All remittances must be by personal check, cashier's check, certified check, or money order, and must be made payable to the Department of the Interior—Bureau of Land Management or the Department of the Interior—Office of Natural Resources Revenue, as appropriate. Payments made to the BLM may be made by other arrangements such as by electronic funds transfer or credit card when specifically authorized by the BLM. In the case of payments made to the ONRR, such payments may also be made by electronic funds transfer.

(a)(1) All processing fees for the respective lease applications, nominations, or requests for approval of a transfer found in the fee schedule in § 3000.120 of this chapter and all first-year rentals and bonuses for leases issued under 43 CFR part 3100 must be paid to the proper BLM office.

(2) All second year and subsequent rentals, except for leases specified in paragraph (b) of this section, must be paid to the ONRR, refer to 30 CFR 1218.51.

(b) All rentals and royalties on producing leases, communitized leases in producing spacing units, unitized leases in producing unit areas, leases on which compensatory royalty is payable and all payments under subsurface storage agreements must be paid to the ONRR.

(a) The table in this section shows the fiscal terms, that the BLM will adjust every 4 years by a final rule. The BLM will adjust the amounts according to the change in the Implicit Price Deflator for Gross Domestic Product since the previous adjustment. The fiscal terms displayed below are effective on June 22, 2024. Per the Inflation Reduction Act, the BLM will not adjust the rental nor the minimum bonus bids until after August 16, 2032.

(b) The amounts in the fiscal terms table are not subject to appeal to the Interior Board of Land Appeals pursuant to 43 CFR part 4, subpart E.

(a) Each competitive bid submitted in response to a Notice of Competitive Lease Sale must be accompanied by full payment of the first year's rental based on the total acreage for that lease in the Notice of Competitive Lease Sale.

(b) If the acreage is incorrectly indicated in a Notice of Competitive Lease Sale, payment of the rental based on the error is curable within 15 calendar days of receipt of notice from the authorized officer of the error.

(c) Rental will not be prorated for any lands in which the United States owns an undivided fractional interest and must be paid for the full acreage in such lands.

Rentals must be paid on or before the lease anniversary date. A full year's rental must be submitted even when less than a full year remains in the lease term, except as provided in 43 CFR 3103.42(d). Failure to make the required payment on or before the lease anniversary date will cause a lease to terminate automatically by operation of law. If the designated ONRR office is not open on the anniversary date, payment received on the next day the designated ONRR office is open to the public will be deemed to be timely made. Payments made to an improper BLM or ONRR office will be returned and will not be forwarded to the designated ONRR office. Rental must be paid at the following rates:

(a) The annual rental for all leases is as stated in the lease, and the annual rental for all new leases will be as specified in 43 CFR 3103.1;

(b) Rental will not be due on acreage for which royalty or minimum royalty is being paid, except on nonproducing leases when compensatory royalty has been assessed in which case annual rental as established in the lease will be due in addition to compensatory royalty;

(c) For leases that are reinstated under § 3108.23, the annual rental will be as specified in 43 CFR 3103.1 beginning with the termination date upon the filing of a petition to reinstate a lease; and

(d) Each succeeding time a specific lease is reinstated under § 3108.23, the annual rental on that lease will increase by an additional $10 per acre or fraction thereof.

(a) Royalty on production will be payable only on the mineral interest owned by the United States. Royalty must be paid in the amount or value of the production removed or sold as follows:

(1) For leases issued before August 16, 2022, the rate prescribed in the lease or in applicable regulations at the time of lease issuance;

(2) For leases issued between August 16, 2022, and August 16, 2032, the royalty rate will be 16.67 percent;

(3) For leases issued on or after August 16, 2032, a rate of not less than 16.67 percent on all leases issued under the Act;

(4) A minimum of 16.67 percent on all leases issued under 43 CFR subpart 3109;

(5) For reinstated leases, the rate used for royalty determination that applies to new leases at the time of the reinstatement plus 4 percentage points, plus an additional 2 percentage points for each succeeding reinstatement. In no case will royalties on the reinstated lease be less than 20 percent.

(b) Leases that qualify under specific provisions of the Act of August 8, 1946 (30 U.S.C. 226c) may apply for a limitation of a 12 1/2 percent royalty rate.

(c) The average production per well per day for oil and gas will be determined pursuant to 43 CFR 3162.7-4.

(d) Payment of a royalty on the helium component of gas will not convey the right to extract the helium from the gas stream. Applications for the right to extract helium from the gas stream will be made under 43 CFR part 16.

