I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4364 

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 

SEPTEMBER 17, 2019 

Mr. MCADAMS (for himself and Mr. ROONEY of Florida) 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 ‘‘Taxpayer Fairness for 

5 Resource Development Act of 2019’’. 

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. Penalties. 

Sec. 7. Royalty relief. 

Sec. 8. Revision of Royalty Policy Committee charter. 

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 ‘‘Taxpayer Fairness for Resource Develop7 ment Act of 2019’’; 

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. PENALTIES. 

8 (a) MINERAL LEASING ACT.—Section 41 of the Min9 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 195) is amended— 

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

11 and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000’’; and 

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

13 and inserting ‘‘$250,000’’. 

14 (b) FEDERAL OIL AND GAS ROYALTY MANAGEMENT

15 ACT OF 1982.—The Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man16 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) is amend17 ed— 

18 (1) in section 109— 

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

20 and inserting ‘‘$1,500’’; 

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

22 and inserting ‘‘$15,000’’; 

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

24 ‘‘$10,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$25,000’’; and 


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

2 ‘‘$25,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$75,000’’; and 

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

4 inserting ‘‘$150,000’’. 

5 (c) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.— 

6 (1) CIVIL PENALTY, GENERALLY.—Section 

7 24(b) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

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

9 ‘‘(b) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), any person who fails to comply with any 

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

13 or permit issued pursuant to this Act, or any regula14 tion or order issued under this Act, shall be liable 

15 for a civil administrative penalty of not more than 

16 $75,000 for each day of the continuance of such fail17 ure. The Secretary may assess, collect, and com18 promise any such penalty. 

19 ‘‘(2) OPPORTUNITY FOR A HEARING.—No pen20 alty shall be assessed until the person charged with 

21 a violation has been given an opportunity for a hear22 ing. 

23 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—The Sec24 retary shall, by regulation at least every 3 years, ad25 just the penalty specified in this paragraph to reflect 


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1 any increases in the Consumer Price Index (all 

2 items, United States city average) as prepared by 

3 the Department of Labor. 

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

5 in paragraph (1) constitutes or constituted a threat 

6 of harm or damage to life, property, any mineral de7 posit, or the marine, coastal, or human environment, 

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

9 assessed for each day of the continuance of the fail10 ure.’’. 

11 (2) KNOWING AND WILLFUL VIOLATIONS.—Sec12 tion 24(c) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

13 (43 U.S.C. 1350(c)) is amended by striking 

14 ‘‘$100,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$1,000,000’’. 

15 (3) OFFICERS AND AGENTS OF CORPORA16 TIONS.—Section 24(d) of the Outer Continental 

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

18 striking ‘‘knowingly and willfully authorized, or19 dered, or carried out’’ and inserting ‘‘authorized, or20 dered, carried out, or through reckless disregard of 

21 the law caused’’. 

22 SEC. 7. ROYALTY RELIEF. 

23 (a) GULF OF MEXICO ROYALTY RELIEF.—The fol24 lowing provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

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


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

2 incentives for natural gas production from deep wells 

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

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

5 royalty relief for deep water production). 

6 (b) ALASKA ROYALTY RELIEF.— 

7 (1) PROVISIONS RELATING TO PLANNING AREAS

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

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

10 1337(a)(3)(B)) is amended by striking ‘‘and in the 

11 Planning Areas offshore Alaska’’ after ‘‘West lon12 gitude’’. 

13 (2) PROVISIONS RELATING TO NAVAL PETRO14 LEUM RESERVE IN ALASKA.—Section 107 of the 

15 Naval Petroleum Reserves Production Act of 1976 

16 (42 U.S.C. 6506a) is amended— 

17 (A) in subsection (i)— 

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

19 (ii) by striking paragraphs (2) 

20 through (6); and 

21 (B) by striking subsection (k). 

