States Decide on Easier Royalty Reporting for Small Federal Oil Wells
Published Date: 1/6/2026
Notice
Summary
Starting January 1, 2026, States decide if they’ll join two special programs that make it easier for small oil and gas producers on federal land to report and pay royalties. These programs let producers submit just one yearly report and payment instead of many, saving time and effort. States’ choices affect how and when these relief options apply, with the first annual reports due by February 28, 2027.
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 3 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Annual royalty reporting option starts
If you are a lessee or designee of small federal oil and gas properties in certain States, you may be allowed to file one annual royalty report and payment instead of multiple reports starting January 1, 2026. To qualify, the property must have produced less than 1,000 barrels-of-oil-equivalent (BOE) during the base period July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025; the single annual report and payment are due February 28, 2027 (or March 31, 2027 if you have an estimated payment on file).
Other marginal accounting relief available
If you are a lessee or designee of marginal federal oil and gas properties in certain States, you may request other types of accounting and auditing relief for 2026. To qualify for those other reliefs, the combined equivalent production for the base period must equal an average daily well production of less than 15 BOE per well per day (calculated under 30 CFR 1204.4(c)).
Relief eligibility for States not listed
If your federal oil or gas property is located in a State where ONRR does not share a portion of Federal royalties with that State (for 2026, any State not listed in the table in this notice), your property is eligible for marginal-property relief if it otherwise qualifies as a marginal property under the law. This eligibility is pursuant to 30 U.S.C. 1726(c).
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