Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7377, the Royalty Resiliency Act. H.R. 7377, introduced by Congressman Hunt, addresses issues in existing law with respect to how oil and gas royalties are paid to the Federal Government. When an oil and gas project involving a Federal lease cannot be independently developed because of other State or private assets, the Bureau of Land Management utilizes communitization agreements, or CAs. Although the BLM is required by law to approve CAs within 120 days of receipt, the agency has failed to meet this standard, with operators experiencing wait times of up to 3 years. Currently, the Office of Natural Resources Revenue, often referred to as ONRR, requires oil and gas operators to pay a 100 percent royalty for projects all while they await BLM approval of a CA, even if only a fraction of their project involves Federal lands or minerals. As a result, many operators end up significantly overpaying royalties while they wait years for BLM approval. This bill provides a commonsense fix that would allow operators to pay a royalty to ONRR that is based on the apportionment in their proposed CA. This bill would not reduce the obligation owed by companies but would prevent overpayments that unnecessarily lock up capital and create a bureaucratic mess for the Department of the Interior.…”