Lax oversight of oil and gas royalties

Topline: The federal government often does not have enough time to ensure that oil and gas companies are properly reporting the royalties they owe from drilling on federal land, according to a Dec. 15 report from the Government Accountability Office.

Key facts: The Department of the Interior had 23.7 million acres of federal land leased to drilling companies as of 2023, which must pay royalties of 12.5% to 18.8% on all gas and oil they sell using the land.

From 2014 to 2024, energy...