22 SEC. 8. REVISION OF ROYALTY POLICY COMMITTEE CHAR23 TER. 

24 Not later than one year after the date of enactment 

25 of this Act, or March 29, 2021, whichever is earlier, the 


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1 Secretary of the Interior shall revise the charter of the 

2 Royalty Policy Committee (as signed on March 29, 2017) 

3 to— 

4 (1) require that of the 6 members of such Com5 mittee who are representatives of the Governors of 

6 States, no more than 4 members may be representa7 tives of Governors of the same political party; 

8 (2) increase to 6 the number of members who 

9 are representatives of academia or the public, of 

10 whom— 

11 (A) 2 members shall be representatives of 

12 academia; 

13 (B) 2 members shall be representatives of 

14 public interest groups; and 

15 (C) 2 members shall be representatives of 

16 nonprofit environmental groups; and 

17 (3) require that for a person to be eligible to 

18 serve as a member who is a representative of a per19 son who is a mineral stakeholder or energy stake20 holder (or both) in Federal and Indian royalty pol21 icy, the employer of that member shall provide to the 

22 Secretary, who shall publish— 

23 (A) for the preceding 10-year period— 


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1 (i) aggregated information on all Fed2 eral royalty payments made by the em3 ployer, by year and by commodity; 

4 (ii) conclusions from compliance re5 views and audits conducted by Federal or 

6 State revenue collection entities; and 

7 (iii) a description of all enforcement 

8 actions taken against the employer regard9 ing payment of Federal or State royalties; 

10 and 

11 (B) records of— 

12 (i) prices charged by the employer for 

13 sales of minerals to captive affiliates of the 

14 employer; and 

15 (ii) prices charged by such affiliates 

16 for subsequent resales of such minerals. 

17 SEC. 9. ROYALTY IN KIND. 

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

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

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

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

22 such payment would exceed the amount necessary to fill 

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

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

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


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1 (43 U.S.C. 1353(a)) is amended by striking the period at 

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

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

4 such payment would exceed the amount necessary to fill 

5 the strategic petroleum reserve.’’. 

6 SEC. 10. AMENDMENTS TO DEFINITIONS. 

7 Section 3 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man8 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1702) is amended— 

9 (1) in paragraph (20)(A), by striking ‘‘: Pro10 vided, That’’ and all that follows through ‘‘subject of 

11 the judicial proceeding’’; 

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

13 written notice to the lessee who designated the des14 ignee)’’; 

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

16 written notice to the lessee who designated the des17 ignee)’’; 

18 (4) by amending paragraph (24) to read as fol19 lows: 

20 ‘‘(24) ‘designee’ means a person who pays, off21 sets, or credits monies, makes adjustments, requests 

22 and receives refunds, or submits reports with respect 

23 to payments a lessee must make pursuant to section 

24 102(a);’’; 

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


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

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

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

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

5 subparagraph and inserting the following: 

6 ‘‘(IV) any assignment, 

7 that arises from or relates to any lease, 

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

9 agreement regardless of form administered 

10 by the Secretary for, or any mineral leas11 ing law related to, the exploration, produc12 tion, and development of oil and gas or 

13 other energy resource on Federal lands or 

14 the Outer Continental Shelf;’’; 

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

16 after ‘‘lease’’; and 

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

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

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

20 and by adding at the end the following new para21 graphs: 

22 ‘‘(34) ‘compliance review’ means an examina23 tion of a lessee’s lease accounts to compare one or 

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

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1 ments of the royalty equation to test for variances; 

2 and 

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

4 a lessee whose function is to acquire the lessee’s pro5 duction and to market that production.’’. 

6 SEC. 11. COMPLIANCE REVIEWS. 

7 Section 101 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man8 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1711) is amended by 

9 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

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

11 accounts for leases, conduct compliance reviews of ac12 counts. Such reviews shall not constitute nor substitute 

13 for audits of lease accounts. The Secretary shall imme14 diately refer any disparity uncovered in such a compliance 

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

16 completion of a compliance review, provide notice of the 

17 review to designees whose obligations are the subject of 

18 the review.’’. 

19 SEC. 12. LIABILITY FOR ROYALTY PAYMENTS. 

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

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

22 to read as follows: 

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

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

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1 lections of royalty and other payments, a lessee who 

2 is required to make any royalty or other payment 

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

4 other agreement, regardless of form, or under the 

5 mineral leasing laws, shall make such payment in 

6 the time and manner as may be specified by the Sec7 retary or the applicable delegated State. 

