Notice2026-00023
States' Decisions on Participating in Accounting and Auditing Relief for Federal Oil and Gas Marginal Properties
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 6, 2026
Issuing agencies
Interior DepartmentNatural Resources Revenue Office
Abstract
The Office of Natural Resources Revenue's (ONRR) regulations provide two types of accounting and auditing relief for Federal oil and gas production from marginal properties: the cumulative royalty reports and payments relief option, which allows a lessee or designee to submit one royalty report and payment for the calendar year's production; and other requested relief, which allows a lessee or designee to request any type of accounting and auditing relief that is appropriate for production from the marginal property and meets certain requirements. By October 1 of each calendar year, ONRR provides a list of qualifying marginal Federal oil and gas properties to the States receiving a portion of Federal royalties from those properties. Each State then decides whether to participate in neither, one, or both relief options. This notice provides the public each State's decision on whether to participate in marginal property relief.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 6, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 379-380]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-00023]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Office of Natural Resources Revenue
[Docket No. ONRR-2011-0002; DS63636400 DRT000000.CH7000 267D1113RT]
States' Decisions on Participating in Accounting and Auditing
Relief for Federal Oil and Gas Marginal Properties
AGENCY: Office of Natural Resources Revenue, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Natural Resources Revenue's (ONRR) regulations
provide two types of accounting and auditing relief for Federal oil and
gas production from marginal properties: the cumulative royalty reports
and payments relief option, which allows a lessee or designee to submit
one royalty report and payment for the calendar year's production; and
other requested relief, which allows a lessee or designee to request
any type of accounting and auditing relief that is appropriate for
production from the marginal property and meets certain requirements.
By October 1 of each calendar year, ONRR provides a list of qualifying
marginal Federal oil and gas properties to the States receiving a
portion of Federal royalties from those properties. Each State then
decides whether to participate in neither, one, or both relief options.
This notice provides the public each State's decision on whether to
participate in marginal property relief.
DATES: January 1, 2026.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Robert Sudar, Market & Spatial
Analytics, ONRR, at (303) 231-3511; or by email to
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7d2f121f180f09532e08191c0f3d12130f0f531a120b"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="37655855524543196442535645775859454519505841">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty
Management Act, at 30 U.S.C. 1726, and 30 CFR part 1204, subpart C,
ONRR and States can relieve the lessee of a marginal Federal oil and
gas property from certain reporting, accounting, and auditing
requirements. ONRR's rules under 30 CFR 1204.202 and 1204.203 authorize
two relief options: (1) cumulative royalty reports and payments relief
option, which allows a lessee or designee to submit one royalty report
and payment during a calendar year; and (2) other requested relief,
which allows a lessee or designee to request any type of appropriate
marginal property accounting and auditing relief that meets the
requirements under Sec. 1204.5 and is not prohibited under Sec.
1204.204.
To qualify for the first relief option, the cumulative royalty
reports and payments relief option, properties must produce less than
1,000 barrels-of-oil-equivalent (BOE) per year for the base period
(July 1, 2024, through June 30, 2025). Annual reporting relief will
begin January 1, 2026, with the annual report and payment due February
28, 2027. If a lessee has an estimated payment on file, the payment due
date is March 31, 2027. To qualify for the second relief option, the
other requested relief option, the combined equivalent production of
the marginal properties during the base period must equal an average
daily well production of less than 15 BOE per well per day, as
calculated under 30 CFR 1204.4(c).
Each State makes an annual determination as to whether it will
participate in neither, one, or both relief options. This notice
fulfills the requirement in 30 CFR 1204.208(f) to publish a notice of
the State's ``intent to allow or not allow certain relief options . . .
in the Federal Register no later than 30 days before the beginning of
the applicable calendar year.''
The following table shows the States with qualifying marginal
properties and those States' decisions on whether to participate in
neither, one, or both relief options for calendar year 2026. An ``N/A''
means that no properties within the State met that condition for that
type of relief:
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Cumulative royalty report and Other accounting and auditing
State payment relief (less than 1,000 BOE relief (less than 15 BOE per well
per year) per day)
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Alabama............................... No No
Arkansas.............................. N/A No
California............................ No No
Colorado.............................. No No
Kansas................................ No No
Louisiana............................. Yes Yes
Michigan.............................. Yes Yes
Montana............................... No No
Nebraska.............................. Yes No
Nevada................................ Yes Yes
New Mexico............................ No Yes
North Dakota.......................... Yes Yes
Oklahoma.............................. Yes Yes
South Dakota.......................... Yes Yes
Utah.................................. No No
[[Page 380]]
Wyoming............................... Yes No
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Pursuant to 30 U.S.C. 1726(c), a Federal oil and gas property
located in a State where ONRR does not share a portion of Federal
royalties with that State (that is, for 2026, a State not listed in the
table above) is eligible for relief if it qualifies as a marginal
property. For more information on how to obtain relief, please refer to
30 CFR 1204.205.
Unless the information that ONRR receives is proprietary data, all
correspondence, records, or information received in response to this
notice may be subject to disclosure under the Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA). See 5 U.S.C. 552 et seq. If applicable, please highlight
the proprietary portions, including any supporting documentation, or
mark the page(s) containing proprietary data. ONRR protects proprietary
information under the Trade Secrets Act (18 U.S.C. 1905), FOIA
exemption 4 (5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4)), and the Department of the Interior's
FOIA regulations (43 CFR part 2).
Authority: Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982, 30
U.S.C. 1701 et seq., as amended by Federal Oil and Gas Royalty
Simplification and Fairness Act of 1996 (RSFA, Pub. L. 104-185--Aug.
13, 1996, as corrected by Pub. L. 104-200--Sept. 22, 1996).
April Lockler,
Acting Director, Office of Natural Resources Revenue.
[FR Doc. 2026-00023 Filed 1-5-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4335-30-P
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This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.