an obliVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Dec 14, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1517.IH H1517

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1 gation after the completion of an audit or compliance 

2 review of such obligation unless such adjustment is 

3 approved by the Secretary or the applicable delegated 

4 State, as appropriate. 

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

6 audit, the Secretary shall allow a credit in the 

7 amount of the overpayment.’’; and 

8 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

9 (i) by striking ‘‘six-year’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘four-year’’; and 

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘period shall’’ and in12 serting ‘‘period may’’; and 

13 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 

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

15 ‘‘and’’; 

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

17 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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

20 for that obligation.’’. 

21 SEC. 15. OBLIGATION PERIOD. 

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

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

24 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 


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1 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS.—In the case of an adjust2 ment under section 111A(a) in which a recoupment 

3 by the lessee results in an underpayment of an obliga4 tion, the obligation becomes due on the date the lessee 

5 or its designee makes the adjustment.’’. 

6 SEC. 16. TOLLING AGREEMENTS AND SUBPOENAS. 

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

8 Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 

9 U.S.C. 1724(d)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(with notice to 

10 the lessee who designated the designee)’’. 

11 (b) SUBPOENAS.—Section 115(d)(2)(A) of the Federal 

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

13 1724(d)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘(with notice to the 

14 lessee who designated the designee, which notice shall not 

15 constitute a subpoena to the lessee)’’. 

16 SEC. 17. APPEALS. 

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

18 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1724(h)) is amended— 

19 (1) in paragraph (1), in the heading, by striking 

20 ‘‘33-MONTH’’ and inserting ‘‘48-MONTH’’; 

21 (2) by striking ‘‘33 months’’ each place it ap22 pears and inserting ‘‘48 months’’; and 

23 (3) by striking ‘‘33-month’’ each place it appears 

24 and inserting ‘‘48-month’’. 


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1 SEC. 18. ASSESSMENTS. 

2 Section 116 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man3 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1724) is repealed. 

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

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

6 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 

7 shall complete a pilot project with willing operators of oil 

8 and gas leases on the outer Continental Shelf (as such term 

9 is defined in the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

10 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.)) that assesses the costs and benefits of 

11 automatic transmission of data regarding the volume and 

12 quality of oil and gas produced under Federal leases on the 

13 outer Continental Shelf in order to improve the production 

14 verification systems used to ensure accurate royalty collec15 tion and audit. 

16 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to Congress 

17 a report on findings and recommendations based on the 

18 pilot project not later than 3 years after the date of enact19 ment of this Act. 

20 SEC. 20. PENALTY FOR LATE OR INCORRECT REPORTING OF 

21 DATA. 

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

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

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

25 late or incorrect reporting of data under the Federal Oil 


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1 and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 

2 et seq.). 

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

4 be— 

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

6 the Secretary determines is sufficient to ensure filing 

7 of data in accordance with that Act; and 

8 (2) not less than $10 for each failure to file cor9 rect data in accordance with that Act. 

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

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

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

13 Code of Federal Regulations, as most recently in effect be14 fore the date of enactment of this Act. 

15 SEC. 21. REQUIRED RECORDKEEPING FOR NATURAL GAS 

16 PLANTS. 

17 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of 

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

19 regulations with respect to required recordkeeping of nat20 ural gas measurement data as set forth in section 250.1203 

21 of title 30, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 

22 date of enactment of this Act), to include operators and 

23 other persons involved in the transporting, purchasing, or 

24 selling of gas under the requirements of that rule, under 

25 the authority provided in section 103 of the Federal Oil 


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

2 1713). 

3 SEC. 22. SHARED PENALTIES. 

4 Section 206 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man5 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1736) is amended by strik6 ing ‘‘Any payments under this section shall be reduced by 

7 an amount equal to any payments provided or due to such 

8 State or Indian tribe under the cooperative agreement or 

9 delegation, as applicable, during the fiscal year in which 

10 the civil penalty is received, up to the total amount pro11 vided or due for that fiscal year.’’. 

12 SEC. 23. APPLICABILITY TO OTHER MINERALS. 

13 Section 304 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man14 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1753) is amended by add15 ing at the end the following new subsection: 

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

17 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

18 sections 107, 109, and 110 of this Act and the regula19 tions duly promulgated with respect thereto shall 

20 apply to any lease authorizing the development of 

21 coal or any other solid mineral on any Federal lands 

22 or Indian lands, to the same extent as if such lease 

23 were an oil and gas lease, on the same terms and con24 ditions as those authorized for oil and gas leases. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

2 sections 107, 109, and 110 of this Act and the regula3 tions issued under such sections shall apply with re4 spect to any lease, easement, right-of-way, or other 

5 agreement, regardless of form (including any royalty, 

6 rent, or other payment due thereunder)— 

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

8 Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(k) 

9 and 1337(p)); or 

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

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

12 lease, easement, right-of-way, or other agreement 

13 were an oil and gas lease on the same terms and 

14 conditions as those authorized for oil and gas 

15 leases. 