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

9 or credits monies, makes adjustments, requests and 

10 receives refunds, or submits reports with respect to 

11 payments the lessee must make is the lessee’s des12 ignee under this Act. 

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

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

15 any payment obligation of any lessee on whose be16 half the designee pays royalty under the lease. The 

17 person owning operating rights in a lease and a per18 son owning legal record title in a lease shall be liable 

19 for that person’s pro rata share of payment obliga20 tions under the lease.’’. 

21 SEC. 13. RECORDKEEPING. 

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

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

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


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1 SEC. 14. ADJUSTMENTS AND REFUNDS. 

2 Section 111A of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty 

3 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1721a) is amend4 ed— 

5 (1) in subsection (a)— 

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

7 follows: 

8 ‘‘(3)(A) An adjustment or a request for a re9 fund for an obligation may be made after the adjust10 ment period only upon written notice to and ap11 proval by the Secretary or the applicable delegated 

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

13 which includes the production month for which the 

14 adjustment is being made. 

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

16 no adjustment may be made with respect to an obli17 gation after the completion of an audit or compli18 ance review of such obligation unless such adjust19 ment is approved by the Secretary or the applicable 

20 delegated State, as appropriate. 

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

22 audit, the Secretary shall allow a credit in the 

23 amount of the overpayment.’’; and 

24 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

25 (i) by striking ‘‘six-year’’ and insert26 ing ‘‘four-year’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘period shall’’ and in2 serting ‘‘period may’’; and 

3 (2) in subsection (b)(1)— 

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

5 ‘‘and’’; 

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

7 period and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

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

10 for that obligation.’’. 

11 SEC. 15. OBLIGATION PERIOD. 

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

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

14 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 

15 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS.—In the case of an adjust16 ment under section 111A(a) in which a recoupment 

17 by the lessee results in an underpayment of an obli18 gation, the obligation becomes due on the date the 

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

20 SEC. 16. TOLLING AGREEMENTS AND SUBPOENAS. 

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

22 the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 

23 (30 U.S.C. 1724(d)(1)) is amended by striking ‘‘(with no24 tice to the lessee who designated the designee)’’. 


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1 (b) SUBPOENAS.—Section 115(d)(2)(A) of the Fed2 eral Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 

3 U.S.C. 1724(d)(2)(A)) is amended by striking ‘‘(with no4 tice to the lessee who designated the designee, which notice 

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

6 SEC. 17. APPEALS. 

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

8 Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1724(h)) is amend9 ed— 

10 (1) in paragraph (1), in the heading, by strik11 ing ‘‘33-MONTH’’ and inserting ‘‘48-MONTH’’; 

12 (2) by striking ‘‘33 months’’ each place it ap13 pears and inserting ‘‘48 months’’; and 

14 (3) by striking ‘‘33-month’’ each place it ap15 pears and inserting ‘‘48-month’’. 

16 SEC. 18. ASSESSMENTS. 

17 Section 116 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man18 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1724) is repealed. 

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

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

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

22 Interior shall complete a pilot project with willing opera23 tors of oil and gas leases on the outer Continental Shelf 

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

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


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1 costs and benefits of automatic transmission of data re2 garding the volume and quality of oil and gas produced 

3 under Federal leases on the outer Continental Shelf in 

4 order to improve the production verification systems used 

5 to ensure accurate royalty collection and audit. 

6 (b) REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit to Con7 gress a report on findings and recommendations based on 

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

9 enactment of this Act. 

10 SEC. 20. PENALTY FOR LATE OR INCORRECT REPORTING 

11 OF DATA. 

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

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

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

15 late or incorrect reporting of data under the Federal Oil 

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

17 1701 et seq.). 

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

19 be— 

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

21 the Secretary determines is sufficient to ensure filing 

22 of data in accordance with that Act; and 

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

24 correct data in accordance with that Act. 


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

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

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

4 Code of Federal Regulations, as most recently in effect 

5 before the date of enactment of this Act. 

6 SEC. 21. REQUIRED RECORDKEEPING FOR NATURAL GAS 

7 PLANTS. 

8 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

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

10 regulations with respect to required recordkeeping of nat11 ural gas measurement data as set forth in section 

12 250.1203 of title 30, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 

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

14 operators and other persons involved in the transporting, 

15 purchasing, or selling of gas under the requirements of 

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

17 the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 

18 (30 U.S.C. 1713). 

