Reform Federal Oil & Gas Leasing to Protect Taxpayers

Taxpayers deserve to get top dollar when oil and gas companies drill on federal lands.
Instead, the current system costs us billions of dollars in lost revenue every year.

Oppose efforts to derail important reforms that will modernize the federal leasing system and secure a fair return for taxpayers.

The federal leasing system has not kept pace with the oil and gas industry.  Decades-old, below-market rates have cost taxpayers BILLIONS. Every new lease signed under these terms is a financial loss, which is why it’s time to fix federal oil and gas leasing permanently.

In 2022, Congress took an important step forward by reforming many terms in the onshore oil and gas leasing system. But these changes need to be codified and additional steps must be taken to protect taxpayers.

Now the Department of the Interior has proposed a rule to secure the reforms made in 2022, update bonding requirements that leave taxpayers shouldering the costs of orphaned well clean up, and direct oil and gas leasing to areas that make sense.

The new rule must be put into action NOW to ensure a fair return for taxpayers.

  1. Update decades-old bonding requirements that force taxpayers to pay millions of dollars to clean up wells the oil & gas industry has abandoned.
  2. Solidify recent reforms – including increases to the royalty rate, rental rates, and minimum bid – that are expected to raise $484 million over the next decade.
  3. Take further steps to raise revenue, protect taxpayers from future liabilities, and promote a federal oil and gas leasing system that fosters responsible development of our oil and gas resources.

 

Time to Update Oil & Gas Bonding Rates

Image of Oil and natural gas producers operating on federal land are required to plug their wells and clean up the surrounding sites after production ends. To guarantee the cleanup of these potentially hazardous and environmentally harmful sites is paid for, producers are required to post a bond before they start drilling. If the company abandons its wells on a federal lease, or goes bankrupt, the bond is supposed to cover the reclamation expenses. But for leases on federal land, the required bond amounts haven’t changed in 60 years and don’t cover the full cost of cleanup.

According to the Department of the Interior, it costs roughly $71,000 to plug and clean up an orphaned well, yet the Government Accountability Office reported that the agency held an average value of $2,122 per well in bonds in 2019 – leaving taxpayers paying millions of dollars for abandoned wells scattered across federal lands.

The new proposed rule would change that, increasing per lease and statewide bond minimums while also eliminating nationwide bonds and unit bonds. This rule would better protect taxpayers from having to shoulder the oil and gas industry’s liabilities, keeping communities safe and saving taxpayers billions of dollars.

Strengthen Royalty Changes  

For decades, the federal government employed the same, below-market royalty rate to oil and gas produced on federal lands; for every dollar of revenue a producer made on a barrel of oil, taxpayers got just 12.5¢. That rate of return, or royalty rate, was dramatically lower than what most states charge – Texas charges up to 25% – and what we get from a barrel of oil from the Gulf of Mexico – 18.75%. If a royalty rate of 18.75% had been imposed over the last decade (2012-2021), taxpayer would have received an additional $13.1 billion in revenue.

In August 2022, Congress updated these rates for the first time in over a century, raising the onshore royalty rate to 16.67% for the next 10 years. Often equal to or below the rate charged on adjacent state late, this new royalty rate will bring in billions of dollars in new revenue without impacting production. The proposed rule by the Department of the Interior would codify this update and keep the royalty rate at 16.67% after the 10-year window. However, the Department of the Interior should consider charging a royalty rate of 18.75% beyond the window, as 18.75% is more in line with what many states charge and what the federal government charges for oil and gas production in federal waters.

Keep Rental Rates Up-To-Date

For too long, the federal government refused to raise rent for leases on federal land, charging just $1.50 or $2 dollars per acre for oil and gas developers who were not yet producing on federal land. Because of inflation, taxpayers received less than half what we should have, and lost roughly $292 million over the last decade.

In August 2022, Congress also updated these terms and started charging a fair price for holding valuable federal land for the next 10 years. The new rule would not only secure these higher rates, but also guarantee they are regularly updated for inflation after the law’s 10-year period ends.

 

Protect Recent Changes to Minimum Bids

Until recently, the minimum amount companies can bid at auctions for federal oil and gas leases hadn’t been updated for nearly 35 years. Bidders had to pay a mere $2/acre to purchase leases on federal land. Of the 544,000 acres sold at auction in 2020, roughly 37% of all acres sold received the minimum bid.

Like royalties and rent, this minimum required bid was updated in August 2022. The new $10/acre rate will help taxpayers get a fair return for valuable federal land and the resources contained in it. But under current legislation, this minimum only lasts for the next 10 years. The Department of the Interior’s new rule would codify this rate for longer and regularly adjust it for inflation.

