U.S. to consider raising oil, gas royalty rates
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration will decide later this year whether to raise the royalty rates energy companies would pay on the oil and natural gas produced on federal leases, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Tuesday.Companies now pay a royalty rate ranging from 12.5 percent to 18.75 percent of the value of the oil and gas they drill. However, Salazar said other countries charge higher royalties and the Obama administration wants to make sure U.S. taxpayers are treated fairly.
“We are looking at royalty rates and compensation paid for both onshore and offshore oil and gas development,” Salazar told Reuters in a wide-ranging interview. “We will make sure the American citizen is getting its fair return.”