The U.S. Interior Department said April 30 it has dissolved an advisory panel that made recommendations on royalty rates from oil, gas and coal leases on federal land, after a legal challenge over its industry ties.
Interior Department spokeswoman Molly Block confirmed that the Royalty Policy Committee's (RPC) charter, which was created in March 2017, expired on April 21. She declined to give a reason or say whether the panel would be replaced.
Nonprofit environmental group the Western Organization of Resource Councils (WORC) and government watchdog group Democracy Forward had sued Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke in August, alleging the department violated federal laws in forming the RPC by not including enough taxpayer or conservation group members and not operating in a transparent manner.
The groups said they believed the committee was disbanded as a result of their lawsuit.
"Our [legal action] reminded the Interior Department that the charter would be scrutinized," said Travis Annatoyn, senior counsel at Democracy Forward who had previously worked for the Justice Department.
The RPC, which included members drawn from the energy and mining industries, had made several recommendations last year to lower royalty rates on drillers and miners.
In February, the panel recommended lowering royalty rates for federal offshore oil and gas drilling from 18.75% to 12.5% to spur production. Facing pressure, Zinke did not take that recommendation.
The panel also voted to approve a proposal letting coal companies that mine on federal land set their own rates for coal, used to calculate royalties, effectively reversing an Obama administration policy that closed that loophole.
WORC and Democracy Forward said the federal Advisory Committee Act requires agency advisory groups like the RPC to be "fairly balanced in terms of points of view represented" and include "representatives of the public interest."
Initial RPC members included the heads of the National Ocean Industries Association, which lobbies for offshore drillers; ConocoPhillips Co.; Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and western coal company Cloud Peak Energy Inc.
Other members included academics from the Colorado School of Mines, and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology, and a representative from consulting firm Wood Mackenzie.
Recommended Reading
Bobby Tudor on Capital Access and Oil, Gas Participation in the Energy Transition
2024-04-05 - Bobby Tudor, the founder and CEO of Artemis Energy Partners, says while public companies are generating cash, private equity firms in the upstream business are facing more difficulties raising new funds, in this Hart Energy Exclusive interview.
Petrie Partners: A Small Wonder
2024-02-01 - Petrie Partners may not be the biggest or flashiest investment bank on the block, but after over two decades, its executives have been around the block more than most.
Exxon, Chevron Tapping Permian for Output Growth in ‘24
2024-02-02 - Exxon Mobil and Chevron plan to tap West Texas and New Mexico for oil and gas production growth in 2024, the U.S. majors reported in their latest earnings.
TPG Adds Lebovitz as Head of Infrastructure for Climate Investing Platform
2024-02-07 - TPG Rise Climate was launched in 2021 to make investments across asset classes in climate solutions globally.
enCore Energy Appoints Robert Willette as Chief Legal Officer
2024-02-01 - enCore Energy’s new chief legal officer Robert Willette has over 29 years of corporate legal experience.