 

Secure the Elimination of Noncompetitive Leasing

In 1987, Congress said every oil and gas lease has to be offered in a competitive auction where companies can bid for it. BUT, they left in a loophole: the day after the auction, a company (or land speculator) could avoid paying a bid altogether by submitting a NONcompetitive offer for anything that didn’t sell the day before.

The result was predictable – companies regularly nominated land they wanted to lease, sat on their hands during the auction, and swooped in the next day to get the lease without even paying taxpayers the measly $2/acre minimum. Over the last 10 years, more than 2 million acres have been leased with no bid.

Luckily, this loophole was finally closed by Congress in August 2022, helping to keep oil and gas companies and speculators from acquiring noncompetitive leases on federal land without actually developing oil and gas resources. The Department of the Interior must ensure that codes reflect the elimination of noncompetitive leasing.

 

State Taxpayers Will Also Benefit from Reforms

Most federal land and oil and gas production on federal land is concentrated in the West. States where federal land is leased get roughly half of all revenue from the leasing process and production, like auction bids, rent, and royalties. This means that state taxpayers are also losing big because of the current system and would benefit equally from reforms that bring in more revenue.

 
Find out about federal leasing and its impact on your state:

Report – Losing on Leasing II: Oil and Gas Development on Federal Lands Costs Colorado

  • $811 million in estimated revenue loss under the federal 12.5% royalty, FY2013-2022.
  • $24.7 million in lost rental revenue from outdated rental rates for federal leases, FY2013-2022.
  • $371 million in potential reclamation liabilities from currently producing wells on federal land.
  • $2.4 million in lost royalty revenue from vented and flared gas on federal lands.

Report – Mounting Losses II: Federal Oil and Gas Leasing Costs Montana Millions

  • $110 million in estimated revenue loss under the federal 12.5% royalty, FY2013-2022.
  • 46% of the 3.2 million acres leased since 2000 were leased noncompetitively.
  • Of all leases issued noncompetitively since 2000, only 4, covering less than 1,500 acres, ever entered production.
  • 27% of acres sold from FY2013-FY2022 were sold for $2/acre and 36% were sold for under $10/acre.
  • $9.5 million in lost rental revenue from outdated rental rates for federal leases, FY2013-2022.
  • $181 million in potential reclamation liabilities from currently producing wells on federal land.
  • $3.4 million in lost royalty revenue from vented and flared gas on federal lands.

Report – Gaming the System II: Oil & Gas Leasing in Nevada is Trouble for Taxpayers

  • 0 acres of federal land leased noncompetitive since 2000 have ever entered production.
  • 67% of acres sold from FY2013-FY2022 were sold for $2/acre and 87% were sold for under $10/acre.
  • 95.3% of authorized acres sat idle at the end of FY2022.
  • 61% of all acres leased noncompetitive from FY2-13-FY2022 were in Nevada.
  • 3% of all oil and gas leases issued since 1953 ever entered production.
  • $34 million in lost revenue from outdated rental and royalty rates.

Report – New Mexico’s Boom That Cost Billions II: How Federal Oil & Gas Policies Continue to Fail Taxpayers

  • $8 billion in estimated revenue loss under the federal 12.5% royalty, FY2013-2022.
  • $13.1 million in lost rental revenue from outdated rental rates for federal leases, FY2013-2022.
  • $1.05 billion in potential reclamation liabilities from currently producing wells on federal land.
  • $48.3 million in lost royalty revenue from vented and flared gas on federal lands.

 

Report – No Deal (for Taxpayers) in North Dakota 

  • $1.2 billion in estimated revenue loss under the federal 12.5% royalty, FY2013-2022.
  • $4.2 million in lost rental revenue from outdated rental rates for federal leases, FY2013-2022.
  • $433 million in potential reclamation liabilities from currently producing wells on federal land.
  • $51.2 million in lost royalty revenue from vented and flared gas on federal lands.

Report – Giving it Away II: How Utah Continues to Lose from Oil and Gas Development on Federal Lands 

  • $721 million in estimated revenue loss under the federal 12.5% royalty, FY2013-2022.
  • 31% of acres sold from FY2013-FY2022 were sold for $2/acre and 54% were sold for under $10/acre.
  • $17.8 million in lost rental revenue from outdated rental rates for federal leases, FY2013-2022.
  • $191 million in potential reclamation liabilities from currently producing wells on federal land.
  • $3.5 million in lost royalty revenue from vented and flared gas on federal lands.

Report – Waste in Wyoming II: Federal Oil and Gas Policies Fail Taxpayers in Wyoming

  • $3.6 billion in estimated revenue loss under the federal 12.5% royalty, FY2013-2022.
  • $90 million in lost rental revenue from outdated rental rates for federal leases, FY2013-2022.
  • $88 million in potential reclamation liabilities from currently producing wells on federal land.
  • $12 million in lost royalty revenue from vented and flared gas on federal lands.

Join us, and taxpayers across the country, to demand that your tax dollars work for you.