30 U.S.C. § 1701
Section 1701 · Congressional statement of findings and purposes
This is the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 33 court decisions — leading case Cotton Petroleum Corp. v. New Mexico (1989)
Most recently applied in BP America Production Company v. Davis (December 2023)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Congress finds that—
(1) the Secretary of the Interior should enforce effectively and uniformly existing regulations under the mineral leasing laws providing for the inspection of production activities on lease sites on Federal and Indian lands;
(2) the system of accounting with respect to royalties and other payments due and owing on oil and gas produced from such lease sites is archaic and inadequate;
(3) it is essential that the Secretary initiate procedures to improve methods of accounting for such royalties and payments and to provide for routine inspection of activities related to the production of oil and gas on such lease sites; and
(4) the Secretary should aggressively carry out his trust responsibility in the administration of Indian oil and gas.
(b) It is the purpose of this chapter—
(1) to clarify, reaffirm, expand, and define the responsibilities and obligations of lessees, operators, and other persons involved in transportation or sale of oil and gas from the Federal and Indian lands and the Outer Continental Shelf;
(2) to clarify, reaffirm, expand and define the authorities and responsibilities of the Secretary of the Interior to implement and maintain a royalty management system for oil and gas leases on Federal lands, Indian lands, and the Outer Continental Shelf;
(3) to require the development of enforcement practices that ensure the prompt and proper collection and disbursement of oil and gas revenues owed to the United States and Indian lessors and those inuring to the benefit of States;
(4) to fulfill the trust responsibility of the United States for the administration of Indian oil and gas resources; and
(5) to effectively utilize the capabilities of the States and Indian tribes in developing and maintaining an efficient and effective Federal royalty management system.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Effective Date
Section 305 of Pub. L. 97–451 provided that: “The provisions of this Act [enacting this chapter, amending sections 188 and 191 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 1714 and 1752 of this title] shall apply to oil and gas leases issued before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Jan. 12, 1983], except that in the case of a lease issued before such date, no provision of this Act or any rule or regulation prescribed under this Act shall alter the express and specific provisions of such a lease.”
Short Title
Section 1 of Pub. L. 97–451 provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter, amending sections 188 and 191 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section and sections 1714 and 1752 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982’.”