16 ‘‘(3) For the purposes of this subsection, the term 

17 ‘solid mineral’ means any mineral other than oil, gas, 

18 and geo-pressured-geothermal resources, that is au19 thorized by an Act of Congress to be produced from 

20 public lands (as that term is defined in section 103 

21 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

22 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)).’’. 

23 SEC. 24. ENTITLEMENTS. 

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

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


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1 of the Interior shall publish final regulations prescribing 

2 when a Federal lessee or designee must report and pay roy3 alties on— 

4 (1) the volume of oil and gas such lessee or des5 ignee produces or takes under a Federal lease or In6 dian lease; or 

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

8 designee is entitled to based on its ownership interest 

9 under a unitization agreement for Federal leases or 

10 Indian leases. 

11 (b) 100 PERCENT ENTITLEMENT REPORTING AND PAY12 ING.—The Secretary shall give consideration to requiring 

13 100 percent entitlement reporting and paying based on 

14 Federal or Indian oil and gas lease ownership. 

15 SEC. 25. ROYALTIES ON ALL EXTRACTED METHANE. 

16 (a) ASSESSMENT ON ALL PRODUCTION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para18 graph (2), royalties otherwise authorized or required 

19 under the mineral leasing laws (as that term is de20 fined in the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Manage21 ment Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)) to be paid 

22 for gas shall be assessed on all gas produced under the 

23 mineral leasing laws, including— 

24 (A) gas used or consumed within the area 

25 of the lease tract for the benefit of the lease; and 


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1 (B) all gas that is consumed or lost by vent2 ing, flaring, or fugitive releases through any 

3 equipment during upstream operations. 

4 (2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) shall not apply 

5 with respect to— 

6 (A) gas vented or flared for not longer than 

7 48 hours in an acute emergency situation that 

8 poses a danger to human health; 

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

10 tract in order to enhance production of an oil or 

11 gas well or for some other purpose; and 

12 (C) gas used or consumed within the area 

13 of the lease tract for the benefit of the lease when 

14 the operator is a Tribe or is controlled by a 

15 Tribe that is located entirely on the lands of such 

16 Tribe. 

17 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

18 (1) MINERAL LEASING ACT.—The Mineral Leas19 ing Act is amended— 

20 (A) in section 14 (30 U.S.C. 223), by add21 ing at the end the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding 

22 any other provision of this Act (including this 

23 section), royalty shall be assessed with respect to 

24 oil and gas, other than gas described in section 

25 124(a)(2) of the Ending Taxpayer Welfare for 


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1 Oil and Gas Companies Act of 2021, without re2 gard to whether oil or gas is removed or sold 

3 from the leased land.’’; 

4 (B) in section 17 (30 U.S.C. 226), by strik5 ing ‘‘removed or sold’’ each place it appears; 

6 (C) in section 22 (30 U.S.C. 251), by strik7 ing ‘‘sold or removed’’; and 

8 (D) in section 31 (30 U.S.C. 188), by strik9 ing ‘‘removed or sold’’ each place it appears. 

10 (2) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.— 

11 The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act is amended— 

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

13 1335(a)(8)), by striking ‘‘saved, removed, or 

14 sold’’ each place it appears; and 

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

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

17 ‘‘saved, removed, or sold’’ each place it ap18 pears; and 

19 (ii) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(9) Notwithstanding any other provision of this 

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

22 shall be assessed with respect to oil and gas, other 

23 than gas described in section 124(a)(2) of the Ending 

24 Taxpayer Welfare for Oil and Gas Companies Act of 


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1 2021, without regard to whether oil or gas is removed 

2 or sold from the leased land.’’. 

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

4 the amendments made by this section shall apply only with 

5 respect to leases issued on or after the date of the enactment 

6 of this Act. 


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Union Calendar No. 455 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 1517 

[Report No. 117–632] 

A BILL 

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to make certain 

eral energy resources, and for other purposes. returns to taxpayers for the development of Fedvelopment and to make other reforms to improve adjustments to the fiscal terms for fossil fuel deDECEMBER 14, 2022 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


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