(a) A minimum royalty must be paid at the expiration of each lease year beginning on or after a discovery of oil or gas in paying quantities on the lands leased, except on unitized leases that lack production, the minimum royalty must be paid only on the participating acreage, at the following rates:

(1) On leases issued on or after August 8, 1946, and on those issued prior thereto if the lessee files an election under section 15 of the Act of August 8, 1946, a minimum royalty of $1 per acre or fraction thereof in lieu of rental, except as provided in paragraph (a)(2) of this section; and

(2) On leases issued from offers filed after December 22, 1987, and on competitive leases issued after December 22, 1987, a minimum royalty in lieu of rental of not less than the amount of rental which otherwise would be required for that lease year.

(b) Minimum royalties will not be prorated for any lands in which the United States owns a fractional interest and must be paid on the full acreage of the lease.

(c) Minimum royalties and rentals on non-participating acreage must be paid to the ONRR.

(d) The minimum royalty provisions of this section are applicable to leases reinstated under 43 CFR 3108.23.

(e) If the royalty paid during any year aggregates to less than the minimum royalty, then the lessee must pay the difference at the end of the lease year.

(a) In order to encourage the greatest ultimate recovery of oil or gas and in the interest of conservation, the Secretary, upon a determination that it is necessary to promote development or that the leases cannot be produced in paying quantities under the terms provided therein, may waive, suspend or reduce the rental or minimum royalty or reduce the royalty on an entire leasehold, or any portion thereof.

(b)(1) An application for the benefits under paragraph (a) of this section must be filed by the operator/payor in the proper BLM office. The application must contain the serial number of the leases, the names of the record title holders, operating rights owners (sublessees), and operators for each lease, the description of lands by legal subdivision and a description of the relief requested.

(2) Each application must show the number, location and status of each well drilled, a tabulated statement for each month covering a period of not less than 6 months prior to the date of filing the application of the aggregate amount of oil or gas subject to royalty, the number of wells counted as producing each month and the average production per well per day.

(3) Every application must contain a detailed statement of expenses and costs of operating the entire lease, the income from the sale of any production and all facts tending to show whether the wells can be produced in paying quantities upon the fixed royalty or rental. Where the application is for a reduction in royalty, complete information must be furnished as to whether overriding royalties, payments out of production, or similar interests are paid to others than the United States, the amounts so paid and efforts made to reduce them. The applicant must also file agreements of the holders to a reduction of all other royalties or similar payments from the leasehold to an aggregate not in excess of one-half the royalties due the United States.

(c) Petition may be made for a reduction of royalty for leases reinstated under 43 CFR 3108.23. Petitions to waive, suspend or reduce rental or minimum royalty for leases reinstated under 43 CFR 3108.23 may be made under this section.

(a) A suspension of all operations and production may be directed or consented to by the authorized officer only in the interest of conservation of natural resources. A suspension of operations only or a suspension of production only may be directed or consented to by the authorized officer in cases where the lessee is prevented from operating on the lease or producing from the lease, despite the exercise of due care and diligence, by reason of force majeure, that is, by matters beyond the reasonable control of the lessee. Applications for any suspension must be filed in the proper BLM office. Complete information showing the necessity of such relief must be furnished.

(b) The term of any lease will be adjusted to account for the suspension. Beginning on the date the suspension is lifted, the term will be extended by the time that was remaining on the term of the lease on the effective date of the suspension. No lease will expire during any suspension.

(c) A suspension will take effect as of the time specified in the direction or assent of the authorized officer, in accordance with the provisions of 43 CFR 3165.1.

(d) Rental and minimum royalty payments will be suspended during any period of suspension of all operations and production directed or assented to by the authorized officer beginning with the first day of the lease month in which the suspension of all operations and production becomes effective, or if the suspension of all operations and production becomes effective on any date other than the first day of a lease month, beginning with the first day of the lease month following such effective date. However, if there is any production sold or removed during the suspension, the lessee must pay royalty on that production.

(e) Rental and minimum royalty payments will resume on the first day of the lease month in which the suspension of all operations and production is lifted. Where rentals are creditable against royalties and have been paid in advance, proper credit may be allowed on the next rental or royalty due under the terms of the lease.

(f) Rental and minimum royalty payments will not be suspended during any period of suspension of operations only or suspension of production only.

(g) Where all operations and production are suspended on a lease on which there is a well capable of producing in paying quantities and the authorized officer approves resumption of operations and production, such resumption will be regarded as lifting the suspension, including the suspension of rental and minimum royalty payments, as provided in paragraph (e) of this section.

(h) The relief authorized under this section also may be obtained for any Federal lease included within an approved oil and gas agreement. Oil and gas agreement obligations will not be suspended by relief obtained under this section but will be suspended only in accordance with the terms and conditions of the specific agreement.