19 SEC. 22. SHARED PENALTIES. 

20 Section 206 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man21 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1736) is amended by 

22 striking ‘‘Any payments under this section shall be re23 duced by an amount equal to any payments provided or 

24 due to such State or Indian tribe under the cooperative 

25 agreement or delegation, as applicable, during the fiscal 


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

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

3 SEC. 23. APPLICABILITY TO OTHER MINERALS. 

4 Section 304 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Man5 agement Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1753) is amended by 

6 adding at the end the following new subsection: 

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

8 ‘‘(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

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

10 regulations duly promulgated with respect thereto 

11 shall apply to any lease authorizing the development 

12 of coal or any other solid mineral on any Federal 

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

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

15 and conditions as those authorized for oil and gas 

16 leases. 

17 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

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

19 regulations issued under such sections shall apply 

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

21 other agreement, regardless of form (including any 

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

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

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

25 1337(k) and 1337(p)); or 


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

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

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

4 agreement were an oil and gas lease on the 

5 same terms and conditions as those authorized 

6 for oil and gas leases. 

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

8 term ‘solid mineral’ means any mineral other than 

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

10 that is authorized by an Act of Congress to be pro11 duced from public lands (as that term is defined in 

12 section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage13 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)).’’. 

14 SEC. 24. ENTITLEMENTS. 

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

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

17 of the Interior shall publish final regulations prescribing 

18 when a Federal lessee or designee must report and pay 

19 royalties on— 

20 (1) the volume of oil and gas such lessee or des21 ignee produces or takes under a Federal lease or In22 dian lease; or 

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

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1 terest under a unitization agreement for Federal 

2 leases or Indian leases. 

3 (b) 100 PERCENT ENTITLEMENT REPORTING AND

4 PAYING.—The Secretary shall give consideration to re5 quiring 100 percent entitlement reporting and paying 

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

7 SEC. 25. ROYALTIES ON ALL EXTRACTED METHANE. 

8 (a) ASSESSMENT ON ALL PRODUCTION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para10 graph (2), royalties otherwise authorized or required 

11 under the mineral leasing laws (as that term is de12 fined in the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Manage13 ment Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)) to be 

14 paid for gas shall be assessed on all gas produced 

15 under the mineral leasing laws, including— 

16 (A) gas used or consumed within the area 

17 of the lease tract for the benefit of the lease; 

18 and 

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

20 venting, flaring, or fugitive releases through any 

21 equipment during upstream operations. 

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

23 apply with respect to— 


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1 (A) gas vented or flared for not longer 

2 than 48 hours in an acute emergency situation 

3 that poses a danger to human health; and 

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

5 tract in order to enhance production of an oil 

6 or gas well or for some other purpose. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

8 (1) MINERAL LEASING ACT.—The Mineral 

9 Leasing Act is amended— 

10 (A) in section 14 (30 U.S.C. 223), by add11 ing at the end the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding 

12 any other provision of this Act (including this 

13 section), royalty shall be assessed with respect 

14 to oil and gas, other than gas described in sec15 tion 124(a)(2) of the Sustainable Energy Devel16 opment Reform Act, without regard to whether 

17 oil or gas is removed or sold from the leased 

18 land.’’; 

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

20 striking ‘‘removed or sold’’ each place it ap21 pears; 

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

23 striking ‘‘sold or removed’’; and 


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

2 striking ‘‘removed or sold’’ each place it ap3 pears. 

4 (2) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.— 

5 The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act is amend6 ed— 

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

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

9 sold’’ each place it appears; and 

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

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

12 ‘‘saved, removed, or sold’’ each place it ap13 pears; and 

14 (ii) by adding at the end the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(9) Notwithstanding any other provision of 

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

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

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

20 Sustainable Energy Development Reform Act, with21 out regard to whether oil or gas is removed or sold 

22 from the leased land.’’. 

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

24 the amendments made by this section shall apply only with 


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1 respect to leases issued on or after the date of the enact2 ment of this Act. 

Æ 


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